Final Exam #2

Question 1

What are the qualifications of the President?

Answer 1

They must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen on the United States, and have resided in the United States for at least 14 years.

Question 2

What are the terms of the President?

Answer 2

The President servers 4 years each elected term, it was unlimited up until 1945, and and is now limited to two terms.

Question 3

What types of power does the President have?

Answer 3

They have powers expressed in the constitution, those delegated from congress, and those in role of chief executive.

They are the Commander in Chief, can grant pardons for offenses against the U.S., can make treaties, appoint ambassadors, appoint Supreme Court Justices, and reports to Congress the state of the union and his Cabinets opinions.

Question 4

What are the roles of the President?

Answer 4

Commander in Chief, Top Foreign Diplomat (he is the figurehead representative of our country in foreign affairs), the first legislator, chief bureaucrat, economic in chief, the head of state, and the party leader.

Question 5

What are the Vice President’s roles?

Answer 5

Historically, the vice president was the wait in the wings to replace the President incase they were to die. They also break tie votes in the Senate. But the President can decide how much responsibility they want to give their Vice President.

Question 6

What are the Vice Presidents powers?

Answer 6

Their main power is to be the tie-breaker vote in Senate.

Question 7

What is the Cabinet and was is its roles?

Answer 7

The Cabinet is a group of 15 people who run the executive branch departments, and then have Cabinet meetings to discuss policy with the President, Vice President, and other top officials.

Question 8

What is the Federal Reserve and why was it made?

Answer 8

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. It was created in 1913 in efforts to stabilize the banking industry.

Question 9

What is veto power and how is it overriden?

Answer 9

The President can veto a bill passed by the Senate. TH Senate can override a veto with a 2-3rd majority vote in favor of the bill.

Question 10

What are signing statements?

Answer 10

Written presidential declarations commenting on the bill that is being signed into law—often including criticism of one or more provisions.

Question 11

What is the spoils system?

Answer 11

When political jobs are given out to friends or as a favor/pay-off.

Question 12

What is the primary source of power for a Bureaucrat?

Answer 12

Its ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate for Congress

Question 13

What are civil servants?

Answer 13

Members of the permanent bureaucracy who are employed on the basis of competitive exams and keep their positions regardless of the presidential administration.

Question 14

What is the Pendleton Procedures?

Answer 14

The federal government is required to hire competent people who have to pass exams to get hired.

Question 15

What is the Independent Regulatory Commission?

Answer 15

They are commission independent from the government and politics. They operate many different jobs in many different industries, there is a theory called the “Regulatory Capture” that claims the commissions are dominated by the industries they oversee.

Question 16

What is information asymmetry?

Answer 16

That is when one side of the congress and bureaucrats relationships knows significantly more than the other about an industry. Its usually the bureaucrats knowing more.

Question 17

What makes the government run (bureaucracy)?

Answer 17

The bureaucrats have a hierarchy system with a clear leader at the top who reports.

Question 18

What are turf wars?

Answer 18

When agencies jobs overlap. CIA and FBI.

Question 19

What is a whistleblower?

Answer 19

A federal worker who reports corruption or fraud in the industry they work in.

Question 20

What are the two steps of the bureaucratic process?

Answer 20

Rule making and implementation

Question 21

What’s the purpose of the Supreme Court?

Answer 21

The Supreme Court is the highest order of the law, their verdict is final. Court cases work their way through lower ranking court systems before reaching the supreme court.

Question 22

What is Judicial Federalism?

Answer 22

There are layers in both our federal and state courts. They go from the lower courts conduct trials, to the appellate courts hear appeals, to the supreme court

Question 23

What is the purpose of Judicial Review?

Answer 23

It is to keep checks and balances in tact. The Supreme Court decides if any actions the Congress is taking violates the Constitution.

Question 24

What was Madison v. Masbury?

Answer 24

This was the case that started Judicial Review. As John Adams lost the election he made a ton of appointments before he left office. As Thomas Jefferson took office he wanted to destroy the appointment letters, including the one for Masbury. Masbury fought, and then the Supreme Court made Judicial Review as an answer.

Question 25

What is Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism?

Answer 25

Judicial Activism refers to the idea that the Supreme Court has an active approach to reviewing other branches of the government. Restraint is when the Supreme Court uses intervention of the other branches as a last resort.

Question 26

What is precedent?

Answer 26

When decisions are made precedence is used on other court cases in the future that are similar.

Question 27

What is writ of certiorari?

Answer 27

Something the Supreme Court issues when they want to see the official record of a case from the lower ranked courts.

Question 28

What must a case have to be heard by the Supreme Court?

Answer 28

• There must be a real dispute, no hypotheticals.
• They must have standing, or prove harm (imminent harm).
• Finally, if the Court’s proceedings will no longer affect the issue at hand, it is considered moot—irrelevant—and the case is thrown out.

Question 29

What are the roles of the District and Circuit Federal Courts?

Answer 29

The District Court is the first level of federal courts, they hear the evidence and make the first ruling. The Circuit Courts is the second level of federal courts, they review the ruling made by the District Court and ensure they made the correct ruling.

Question 30

What is stare decisis?

Answer 30

When a ruling of a case is made on the basis of previous rulings or cases.