Unit 4C Flashcards
How is power in the US shared?
- Between branches
- Between federal government and states
- Legislation and budget (Between congress and Pres.)
- Constitution (amendment)
- Foreign policy
How is power in the US separate?
- Appointments
- Foreign policy
- Money
- Checks and balances
- Federalism
What are some examples of rights being too strong?
- