State & Local Gov't Exam 3

Front 1

What are the powers of the governor?

Back 1

1. Appoint powers
2. Budgetary powers
3. Veto powers
4. Power to pardon
5. Power to call special sessions

Front 2

How have the powers of the governor changed over time?
*powers impact strength of the office

Back 2

Gubernatorial power has expanded; also the political & policy responsibilities of governors have expanded

Front 3

Governor who takes a leading role in setting the political agenda of the state, as opposed to a gov who views himself more as a manager or caretaker

Back 3

activist governor

Front 4

Legislative vote of much more than a simple majority, for instance, two-thirds of a legislative chamber voting to override a gov's veto.

Back 4

Supermajority vote

Front 5

What is the balance of power between gov & legislature?

Back 5

1. veto power of gov & leg override provisions
2. Budget authority

Front 6

Powers explicitly granted to govs according to state law are referred to as these.

Back 6

Formal powers

Front 7

The ability to effectively communicate with others by commanding media attention and persuading party members are these.

Back 7

informal powers
*determine whether a gov is able to exert a strong or weak influence on the legislative process*

Front 8

A gov's ability to pick individuals to run state gov't

Back 8

appointment powers

Front 9

Across the states, the power of ____ is weighted more in favor of the gov than either veto power or budgetary power

Back 9

Power of Appointment
(3.5 avg)

Front 10

What are some gubernatorial characteristics?

Back 10

1. Increasingly from variety of professional & demographic backgrounds
2. have some leg experience
3. 4 of the last 5 presidents served as gov
4. more women

Front 11

Second year of the presidential term is called this?

Back 11

"off-year"

Front 12

Governor elections are held in off-years to focus on state issues.
Descibe the selection & retention of the gov

Back 12

- high re-election margins common
- Rarely removed from office (impeachment, recall, criminal conviction)
- Term limits common (36 states limit to 2 terms or 2 consec terms)

Front 13

Process by which the legislature can remove executive branch officials, such as the gov, or judges from offices for corruption or other reasons

Back 13

impeachment

Front 14

-2nd in charge
-increasingly gaining political clout
-presides over Senate, breaks roll-call ties
-can be appointed to cabinet position
-acting gov

Back 14

Lieutenant Gov

Front 15

-top state law enforcement official
-represents state agencies
-civil suits (tobacco litigation)
-open meetings & records
-enforces laws (envi laws, criminal appeals, corp charters, charities)

Back 15

Attorney General

Front 16

-repository of state records & archives
-presides over state elections
-UCC admin (commercial behavior)
-lobbyist registration
-corp registration

Back 16

Secretary of State

Front 17

Rules or regulations with the force of law that governors can create directly under the statutory authority given them

Back 17

Executive orders

Front 18

Cases that involve violations of the law.

Back 18

Criminal cases

Front 19

Cases that involve disputes between private parties.

Back 19

Civil cases

Front 20

In the new judicial federalism, state supreme courts are shifting attention where?

Back 20

to the state constitutions (they expand rights for citizens beyond US Const)

Front 21

In this, court interpretations drive spending priorities and act as mandates in some cases Ex: Ohio, NJ, NM ... what happened in each?

Back 21

New Judicial Federalism

Ohio: efficient common system of education
NJ: efficient system of free public schools
NM: Bilingual education

Front 22

There are 2 basic types of state court systems: criminal & civil.
If parties involved can't reach settlement or plea bargain, case goes to court of first instance = trial court

Back 22

Characteristics of state court systems

Front 23

Agreement in which the accused admits guilt, usually in exchange for a promise that a particular sentence will be imposed.

Back 23

Plea bargain

Front 24

The starting point (first level) for most court cases

Back 24

trial court

Front 25

Mutual agreement between parties to end a case before going to trial

Back 25

settlement

Front 26

A request to have a lower court's decision in a case reviewed by a higher court

Back 26

appeal

Front 27

What determines which types of cases are permissible in court?

Back 27

the Level of Jurisdiction (limited or general)

Front 28

Jurisdiction is the authority to hear the case in question. What are the 2 levels?

Back 28

1. General
2. Limited (special)
-low amt $
-specific offenses between parties (drugs, child custody), age of offender (adult, juvenile)

Front 29

A court that reviews court cases to find possible errors in their proceedings, providing outlets for parties who feel they were treated unfairly

Back 29

Intermediate Appellate Court
-vary according to level of jurisdiction

Front 30

Parties can file for an appeal (lower ct's decision reviewed by higher ct) by what?

Back 30

alleging error
*not just any error: errors of law (not errors of fact) and prejudicial error

Front 31

What are the 2 types of jurisdiction?

Back 31

1. Mandatory- must hear
2. Discretionary- may hear

Front 32

What is the highest level of appeals court in a state?

