Congress And The Judiciary

Question 0

Unicameral

Answer 0

Practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber.

Question 1

Franking Privilege

Answer 1

The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage.

Question 2

Bicameral

Answer 2

A lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts.

Question 3

Speaker of the House

Answer 3

The speaker is usually selected by the members of the majority party and functions as a leader of that party.

Question 4

Party Caucus

Answer 4

A meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement

Question 5

Rules Committee

Answer 5

?one of the most important committees in the house. They determine what limits and procedures are attached to every bill as it makes it way thru the chamber and to the floor for debate

Question 6

Fillibuster

Answer 6

An attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action on the bill.

Question 7

Cloture

Answer 7

A rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate. Designed to prevent “talking a bill to death” by filibuster.

Question 8

Gerrymandering

Answer 8

Drawing the boundaries of political districts in bizarre or unusual shapes to make it easy for candidates of the party in power to win elections in those districts.

Question 9

President Pro Tempore

Answer 9

is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate, despite not being a senator, and that the Senate must choose a president pro tempore

Question 10

Majority and Minority Leaders

Answer 10

Legislative leader elected by party members holding the majority of seats in the House of Reps or Senate.

Legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House of Reps or Senate

Question 11

Party Whip

Answer 11

A senator who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking, rounds up members when important votes are to be taken, and attempts to keep a nose count on how the voting on a controversial issue is likely to go.

Question 12

Steering Committee

Answer 12

A committee set up to prepare and arrange topics to be discussed, the order of business, etc., for a legislative assembly or other body

Question 13

Standing Committee

Answer 13

Permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area.

Question 14

Select Committee

Answer 14

Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose.

Question 15

Joint Committees

Answer 15

Committees on which both representatives and senators serve.

Question 16

Conference Committees

Answer 16

A joint committee of a bicameral legislature, which is appointed by, and consists of, members of both chambers to resolve disagreements on a particular bill.

Question 17

Simple Resolution

Answer 17

An expression of opinion either in the House of Representatives or the Senate to settle housekeeping or procedural matters in either body.

Question 18

Concurrent Resolution

Answer 18

An expression of congressional opinion without the force of law that requires the approval of both the House and Senate but not of the president.

Question 19

Quorum

Answer 19

The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress.

Question 20

Voice Vote

Answer 20

A Congressional voting procedure in which embers shout “yea” in approval or “nay” in disapproval: allows members to vote quickly or anonymously on bills.

Question 21

Standing Vote

Answer 21

Where the members of the house literally divide into groups indicating a vote in favor of or in opposition to a motion on the floor.

Question 22

Roll-call vote

Answer 22

A congressional voting procedure that consists of members answering “yea” or “nay” to their name.

Question 23

Pork Barrel Politics

Answer 23

Legislation that gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.

Question 24

Judicial Review

Answer 24

The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional and hence null and void.

Question 25

Strict Constructionist

Answer 25

The view that judges should decide cases on the basis of the language of the Constitution.

Question 26

Judicial Activist

Answer 26

judicial rulings suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law.

Question 27

John Marshall

Answer 27

Was the fourth Chief Justice of the United States (1801–1835) whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches.

Question 28

Roger B Taney

Answer 28

Was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 to 1864. Delivered the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, that ruled, among other things, that African Americans, having been considered inferior at the time the Constitution was drafted, were not part of the original community of citizens and could not be considered citizens of the United States.

Question 29

District Courts

Answer 29

The lowest federal courts where federal cases begin. They are the only federal courts where trials are held.

Question 30

Courts of Appeals

Answer 30

The federal courts with authority to review decisions by federal district courts, regulatory commissions, and certain other federal courts.

Question 31

Legislative Courts

Answer 31

A court that is created by Congress for some specialized purpose and staffed with judges who do not enjoy the protection of Article III of the Constitution.

Question 32

Litmus Test

Answer 32

In chemistry a way of finding out whether a liquid is acid or alkaline. The term is used in politics to mean a test of ideological purity, a way of funding out whether a person is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal or conservative or what his or her views are on a controversial question.

Question 33

Federal Question Cases

Answer 33

Cases concerning the Constitution, federal law, or treaties over which the federal courts have jurisdiction as described in the constitution.

Question 34

Civil Law

Answer 34

The body of rules defining relationships among private citizens.

Question 35

Criminal Law

Answer 35

The body of rules defining offenses that, though they harm an individual (such as murder, rape, and robbery), are considered to offenses against society as a whole and as a consequence warrant punishment by and in the name of society.

Question 36

Writ of Certiorari

Answer 36

A Latin term meaning “made more certain,” an order issued by a higher court to a lower court to send up the record of a case for review.

Question 37

Plaintiff

Answer 37

The party that institutes a lawsuit to obtain a remedy for an injury to his or her rights.

Question 38

Defendant

Answer 38

Anyone tried as the accused.

Question 39

Briefs

Answer 39

A legal document prepared by an attorney representing a party before a court. The document sets forth the facts of the case, summarizes the law, gives the arguments for its die, and discusses other relevant cases.

Question 40

Per Curiam Opinion

Answer 40

A brief, unsigned opinion issued by the Supreme Court to explain its ruling

Question 41

Opinion of the Court

Answer 41

A Supreme Court opinion written by one or more justices in the majority to explain the decision in a case.

Question 42

Concurring Opinion

Answer 42

A Supreme Court opinion by one or more justices who agree with the majority’s conclusion but for different reasons.

Question 43

Dissenting Opinion

Answer 43

A Supreme Court opinion by one or more justices in the minority to explain the minority’s disagreement with the Court’s ruling.

Question 44

Stare Decisis

Answer 44

A Latin term meaning “let the decision stand.” The practice of basing judicial decisions on precedents established in similar cases decided in the past.

Question 45

Appellate Jurisdiction

Answer 45

The power of the United States Supreme Court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts.

Question 46

Concurrent Jurisdiction

Answer 46

Where two or more courts from different systems simultaneously have jurisdiction over a specific case.

Question 47

Original Jurisdiction

Answer 47

The power to hear a case for the first time