Test 2!! Flashcards
Ways Congress has changed
- society has become a lot more complicated
- -members of congress have to do their homework
- -people who do their homework are more respected
- -members of congress have developed more of a particular approach, meaning instead of thinking about what is best for the whole country, they think about what is best for their district
Ways to get re-elected according to David Mayhew
- they advertise
- credit claiming- the member of congress claims to have secured benefits for their district
- things put into bills to provide projects (pork barrel)
- constituent service or casework- when the constituent has a problem and believes the bureaucracy can help but isn’t getting it so they call for help. Each member of congress has a budget to try to persuade the agency to give them what they want
- position taking
- the result is called entrenched incumbency
- we can expect 98% of them to be reelected
What does the 2nd Article of the Constitution describe?
Executive Branch of Government
How many people head the executive branch?
one, VP is supposed to be separate and can’t directly challenge the President, Constitution says nothing about a cabinet, but the President has one
What kind of power will the leader of the executive branch have?
- Laws have to be faithfully executed
- Appointees making policies (president appoints and is approved by the senate)
- Constitution is silent on whether president can approve appointees
- Tenure of office acts- if president appoints someone and so does senate then that person has a term of office like the president
- Andrew Johnson was impeached for violation of tenure act
- 1926- supreme court myers v US SC found that president had full authority to free Myers
- Humphrey executer v US – cant fire members of ind. Regulatory members
- Commander Chief, grant pardons, etc.)
How long will the leader of the executive branch serve?
- 4 years, unlimited number of terms
- Washington started custom
- FDR violated custom (12 ½ years)
- 22nd Amendment created 2 four year term rule
How will the president get elected?
• Electoral college- all states have electors. Number per state is the same as the number of Congressmen (number of reps in HoR + 2 senators) from Connecticut Compromise. Ga gets 16 electoral votes
o Elect 16 democrats and 16 Republicans
o Party that wins by popular vote gets all 16 votes for president (winner take all)
o All states do this EXCEPT Maine and Nebraska. They have a separate election in each district
• Washington DC has 3 electors making 538 total; Candidates need 270 to win election
Who can be an elector on the electoral college?
o Nobody employed by the national government
o People loyal to the party for a long time
o Sometimes former national govt officials (ex Bill Clinton is now a member of NY’s electoral college, but was not when he was president)
Who counts electoral votes?
VP
What happens if a President or VP doesn’t get 270 votes?
HoR votes for president and Senate decides VP
Qualifications to become president
o Born in US (not neutralized)
o 35 years old
o lived in US for 14 years
Article 2
o Section1- Presidential Succession. (If President dies)
VP, Speaker of House, President Protemp of Senate, Sec of State, Cabinet positons based on when positions were created
Congress can’t change President’s pay while he is in office
o Section 2-
o President is commander of military
o Power to give pardons
o Make treaties ( w approval from Senate)
o Appoint ambassadors
o Fill vacancy in positions (judges/cabinets) if senate isn’t in session; president only does this to spite senate
Article 2 Section 3
o Give congress info on state of the Union occasionally o Convene and Adjourn congress o Receive Ambassadors o Makes sure laws are executed o Commission officers
Article 2 Section 4
President and VP can be impeached if they break laws
Extra-Constitutional Powers of the Constitution
o Power of Interpretation- when someone has power to execute law, sometimes they have to interpret it for specific cases
Ex: sends subordinates executive orders that tells them how to execute laws
• “He who is to execute the laws must first judge for themselves their meaning” -Alexander Hamilton
o Power of Persuasion- President can persuade people rooted in his political support and symbolic prestige
o Ex: political socialization
o A president is most effective during “honeymoon period” 6-8 months after inauguration, gets most things thru congress during this period
President’s Limitations
Limitations: President is less effective after the honeymoon period
• Departments try to please the congressional committees on a day to day basis to get money and to get their policies passed
• ½ or more of president’s orders are ignored because department heads are busy trying to please Congress
4 Components of Executive Branch
Traditional Departments and Bureaus
Executive Office of the President
Regulatory Agencies
Govt Corperations
Traditional Departments and
Bureaus of the Executive Branch
President’s cabinet, 15 departments, each with committees and people under them, power is pyramid shaped and unity of command. Department heads appointed by president, (Spoils system by Jackson, replaced by Civil Service Act of 1883
Civil Service Act of 1883
Policy making job still under spoils system, but Civil Service people (FBI, IRS ect.) are hired based on merit. Have a 3 year probationary period. After that its very hard to be fired
Budget and Accounting Act of 1921
Congress reluctantly gave the president the power to make the budget. Created the Bureau of the Budget, that created the first draft of the budget.
