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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Marbury v. Madison
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Case of 1803 where the court, in decisions written by Marshall, held that the Supreme Court could declare an act of Congress unconstitutional ➢ It is significant because it is a formal power of the court that defined judicial review |
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Descriptive Representation
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A definition of how representative is Congress, asking if Congress looks like America |
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Writ of Certiorari
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When the Court considers all the petitions it receives to review lower court decisions, and if four justices agree to hear a case, a cert is issued and the case is scheduled for hearing ➢ It is significant because at one time the Court was required to listen to certain appeals, but now with the new law they can pick the cases they want to consider |
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Judicial Review
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A formal power of the Court to hold laws or other acts of government unconstitutional ➢ It is significant because it is also a way of limiting the power of popular majorities |
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Chief of State
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A formal constitutional/legal role of the President which is a symbolic representative of the U.S. and its national sovereignty ➢ The significance is that the President needs to represent the U.S. well |
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War Powers Act
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A source of formal Presidential power where he can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or if the United States is already under attack or serious threat ➢ An example would be in 1993 where the Act was used to withdraw forces from Somalia |
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Precedent (same as stare decisis)
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A way the courts interpret the law by establishing a principle or rule from a legal case that a court or other judicial body utilizes when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts ➢ Refers to the theory of decision making the supreme court ought to make decisions consistent to previous decisions made ➢ Only overturn decisions in extreme cases ➢ An example would be when Supreme court overturned Plessey v. Ferguson |
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Bi-cameralism
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A two chamber legislature ➢ An example would be the House of Representatives and the Senate |
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Seniority System
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Seniority gives politicians who have been in the House or Senate longer more choices on which committee they would like to be in and on decisions they think are crucial ➢ The significance is that they are the incumbent and much more likely to be re-elected |
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Impeachment
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A way all “civil officers of the United States” can be removed by being convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which sits as a court, is presided over by the Chief of Justice, hears the evidence, and makes its decision under whatever rules it wishes to adopt. ➢ An example would be the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868 |
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Cloture
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A motion or process at bringing a debate to a quick end ➢ Significance is it prevents filibusters from killing a bill |
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Gerrymandering
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A form of redistribution in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral advantage ➢ An example would be Arizona’s 2 nd congressional district |
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Civil Service System
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All appointive positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of Government of the United States, except positions in the uniformed services ➢ An example is certain areas in the FBI ➢ The union to which members of the federal bureaucracy belong |
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Iron Triangles of Influence
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A bureaucratic limit to presidential power where there is a relationship between an agency, a committee, and an interest group who form a tight, mutually advantageous alliance ➢ For example, The Department of Veterans Affairs, the House and Senate committees on veterans’ affairs, and veterans’ organizations forming the alliance |
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House Rules Committee
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Committee on the United States House of Representatives who is in charge of determining under what rule bills will come to the floor ➢ It is significant because it is one of the most important committees and often is described as the “traffic cop” of Congress |
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Franking Privilege
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The ability of members of Congress to send free mail ➢ The significance is that it is one of the factors that make incumbency such a strong factor in elections |
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Legislative Veto
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A requirement that an executive decision must lie before Congress for a specified period (usually 30 or 90 days) before it takes effect, Congress can then veto the decision if a resolution of disapproval was passed by either house or both houses ➢ The significance is that the Supreme Court has declared the legislative veto to be unconstitutional now |
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Congressional Oversight
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The way members of Congress have constitutional powers over agencies and policy interests in how agencies function ➢ An example would be that no money may be spent unless it has first been authorized by Congress |
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Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
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Advices Congress on the likely economic effects of different spending programs and provides information on the costs of proposed policies ➢ The significance is that it is the counterpart to the OMB and was the office Congress created to try and check and balance the OMB |
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Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
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Office of the white house executive branch that helps the president plan and put the budget together ➢ An example would be when Regan’s OMB made very optimistic assumptions about how much money we would take in and how low expenses would be. This created a huge deficit causing the CBO to check in. |
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Veto
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The way the Constitution gives the President power to say no to legislation by either a veto message or pocket veto ➢ The significance is that the veto power is a substantial one, because Congress rarely has the votes to override it |
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Formal Representation
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A definition of how representative is Congress asking how accountable is Congress to the elected |
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Executive Order
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A role of the chief legislator where a directive is issued ➢ An example would be an executive order made by President Barack Obama this year to lift barriers on human stem cell research |
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Executive Agreement
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A formal presidential power where an agreement is made between the executive branch of the U.S. government and a foreign government without ratification by the Senate ➢ The significance is that the executive branch can make agreements without interference from the Senate |
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Pocket Pass
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def: President fails to sign bill within 10 days and it become a law if court was adjourned during the 10 days
Sig: Allows a bill to pass without president's signature, limits power of executive branch |
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National Security State
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One in which the threats from abroad are used to justify the concentration of power in the hands of the executive and the spending of large amounts of money on defense ➢ A classic example of this is the Bush Administration |
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Line Item Veto
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Power of an executive to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, usually budget appropriations, without vetoing the entire legislative process ➢ An example is that it is used in all states but seven |
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Power to persuade
