Final Exam Flashcards
Why is the president the head of the military?
The president is the commander in chief
Trump choosing Branstad as an abassador is an example of?
His responsibility as Chief Foreign Policy Officer
What are some executive powers?
Chief administrator, Commander in Chief, and Chief Foreign Policy Officer
What is a negotiated deal with another country without Senate approval called?
executive agreements
What is a veto?
President can refuse to sign a bill
Can Congress override a veto?
Yes, with a 2/3 vote
What is the event called where the president informs congress the state of the union?
State of the Union Address
What is an executive order?
President issues a clarification of congressional law
ex: Obama made an executive order for DACA
What are legislative powers?
veto power, state of the union address, and executive order
What is senatorial courtesy
asking the senior senator from their own party for a yes or no for a nominee from their state
Who appoints and confirms the judges and justices?
Presidents appoints and senate confirms
What is the pardoning power?
the president can pardon people for FEDERAL crimes
What are judicial powers?
Appoint judges & justices, friend of the court/solicitor general, pardoning power
What is the friend of the court brief?
The government’s lawyer that argues before the SC on behalf of the government
When was the transition from traditional to modern presidents?
Great Depression & FDR
Who is the head of state and the head of government?
President
What is the double expectations gap?
expecting our president to act as the head of state and head of government
Who picks the cabinet?
the president
What is like the cabinet but a little smaller?
The executive office of the president
Who are white house staffers
President’s advisors (chosen by the president and not confirmed by congress)
What is the role of the Chief of Staff?
controls the president’s schedule
What is the role of the Press Secretary?
Gives press conference on behalf of the president
What is the constitutional job of the vice president
1) Leader of the Senate
2) Wait for the president to die
How does the president become influential?
Power to persuade (Trying to get someone to do something without the knowledge that you thought of it)
When is the honeymoon period?
The very beginning of the term there is high approval rating
What is the midterm loss?
the typical lowest approval rating comes after the midterm
What can affect presidential approval rating?
Midterm election, Honeymoon period, Economy, war/terrorism
What is the “least dangerous” branch?
Supreme Court
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Supreme Court shall not decide judical appointments
- established judicial review
What are the bottom courts called?
District Courts
How many district courts are there? How many does Iowa have?
94 in total
Iowa has 2
What court can be called for jury in federal cases?
District Courts
What are the middle courts called?
Circuit Courts
How many circuit courts are there?
12
What is the purpose of Circuit Courts?
Asking to revisit a case because they have appellate jurisdiction
Do circuit courts retry trials?
No
What is a Strict Constructionist?
Belief that what’s constitutional is just what is plainly written in the constitution
What is a Judicial Interpretivist?
Thinks of the constitution as a living document
Who is the plaintiff?
the accuser
Who is the defendant?
the accused
What is the appeals court?
Someone asked the courtt to reconsider a case
(have to demonstrate that a point of law was not applied correctly)
What does a grand jury do?
decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial
What is a trial jury?
jury for the trial
(at district courts only)
What is substantive law?
what you can and cannot do
ex: don’t murder people
What is procedural law?
how other laws are applied
ex: miranda warning
What is criminal law?
Crimes that happen against the state
(need to prove “without a reasonable doubt”)
ex: murder someone you’re going against state rules
What is civil law?
interactions between people
(punishment is money)
ex: breaking a contract
What is constitutional law?
interpretation of the constitution
ex: violating freedom of speech is against constitutional law
What is statutory law?
Comes from state or fed legislature
ex: if you’re in iowa and trans, and want to play sports kim reynolds says no
What is administrative law?
Comes from
What court has appellate jurisdiction?
Circuit
What is a Writ of Certiorari?
writing to a judge “please rethink this case and this is why”
Who reads judge’s petitions?
Clerks who have the same ideology as the judge
Is a writ of cert sc exclusive?
no but its most commonly used by the sc
What is the rule of four?
If four justices wanna hear a case, they will hear it
*gives minority a chance
What makes a case more likely to be heard?
1) whether the solicitor general is involved
2) Amicus Curiae
3) Case timing
What is an Amicus Curiae (amicus brief)?
Submitted by organizations that are not parties to the case in support of one of the positions
What is case timing?
SC being selective of when they will hear cases
Who can argue before the SC?
Solicitor General (have to pass a harder BAR)
What is an “Official decision”
majority opinion
What is a concurrent opinion?
An opinion that agrees with the majority with different or additional reasoning
What is a dissenting opinion?
disagrees with the majority and tells you why
(tells there is a strong dissent)
What is “setting precedent”?
keeping laws how they were based on previous laws
What’s common law?
Laws that don’t want to change, justices stick to the past unless they ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO CHANGE
What does “Stare Decisis” mean
Let the decision stand
What is an activist judge?
Sets a new precedent
(most justices don’t want to)
What is judicial restraint?
Doesn’t want to make a new precedent
What is an open primary?
Vote for either parties candidates?
What is a closed primary?
Have to be registered in that party to vote in that primary
What is a blanket primary?
All of the candidates from all parties are on one ballot
*(rare and parties hate it)
What are negative effects of primaries?
1) makes election cycles very long
2) very expensive
3) does not lead to an effective decision
What is frontloading
States try to schedule their primaries early in the process
What is a party voter
A person who always votes that party (you bish)
What are swing voters?
Voters that haven’t made up their mind
What’s a valence issue?
An issue everyone can agree on
ex: LETS END CANCER
What are position issues?
Issues where you differ positions from your candidates and have a clear defined position
What are wedge issues?
Divided members of the same political party
ex: covid & gaza
What does issue ownership mean?
One party is seen as more competent on an issue than the other
ex: democrats = pro choice, republicans = anti choice
What’s an example of a contrast ad?
“I think ___ and my opponent thinks ____”
What is an attack ad?
Clearly attacking the opponent
What is hard media?
news media/radio
what is soft media?
personality tv
What does FECA stand for?
Federal ELection Campaign Act (1974)
What is FECA?
1) Limited what people and business could donate, and tracked the money (what they raised and spent)
2) Created a presidential election fund
Who are the people that fun FECA?
Federal Election Commission
What is hard money
Money that is tracked and limited by the government
What is soft money?
not limited and not tracked
*candidates “dont” know about it
What does BCRA stand for?
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
What is the BCRA
tried to limit soft money (and failed in 2000)
- required candidates to say “I’m ___ and I approve of this message”
What is political efficacy?
Whether you think you have power or influence
What are the six major functions?
1) Section of Leaders
2) Policy Direction
3) Citizen Development
4) Informing the Public
5) Containing Conflict
6) Legitimation and System stability
How to calculate electoral votes?
house + senate
Why are there problems with the electoral college?
1) Popular vote and electoral vote don’t match (happened 5 times which is big)
2) States w lower electors have a better vote count
3) Winner take all system (except for in nebraska and maine)
Is being a faithless elector their right?
depends, some states have laws that say you will be charged if you are a faithless elector