Brownlow Committee
Conducts a comprehensive study of the executive branch to make it more efficient
What is the purpose of the Executive Office of the President?
Helps president with general management, always most loyal
Why does the president get resistance from the bureaus?
Especially at lower levels, the people “go native” and become more loyal to the public than the president
Government Regulatory Agencies
Government regulating decisions made by private companies Ex: FDA influences what goes into food and drugs, set up agencies to regulate beyond Congress’s understanding
First Regulatory Agency
Interstate Commerce Commission - originally founded to regulate railroad prices and workers safety
What type of power do regulatory agencies have?
Power to make policies that are enforced like laws
Quazi- legislative and quazi- judicial. (Has executive, legislative and judicial power)
Government Corperations
institutions that offer a product or service that you pay only if you want it
ex: US postal service, AMTRAK (train tickets), Tennessee Valley Authority (electricity)
Judicial Power
Power to apply laws to specific cases
Why is the Judicial branch the weakest?
- no elected constituents
- smallest of 3 branches
- can’t initiate policies
Article 3 Section 1
Judicial power be vested in 1 supreme court and in inferior courts, Judges serve life with good behavior, and Congress can’t reduce judges’ pay while in office
Article 3 Section 2
:Describes types of cases, settle disputes between citizens and/or states, supreme court has original jurisdiction for cases involving Ambassadors, state officials and diplomats. Trials of all crimes except impeachment have juries. Appellate jurisdiction, receives case after appealed from a lower court
Article 3 Section 3
Treason is levying war against U.S. or heling enemies, No one is convicted of treason without 2 whiteness’s or a confession. Congress decides the punishment for treason but they can not punish their blood relatives
What makes a case a federal case?
the state must be accused of breaking a law
What are judges in the Federal and State Supreme Court called?
Justices
What happens when someone appeals the decision of a court?
Appellate court can decide if they want to hear it. If they chose to hear it, they issue a Writ of Certiorari, telling the lower court to send the records
3 Things in a Court’s Essay Report
-1st thing they see is in cert is opinion declared.
-2nd Concurring opinion written by another justice. He agrees with the original opinion but thinks it should be found another way. (can be multiple of these)
3rd Descending Opinion- Justice that disagrees with decision (aka agrees with loser) and gives reasons
Purpose of a Court Essay Report
To explains why the Court’s thought process to everyone
Judicial Review
Makes US supreme court most powerful court in the world
Defined as the power of a court to declare a law unconstitutional and make that law unenforceable or void
One of the Checks and Balances that violates separation of power
What court case established Judicial Review?
Marbury v Madison (1803)
Why didn’t Justice Marshall hear the Marbury v Madison case?
He said the Judiciary Act of 1789 violated the Constitution, and the constitution was the supreme law of the land, so the Judiciary Act of 1789 was voided and the case was sent to another court
Judicial Activism
when Supreme Court undoes the actions of other branches or levels of government, takes risk of being denied
Ex: Dred Scott v Sandford- declared slaves are property of owner, even if they’re out of a slave state by sandford had property taken away from him without due process of law, making Missouri-Compromise Law Null and Void
Court Packing
When Roosevelt tried to add 3 justices to the Supreme court so his New Deal policies would be passed. Luckily, Justice Robert changed his mind, called the “switch in time that saved 9”
What does the court risk when being activist?
Retaliation from other branches
How were Miranda Rights invented
Time called “Warren Court”, justice Warren after Brown v Board of Education began passing down opinions that gave rights to suspects
strict Constructionists
People that follow the Constitution to the T
Judicial Restraint
what the court does most of the time, keeps their relationship good with other branches, become activists when they’re agreeing with public opinion.
Common Law
Judges decide authoritatively what the law means (only in Louisiana)
Stare Decisis
let the decision stand. When a court makes a decision, it’s a precedent that will be applied to other similar cases
4 Criteria for a case to be in court
1 Does plaintiff have Standing (legit interest)
2 Inquire about the rightness of something- has something already happened or are they just worried
3 Inquire if the case is justiciable – plaintiff has to say what they want to be made “whole” again
4 Is it a legal question or just a political one