Back 32

State Supreme Court

Front 33

Retention elections

Back 33

Jugdges run uncontested and voters are asked to vote "yes" if they wish to retain a judge in office for another term or "no" if they do not.

Front 34

Judicial selection systems in which the gov appoints judges alone without a nominating commission.

Back 34

Pure appointive systems
(a way to preserve measure of accountability)

Front 35

In these races for judicial campaigns, voter turnout is lower

Back 35

Down-ticket races

Front 36

For judical campaigns, there has been a recent ___ in campaign spending

Back 36

rise

Front 37

US courts of appeal usually sit in groups of 3 judges to hear a case

Back 37

panels

Front 38

Refers to appeals court sessions in which all of the judges hear a case together

Back 38

En Banc

Front 39

What are the stages of case moving through the state court system?

Back 39

1. Courts of limited jurisdiction (Civil, City, District, etc)
2. Courts of general juris (Supreme Court, County Ct)
3. Intermediate appellate court (App divisions of sup ct & app terms of sup ct)
4. Court of last resort (Court of Appeals)

Front 40

Hears any civil or criminal cases that have not been assigned to a special court

Back 40

General jurisdiction trial courts

Front 41

This is when a trial has no jury and a judge decides the facts

Back 41

Bench trials

Front 42

In this type of method for selecting justices there is: popular control, democratic principles, diversity potential, and can be partisan or nonpartisan

Back 42

Advantages of Popular elections

Front 43

What are the 2 methods for selecting justices in state court systems?

Back 43

1. Missouri Plan - justices appointed based on merit sys. with nonpartisan nominating committees
2. Popular elections: Justices chosen based on partisan/nonpartisan public elections

Front 44

The president appoints federal judges with advice and consent of the ___?

Back 44

Senate

Front 45

What are the 2 characteristics states are forced to choose between when selecting judges?

Back 45

Independence: life time tenure
Accountability: public tenure

Front 46

The use of the past to determine current interpretation and decision making

Back 46

Precedent

Front 47

Judicial selection systems in which the gov appoints judges alone w/o a nominating commission

Back 47

Pure appointive systems

Front 48

A government official who conducts criminal cases on behalf of the people.

Back 48

Prosecutor -represent the public

Front 49

A dimension of the appointment process in which some form of nominating committee screens names and forwards names to the selector (either gov or the leg)

Back 49

Merit (may also include partisan politics)

Front 50

A gov't lawyer who provides free legal services to those accused of a crime who cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

Back 50

Public defender

Front 51

The tendency of gov't to make a crime out of anything the public does not like

Back 51

Legislative over-criminalization

Front 52

What are the limitations for prosecutors? (3)

Back 52

indictment
grand jury
jury nullification

Front 53

A formal criminal charge

Back 53

Indictment

Front 54

A group of b/tw 16 & 23 citizens that decides if a case should go to trial; if yes, indictment is issued.

Back 54

Grand Jury

Front 55

Occurs when a jury returns a verdict of "notguilty" even though jurists believe the defendant is guilty. The jury cancels out a law that it believes is immoral or was wrongly applied to the def.

Back 55

Jury nullification

Front 56

A serious crime, such as murder or arson.

Back 56

felony

Front 57

a less serious crime, such as shoplifting

Back 57

misdemeanor

Front 58

Private lawyers selected by the courts to handle particular cases and paid from public funds.

Back 58

assigned counsel

Front 59

Private attorneys who enter into agreements with a state, county, or jud district to work on a fixed-fee basis per case or for a specific length of time.

Back 59

contract attorneys

Front 60

What does the 6th Amendment say?

Back 60

Gives the right to counsel

Front 61

What was the effect of the trial Gideon v. Wainwright?

Back 61

Right to appointed counsel at state expense

Front 62

What causes pressure on state courts?

Back 62

1. most (75%) crim defendants can't pay for legal services
2. increasing litigation rates and lack of funding

Front 63

What/who reduces pressure on state courts and considers the rights of victims of crime?

Back 63

Assigned council and contract attorneys

Front 64

What 3 factors make a jury trial not required?

Back 64

a sentence of 6 or less months, juvenile issues, probation revocation

Front 65

What 4 things make you a candidate for selection on a jury?

Back 65

1. minimum age
2. literacy
3. english communication
4. some statutory exclusions

Front 66

A legal obligation or responsibility

Back 66

liability

Front 67

The interviewing & examination of potential jurors

Back 67

Voir Dire

Front 68

Occurs when a lawyer asks the judge to excuse a potential juror b/c the individual appears to be biased or unable to be fair.

Back 68

For Cause Challenge

Front 69

Used by lawyers to dismiss potential jurors for any reason except race or gender.

Back 69

Peremptory challenges

Front 70

What are some Defendant's Rights (7) from the Constitution?

