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Government Study Materials January 16, 2015

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Question 1: How has the Fourteenth Amendment affected the Supreme Courts rulings over time? How has it impacted the Courts interpretation of the Bill of Rights?

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Question 2: What is the Federal Bureaucracy and how does it exemplify the powers of the Executive Branch? What is the Cabinet and what does it do/stand for?

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Question 3: How does the Judicial Branch interact with and check the power of the other two branches of government? How was this precedent established?

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Question 4: How is the court system in the United States organized?

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Question 5: What are the powers of the President/Executive Branch? What are the roles of the President?

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Question 6: What is the Electoral College and how does it work? What are some of the flaws associated with this system?

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LECTURE NOTES Also use these to review

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Remember to also study the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment

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Broad Scope of Powers he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Article II, Section 3 The executive branch execute, enforces, and interprets the law Power to execute the law encompasses all federal laws All laws must be executed, even if the Presidents personal views do not align with a law

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Powers of the Executive Branch When I ran for the presidency I knew the country faced serious challenges, but I could not realize nor could any man who does not bear the burdens of this officehow heavy and constant would be those burdens. JFK, 1961 Include: Executive Powers Legislative Powers Judicial Powers Read the quotes on the handout Presidential Views of Power and answer the questions

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Powers of the Executive Branch Executive Powers 1.Ordinance Power 2.Appointment Power a.Appointees and Recess Appointments 3.Removal Power 4.Power to Make Treaties 5.Executive Agreements 6.Power of Recognition 7.Commander in Chief a.I will cover this in depth next class Legislative Powers 1.Recommending Legislation 2.Veto Power a.Line-Item Veto 3.Call Special Sessions of Congress 4.Prorogue Judicial Powers 1.On Judicial sentencing: a.Reprieve b.Pardon c.Clemency d.Commutation e.Amnesty

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Bureaucracy Definition a large, complex administrative structure that handles the everyday business of an organization Built of three principles: 1.Hierarchal authority a chain of command with few at the top directing a larger group beneath them 2.Job specialization all bureaucrats work with specific duties and responsibilities; precise division of labor within the organization 3.Formalized rules work is completed according to a set of established regulations and procedures

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Bureaucracy The federal bureaucracy is all of the agencies, people, and procedures through which the Federal Government operates the President is the chief administrator of this Article II, section 3: he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed. Constitution is not very explicit about what this should look like, other than the military, but the Founding Fathers meant for an administration to be created

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Bureaucracy The many units of this administration have various names and titles, including: Department meant for agencies of Cabinet rank Other common titles include agency, administration, commission, corporation, and authority Commission usually related to regulation of businesses, like the Federal Communications Commission Corporation and authority usually for agencies involved in business-like activities

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The Federal Bureaucracy The Federal Bureaucracy is divided into three parts: The Executive Departments The Executive Office of the President Not to be confused with the Cabinet Independent Agencies

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Early Law Articles of Confederation failed to establish national laws or a national court States had the responsibility of creating and enforcing laws Would ignore the rulings and laws of other states Addressed this lack of a judiciary system in the Constitution: The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.Article III, Section 1

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Dual Court System This sentence established the precedent of a dual court system Federalism did not require two systems, but did allow for them to be established Two systems include: National judiciary systemover 100 courts nationwide Each of the 50 states then have their own court systemmost cases are heard at the state level, not the federal level

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Federal Courts/Inferior Courts Constitutional Courts Federal courts formed to hear trials for the United States Work with the Supreme Court Includes courts of appeals, the district courts, and the U.S. Court of International Trade Special Courts Do not exercise the broad judicial Power of the United States Created by Congress to hear cases from some of the expressed powers given to Congress in Article I of the Constitution Sometimes called the legislative courts Includes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, for Veterans Claims, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Tax Court, the various territorial, and the courts of the District of Columbia

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Judiciary Vocabulary Jurisdictionauthority of a court to hear (both try and decide) a case Literallythe power to say the law Federal jurisdiction depends on the subject and parties involvedall cases not within their jurisdiction fall to the states Types of jurisdiction: Exclusivecan only be heard in federal court, includes cases with foreign officials, trials of people charged with federal crimes, suits involving copyright breaches, cases stemming from an act of Congress Concurrentfederal and State courts share the power to hear these cases, includes disputes of citizens in different states, known as cases in diverse citizenship

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What is the Supreme Court? Only court specifically created by the Constitution Consists of nine justices Chief Justiceappointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, does not have to be the oldest or longest serving member First was John Jay Current John Roberts Other eight known as Associate Justices Has the power of judicial reviewdecide the constitutionality of an act of government All courts have this, but the Supreme Court has the final say Therefore, the Supreme Court has the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution

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Judicial Review First established with the decision in the case of Marbury v. Madison 1803, case of John Adams and the Federalists attempting to appoint numerous judges to counterbalance the Democratic Republicans power after Thomas Jefferson won the election and both houses came under his partys control Jefferson saw these appointments had not been delivered on his first day in office, ordered them not to be delivered by his Secretary of State, James Madison Marbury filed a suit saying that they had to reach the Congress, but the Supreme Court disagreedthey held that Marburys defense based on the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional This ruling established three things: Constitution is the supreme law of the land All legislative acts and actions of the government are subordinate to the supreme law and cannot conflict with it Judges are sworn to enforce the provisions of the Constitutionmust refuse to enforce an governmental action in conflict with it

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How Does a Case Reach the Supreme Court? Around 8,000 cases a year are appealed to the Supreme Court Court can only accept a few hundred for decision Select cases based on the rule of fourat least four of the nine justices have to agree that a case should be put on the Courts docket (list of cases to be heard) Altogether, actually hears fewer than 100 cases a year Most cases reach the Supreme Court by writ of certioraiorder from the Court to a lower court directing them to send the case for its review Lower court can also request a writ of certiorai, but only granted with important questions of constitutionality or a serious problem in the interpretation of a statute If denied, the decision of the lower court stands Can reach by certificate if lower court is unsure about a procedure or rule of lawCourt then certifies an answer to a specific question Most cases come from the high State courts and federal appellate courts, but not all

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Operation of the Supreme Court Court sits in session from first Monday in October to sometime the following June or July Terms identified by the year they beganthis term is the 2014 term, but will end in 2015 Cases heard in two-week cycles Solicitor General decides which cases the government should ask the Supreme Court to hear Decides the position of the United States on these issues Court conferences held on Fridays and Wednesdays specifically to discuss the rulings of trials One third of all decisions are unanimous

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Opinion When the Chief Justice is in the majority, they write the Courts opinion; when they are in the minority, the senior member of the remaining Associate judges on the majority sides writes the opinion of the Court Courts opinion called the majority opinion These then stand as precedents (examples) for future cases Concurring opinion written to add points or emphasize the importance of a majority decision only Dissenting opinions written by Justices who do not agree with the ruling of the Court On rare occasions, the Court can reverse itself

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Landmark Decisions McCulloch v. Maryland 1816, Second Bank of the U.S established by Congress 1818, Maryland attempts to tax all banks in the state, including the federal bank a clerk named James W. McCulloch would not pay Two big questions raised Court decided: Federal government (legislative branch) has implied powers under the Constitution The government is allowed to create and regulate a bank free of state interference United States v. Nixon 1972, the Watergate scandal takes place 1974, a prosecutor requests access to tapes of Oval Office audio, but President Nixon says no under the concept of executive privilege Court decided: President is not immune to judicial review in all instances (can have some with certain military/foreign relations) Both decisions had ramifications for the powers of the other two branches and show the power of the Court in interpreting the Constitution