Unit 3 (pt 2) Flashcards
Bureaucracy
All processes organizations and individuals associated with carrying out laws and other rules adopted or issued by legislatures, executives, and the courts. The permanent government
Max Weber
Father of bureaucratic theory
natural consequence of increasingly complex society
Characteristics of Bureaucracy
Hierarchy
Formal authority
Division of labor according to specialization
Employment by merit
Merit judged by education and experience
Compensation based upon performance of official functions
Complex system of record keeping
Standard operating procedures
Bureaucratic Structures
Cabinet Departments
Government Corporations
Independent Agencies
Independent regulatory commissions or Boards
Bureaus
Government Corporations
Hybrid
3 Dozen
Common characteristics
-Flexibility with budgets
-We still control their activities
-Tasks a private sector doesn’t do, or doesn’t do well enough
PBS
Independent Agencies
Defined by what they are not
A few dozen
Vary in size and mission
Unprovided public goods at work
NASA
Independent reg. Commissions/boards
Regulation of big areas of economic activity
A few dozen of these
- independent agencies, independent regulatory commissions/board
Policy makers
Examples…
Board of governors of the federal reserve
Bureaus
Smaller units inside bigger ones
aka: offices, services, administrations
Know what the different types of administrations and groups are between four options…
Labor, health and human services, energy, commerce
Roles/Functions of Bureaucracy
- Administration
- Service provision
- Regulation
- Licensing
- Information gathering
- Policy making
Administration
Execute and enforce laws
Service Provision
Deliver services
Regulation
Make rules to protect the public
Licensing
Set standards (closely related to regulation)
Information gathering
Straightforward
Reasons:
1. To determine if a law has been violated
2. To make policy decisions that are rational/based upon factual evidence and/or to follow up to assess how policies are working.
Policy Making
When is policy execution actually policy making?
Woodrow Wilson
What are the four kinds of policy making?
- Discretionary implementation
- Agency Adjudication
- Rule-making
- Advisory Roles
Discretionary Implementation
Deciding how and when policies will be applied
Agency Adjudication
To hear and decide, who?: administrative law judges
Rule-making
Filling in the gaps left by elected policy makers
Advisory Roles
People that advise against? I’m not sure tbh
Law
A collection of rules laid down by the government, binding all members of the state, including government itself.
Legal System
An organized set of legal principles composed of 2 parts, 1) a recognized body of law 2) an enforcement apparatus
Recognized body of Law (think pyramid)
- Us Constitution on top
- National statutes
- State constitutions
- State statutes
Enforcement Apparatus (types of courts)
- Supreme Court
- Appellate Courts
- Trial Courts
Functions of Courts and Legal Systems
To resolve legal conflicts, or cases: disputes over the meaning, application, or violation of laws.
Also to adjudicate: resolving conflict between laws
Types of Law
Criminal
Civil
Constitutional
Administrative
International
Criminal
Acts which disturb the social order, threaten the public welfare
Civil
Disputes between individuals or groups, usually over matters of rights, responsibility, or obligation
Constitutional (public law)
The application principles to statutory and administrative actions.
Judicial Review
Administrative (public law)
Oversees the regulatory actions of government agencies
International
Consists of treaties, convention accords, and long-established customs, recognized by most nation-states
Types of Courts
51 courts
Supreme Court
Appellate Courts
Trial Courts
99% of court cases are state cases
Trial
Original jurisdiction
Hear arguments and evidence, collect the facts, across 50 states
Appellate
50,000
Appellate jurisdiction
judges hear and rule in threes, en banc
Supreme
7,000 requests a year make it to the supreme court, but they hear around 100-150 cases (1%), original or appellate.
Rule of Fours
If four justices agree to see it, then they shall
Writ of Certiorari
Getting certified to make it to the document
Criteria for Accepting Cases for Review
- Has to have standing
- Non mootness
- Real cases and controversies
- No political questions
Has to have standing
Has to have something to back it up; the relationship to the case. For example, if you’re going to court for an injury, you must have the injury or else you don’t have standing to be bringing it to court.
Non-mootness
Example: can states restrict access to medical abortion? (underlying controversy has not been resolved)
Real cases and controversies
Example: Can congress give the president a line item veto
No political questions
Can the courts force the state legislatures to redraw the districts (fairly) after every census.
Court Opinion
The written explanation of the court’s decision and reasoning in a particular case. What and why of the decision.
What are the three types of opinions
- Majority Opinions
- Concurring Opinions
- Dissenting opinions
Majority Opinion
Decision of the court including its reasoning
Becomes law and is referred to by judges/lawyers all over the country
If they all sign it, what’s it called: A UNANIMOUS OPINION/DECISION
Concurring Opinion
An essay/written explanation agreeing with the majority opinion on the outcome but not with the reasoning or language of the opinion.
Dissenting Opinion
An essay/written explanation opposing the majority opinion, typically outcome and reasoning
There isn’t always a dissenting opinion, there may be several
Alfonso Lopez Jr.
Had all three in one case
