Unit 2A - Congress and Judiciary Flashcards
Bicameral
Legislature with two houses
- in our case, House of Representatives elected by citizens based on population of state - who at the time elected senators with equal representation (are now elected by us)
17th Amendment
Stated direct election of senators
Reapportionment
The splitting and distribution of seats in the House based on proportion of population among the states
Enumerated/Expressed Powers
Powers listed in the Constitution
- Delegated powers
Implied Powers
Powers that are not explicitly stated - such as based on Necessary and Proper Clause
Power of the Purse
Congress has the power with dealing with money - start any bill about taxes, etc
War Powers Act of 1973
Said that the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops and armed troops can’t stay more than 60 days
- limited scope of presidential power
Impeachment
House: has the power to impeach/accuse
Senate: has the power to try - overseen by Chief Head justice
Advice and Consent
Power of the Senate to advice the president and have checks such as confirmation of appointments and signing of treaties
Speaker of the House
Presides over the House
- run the show/operation
- think as referee
- sets the agenda and controls everything that goes on in the House
Majority Leader
Rally team of majority in a chamber and tell them what to do
Minority Leader
Rally team of minority in each chamber and tell them what to do/agenda for party
Majority Whip
Assistant/second in command
- keep control and order in a party
Minority Whip
Assistant/second in command
- keep control and order in a party
President Pro Tempure
Sits in a chair and lets the Senate run itself
- Just given to the senator who’s been there the longest
Standing Committees
Most important and dominate work
- permanent and always there
- Focused on a particular policy area
Special/Select Committees
Created out of an event or circumstance that they want to find more information on
- figure out what went wrong, who was responsible, etc
Joint Committees
Has members from both House and Senate - mostly routine management and research
- e.g Joint Committee on taxation
Ways and Means Committee
Exclusive to the House of Representatives
- determines tax policy
- first outline details when proposals are presented to raise or lower income tax
Conference Committee
Temporary: iron out details and differences on a bill between House and Senate
Making up a Bill
Bill gets # - Assigned committee - hearings - markup - floor action - so on
Appropriation
Congress spending money: budgeting
- Both Houses have committees for this
Oversight
finding out how things are going; gathering information to make educated decisions
- Congress overseeing the bureaucracy to make sure money is getting spent as it should
Caucuses
Method to get people to vote
- group of people who meet and discuss politics for a couple of hours then cast ballots
House Rules of Committees
Comes up with rules for the House and make sure they are being followed
- Nothing reaches the floor unless they say it can
- determines what gets voted on
Committee Chairperson
Head of a Committee appointed
Closed Rule - House
No changes can be made to a bill
Open Rule - House
Changes or amendments can be made to a bill
- needs to be Germane
Discharge Petition - House
Bring a bill out of committee that is holding a bill hostage to House floor
- simple majority to overrule
Filibusters and Holds - Senate
When a senator tries to hold or stall a debate or bill
- senator using debate time
- has to stay standing the entire time
Unanimous Consent - Senate
A vote set aside some rules to speed up a decision on a bill
- An agreement on the rules of debate for proposed legislation in the Senate that is approved by all the members
Cloture - Senate
Stops a filibuster with a 3/5 vote
- or forcing a bill to be voted on with a 3/5 vote
Germaneness - House
Requires relevancy when adding amendments to bills
- e.g. if you have a bill for school food, and you slap on a segment for boat capacity - not germane
Rider
An addition or amendment added to a bill that has no relation to the bill
Omnibus Bills
All encompassing bills
- if you have several separate but related bills, you can slap them all together to get an omnibus bill
Pork Barrel Spending
Scraping for the bottom of the barrel; if there is a limit/budget, you gotta take what you can get for a bill before its all gone: all scrambling to get scraps of money for each state
Earmarks
Directs approved funds to be spend on specific projects
Logrolling (Horse Trading)
Trading votes to get support for a bill
- if you vote for mine, I’ll vote for yours
Delegate Model
You represent the people and do what they want, even if it goes against your own views
- cast a vote amongst your citizens and vote accordingly
Trustee Model
Your voters elected you, they should trust you
- they should entrust you to make a decision based on your own view
Politico Model
Mix of Delegate and Trustee model depending on bill and circumstance
Overriding a Veto
Requires a 2/3 vote in both Houses
Mandatory Spending
Required government spending by laws
- e.g Social Security
Discretionary Spending
Spending left up to the government to decide every year - non mandatory
- e.g. defense budget
Gridlock
Opposing sides won’t let a bill/idea continue
Redistricting
Redrawing district lines within a state to portion population
Gerrymandering
When redistricting, controlling party of states draws in such a way that a party dominates or dilutes another to guarantee continuation of safe seats
Safe Seats
A party/incumbent guaranteed to win a district again
Incumbents (Advantage)
Government officials who currently hold office and have no recognition but are still guaranteed re-election
Constituent Services
Offering community services for general public
Caseworks
Type of Constituent service;
- special case for an individual
- ex. someone in another country without a passport
Federal District Courts
94 overall - at least 1 in each state
- about 700 judges
- appointed by president
- Original jurisdiction
Appellate Courts
Reviews decisions from lower courts
- 12 nationwide
- judges most likely to get picked for Supreme Court
Original Jurisdiction
District courts: First stop, where trails happen
Who hears a trial, rest of courts will review trial
- the authority of a court to hear a case firstly
Appellate Jurisdiction
A court has the ability to overhear decisions of a lower court
Class Action Suit
A small # of people sue on behalf of all people facing similar circumstances
Stare Decesis
Let the decision stand
- governs common law for constitution to be determined
Courts should follow decisions made in previous cases in order to stay consistent
Judicial Review
The power of the court to check executive orders or laws and review if they are Constitutional or not
Dred Scott v Sandford (1857)
A slave was take to a state without slavery
- would he be a citizen?
- SCOTUS said no
- courts said slaves were people or citizens no matter where they are
Strict Construction
More literal interpretation of the Constitution, word for word with less slack
Loose Construction
Leaves room for more interpretation of Constitution
Judicial Restraint
Leaves legislation to other branches and for uses on the constitutionality of legislation
- they should stay out of politics
- judges should limit the exercise their power and leave policy such as abortion to state legislature
Judicial Activism
Makes bolder choices
- legislation from the bench
- allow public views: such as thoughts on abortion and gay marriage
Writ of Certiorari
When a court decides to hear a case and review lower court decisions
- “to make certain”
They decide to review your case
Majority Opinion of the Court
What the court rules
- 5/9 judges at least
opinion gets written and thats that, final
Dissenting Opinions
Opinion of a judge, written, who is against majority explaining reasoning
Concurring Opinions
agrees with majority opinion but differs in reasoning
Litmus Test
used to determine political outlook of a presidential nominee
Senatorial Courtesy
When other senators won’t vote for an appointee who is opposed by senators from the same state as the appointee
Amicus Curiae Briefs
“Friend of the court” - someone appears in front of court on behalf of others and presents the case even if they are not directly involved
Solicitor General
Presidential appointee
- in charge of appellate court litigation of federal government; represents us in lawsuits against them
