Legislative
Where does most of the work on legislation get done?
Committees
How is the President elected?
Electoral College
What type of court system do we have in the U.S.?
Dual Court System
What court was established through Article III in the Constitution?
The Supreme Court
What are executive agreements?
Through Custom and International Law(not in the constitution), two chiefs od states can come to an agreement, in which it is only valid during the period of time that they are in office. An executive agreement does not require Senate to consent, due to it being done through the Use of Force, a power of the Commander-in-Chief.
What is the incumbent advantage? What accounts for this percentage?
The seats are assignment by Congressional districts. These elections favor the incumbent. Reelections of incumbents is about 90-93%.
Incumbent Advantage
- Name Recognition
- Press
- Franking: a privilege of a House of Representative to send correspondence to their
Constituents( the individuals that they serve within their district)
What are the formal and informal qualifications required to serve as President?
Formal Qualifications
- Natural Born Citizen
- At least 35 years old
- 14 years U.S. residency prior to taking office
Informal Qualifications
- Party Identification
- Name Familiarity
- Gender
- Political Experience
- Religion
What authority does the president oversee the preparation of the U.S. budget?
Congressional Law
What characteristics most affect the appointment of federal judges?
Most of the federal judicial nominees are of the same political party as theh appointing president. Half of all federal judges were politically active before appointment. NOminations are made by presidential confirmation by a mojoroty on the Senate
If the electoral college fails to produce a clear choice for President, who chooses the President?
House of Representatives
What are the characteristics of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives & U.S. Senate? How many members in the House and how many members in the Senate?
House of Representatives: 435 members Senate: 100 members
Minorities and women are underrepresented in compared to their white male counter parts.
What is the role of the Vice President role in executive and legislative branch?
The Vice President will take presidency in case of impeachment, death, disability, or resignation of the President. The Vice President in the senate will vote in case of a tie vote, as the role of President of the Senate.
What are the three presidents who have been impeached?
Andrew Johnson(1868)
Bill Clinton(1998)
Donal Trump(2021)
What is Judicial Review and what case establish it?
The U.S. Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison(1803) established the principle of Judicial Review- the power of the federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional.
What type of jurisdiction does each type of federal court have?
Supreme Court of the U.S - Original and Appellate
U.S Courts of Appeals U.S District Courts - Appellate
U.S District Courts - Original
What are the fromal(constitutionl) & informal qualifications required to serve as a member of the House? Senate?
The members of the House must be at least 25 yrs old, citizen for 7 years, and must be resident of the state from which they were elected.
Senators ust be atleast 30 yrs old, must be a citizen for at least 9 years, and must be a resident of the state from which they are elected.
Informal qualifiactions can incluse party identification, name familiarity, gender, and political experience.
Identify each role the President plays. What does the President do in each of these roles?
Chief Legislature: Convince special session of Congress, Veto legislation passed by Congress, Initiate policy
Chief Administrator: Supervise executive branch of government, prepare executive budget, appoint judges, appoint and removes executive officials
Chief of State: represent the nation as chief of state
Chief Diplomat: Make treaties, appoint ambassadors, make executive agreements
Commander in Chief:Use of force, command U.S. armed forces, commission officers
When did the last two expansions in government occur?
Significant Expansions of Government
- After the Great Depression, under FDR administration
- After 9/11, through Homeland Security
What is a Writ of Certiorari and what determines whether the Supreme Court will issue one?
Write of Certiorair: a request that the Supreme Court order a lower court to send up the records of the case to review
Which can be done through the rule of four- four of the nine Supreme Court Justices have to agree to hear the appeal.
Presidential line of succession
1. President
2. Vice President
3. Speaker of the House
4. President Pro Tem
Identify Congressional Committees.
Standing Committee: a perminant panel of members from one congressinal session to another
Sub-Committee: a division of the standing committees that do research on the bill
Rules Committee: in charge of establishing the rule under which the bill will be argued on
Conference Committee:made up of members of the HOuse and the Senate, responsible for compromising a bill that will please the House and the Senate
What is the primary responsibility of the executive branch?
The executive branch is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land.
What is the difference between judicial restraint and judicial activism?
Restraint Activism
- View Judiciary as least democratic branch - Unjust or unwise laws are not necessarily unconstitutional
- Rely on original Intent
Activism
- View Constitution as a living document
- She constitutional meaning to fit the needs of contemporary society
- Vigorously review the action of other branches of government
What is an amicus curiae brief?
Amicus Curiae Brief: a document submitted by parties interested in a certain case or issue in a attempt to provide the Court with information that may be used to decide on the case.
**also known as “friends of the court brief**
What is the primary responsibility of Congress? What are the unique jobs of the House and of the Senate?
The primary job of Congress is to make laws. Unique Powers of the House of Representatives:
- Originate tax bills
- Bring Impeachment Charges
Unique Powers of the Senate
- Advise and consent to ratify treaties by 2/3 vote
- Confirm appointments
- Try Impeachment charges