Back 70

1. Presumption of innocence
2. Protection against unreasonable search/seizure
3. Right to lawyer
4. Right to jury trial
5. Right to confront witnesses
6. Right to due process & equal protection
7. Protection against cruel & unusual punishment

Front 71

The judge sentences an offender to a minimum & a max time in prison. (Parole board decides how long the offender actually remains in prison)

Back 71

Indeterminate sentencing

Front 72

The judge sentences offender to serve a specific amount of time in prison depending on the crime

Back 72

Determinate sentencing

Front 73

Majority of states remain with this sentencing

Back 73

Indeterminate

Front 74

Shortest sentences that offenders may receive upon conviction for certain offenses (All states)

Back 74

Mandatory Minimum Sentences (court has no authority to impose shorter sentence)

Front 75

These statutes impose harsher sentences for offenders who previously have been sentenced for crimes

Back 75

Habitual Offender laws (3 strikes -CA model)

Front 76

These laws give parole boards less authority to shorten sentences for good behavior by specifying the proportion of a sentence an offender must serve before becoming eligible for parole.

Back 76

Truth-in-sentencing laws

Front 77

By increasing caseloads, states are adopting reforms to expedite the judicial process. Name 4

Back 77

1. Alternative Dispute Resolution
2. Rocket dockets
3. Magistrates
4. Specialized courts

Front 78

Way to end a disagreement by means other than litigation (involves appointment of mediator)

Back 78

Alternative dispute resolution

Front 79

Fast-track cases that often have limited, specific deadlines for specific court procedures.

Back 79

Rocket docket

Front 80

Local officials or attorneys granted limited judicial powers

Back 80

Magistrates

Front 81

Public agencies & the programs and services they implement and manage

Back 81

Bureaucracy

Front 82

Employees of public agencices

Back 82

Bureaucrats

Front 83

What are the 5 characteristics of bureaucracy?

Back 83

1. Division of labor.
2. Hierarchial (structure
& authority)
3. Formal rules (SOPs)
4. Maintenance of files & records
5. Professionalization

Front 84

Bureaucratic employees earn their jobs based on qualifications & merit

Back 84

Professionalization

Front 85

Process of taking the expressed wishes of gov't and translating them into actions

Back 85

Policy implementation

Front 86

Lower-level public agency employees who actually take the actions that represent law or policy.

Back 86

Street-level bureaucrats (balance laws, regulations, procedures etc)

Front 87

The process of translating laws into written instructions on what public agencies will or will not do.

Back 87

Rulemaking

Front 88

Bureaucracy varies according to the ___ and ___ of state/local constituencies.

Back 88

demands and needs

Front 89

States with the most and least bureaucracy vary by what 2 things?

Back 89

1. by # of employees
2. by $$$

Front 90

Many studies find ___sector more efficient and effective than ___sector in specific job performance.

Back 90

public more effective than private

Front 91

What are the 3 characteristics of public sector employees?

Back 91

1. higher education
2. greater commitment to civic duty
3. ethics codes more strict

Front 92

An administrative report card on areas of management

Back 92

Gov't Performance Project

Front 93

States with higher grades from the Gov't Performance Project had...

Back 93

-avoided large tax cuts
-divided gov't
-powerful governors

Front 94

Characteristics of bureaucracy produce what 3 things?

Back 94

neutrality, fairness, accountability

Front 95

He opened gov't to the common man in 1883

Back 95

Andrew Jackson (spoils system and patronage)

Front 96

The right of an electoral winner to decide who works for public agencies

Back 96

Spoils system

Front 97

First civil service law, shifts country from spoils to merit

Back 97

Pendleton Act (1883)
-competitive exams of fed jobs
-protection against pol firings
-protection against forced pol contributions from salary

Front 98

The idea that public agencies should be impartial implementers of democratic decisions

Back 98

Neutral competence

Front 99

Systems in which employment and promotion in public agencies are based on qualifications and demonstrated ability.

Back 99

Merit systems

Front 100

What does the merit system ensure?

Back 100

neutral competence

Front 101

A process in which representatives of labor and management meet to negotiate pay & benefits, job responsibilities, & working conditions

Back 101

Collective bargaining

Front 102

The length of time spent in a position

Back 102

seniority

Front 103

Policies designed to help recruit and promote disadvantaged groups

Back 103

affirmative action

Front 104

Idea that public agencies reflecting the diversity of the communities they serve will be more effective

Back 104

Representative bureaucracy

Front 105

Excessive use of rules, regulations, and procedures developed to manage affairs of gov't can be cumbersome and self-serving

Back 105

Red tape

Front 106

The delivery of public services and programs via the internet or other digital means

Back 106

ATM Bureaucracy or "E-gov"