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The real power of the president is simply the ability to persuade ➢ The significance is that if he can persuade he can win the public over and pass bills and policies through his Congress |
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Commander in Chief
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The President who is the commander of the nation’s armed forces or significant element of those forces ➢ An example would be President Obama |
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Chief Legislature
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A formal constitutional/legal role of the President where he develops budget, drafts most legislation, lobbies congress, issues regulations, issues executive orders
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Redistricting
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Every ten years the district lines have to be redrawn (house districts) so they are all the same size, they equalize the population of districts every ten years ➢ For example, Phoenix is growing rapidly while New York City is shrinking so every ten years you have to add another district or two to Arizona and take away two from New York |
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Chief Executive
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A formal constitutional/legal role of the President where he sees that laws are faithfully enforced
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Original Intent
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A conservative philosophy on how judges should decide cases. They should decide on how the founders originally intended, not based on what they think is right or proper or just or what American’s want today ➢ For example Congress shall pass no law restricting freedom of speech, but despite what words mean it is not what they intended |
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Subcommittees
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A subdivision of a United States congressional committee that considers specific matters and reports back to the full committee ➢ An example would be that the Armed Services has seven subcommittees |
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Conference Committees
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An especially important kind of joint committee made up of representatives and senators appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final passage ➢ It is significant because it allows to negotiate a compromise bill that both houses can accept |
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National Security Council (NSC)
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An informal Presidential power responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security ➢ The significance is that it is the principle forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters |
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Lame Duck
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Any political office holder who has either announced they are going to retire, term limited (cannot run again), or who has already lost in an election ➢ George Bush became a lame duck essentially when he won the 2004 election, because he could not run again |
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General Accounting Office (GAO)
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Performs primarily routine financial audits of the money spent by executive-branch departments and investigates agencies and policies and makes recommendations on almost every aspect of government ➢ An example area of it would be the domestic security investigations of the FBI |
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Military Industrial Complex
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Deals with a large defense industry to make of American large corporations and is intertwined the national security state with both corporate power and the national economy ➢ The significance is that this large industrial complex has an effect on corporations and the economy |
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Filibuster
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Attempt to extend indefinitely a debate upon a proposal in order to delay the progress or completely prevent a vote on the proposal taking place ➢ The significance is that they are becoming much more common and can be used to kill a bill |
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Pocket veto
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A type of veto where if the President does not sign the bill within ten days and Congress has adjourned within that time, then the bill will not become a law ➢ The significance is that it can only be used a certain time of year-just before Congress adjourns at the end of its second session |
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Strict Constructionism
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A particular legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that requires the judge to apply the text only as it is written ➢ The significance is that it causes Judges to avoid drawing inferences from a statute or constitution, only the text is looked at |
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Spoils System
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Also known as a patronage system and is an informal practice where a political party after winning an election gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory and an incentive to keep working for the party ➢ An example of its use was by Abraham Lincoln to support his Republican Party, United States Republican Party, and the Union American Civil War effort |
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Executive Privilege
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Most presidents have asserted the right to withhold information that Congress may want to obtain from the president or his subordinates, and some presidents have tried to impound funds appropriated by Congress ➢ It is significant because it is a way of forcing Congress to bargain with him over the substance of policies |
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Divided Government
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This is where one party controls the white house and another controls one or both houses of Congress ➢ The significance is that some believe that voters split tickets deliberately in order to create divided government and thus magnify the effects of the checks and balances built into our system |
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Pork Barrel
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Refers to the handing out, typically by Congress, of government funds to people in your district ➢ Earmarks are often times used as the vehicle for pork barrel spending ➢ Significant in terms of helping members of Congress get reelected |
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Red Tape
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Term used in Wilson and has to do with the beaurocratic restrictions, it is a restriction/regulation that the beaurocracy makes ➢ For example if you want to build a house on a piece of property you own you will have to attain all these permits |
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Chief Diplomat
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A formal constitutional/legal role of the president where he has sole power to negotiate treaties, appoint ambassadors, etc
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Senatorial Courtesy
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Custom whereby the senate will refuse to confirm any presidential appointments if objections are raised by either the senior senator of the president’s political party or the senators from the state to which the appointment applies |
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Standing Committees
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More or less permanent bodies with specified legislative responsibilities ➢ The significance is that they are the only ones that can propose legislation by reporting a bill out to the full House or Senate |
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Appellate Courts
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Any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal ➢ It is significant because it allows for the trial to have an appeal |
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Constituency Service
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Most members in office work on doing favors for the citizens, they are trying to cut the red tape to get your social security payment or getting you out of the army or small business grants from the government, then they try to pass public policies for the country as a whole ➢ The significance is this is the primary way by which members of Congress represent the district for which they are elected |
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Senate Rule XXII
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Rule that allows members of senate the right to unlimited debate, once recognized they can have the floor and talk as long as they want ➢ It is the basis of the filibuster only in the senate, not in the house, and allows for cloture to be in vote (requiring 60 votes in the senate) ➢ The significance is that it is one of the classic examples of how power is centralized and negative (single senator has power to impede or kill legislature) |
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Police state
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System basically where the military or the police actually run the government and people are subject to ➢ Example would be in Singapore spitting on the side walk you will be arrested |
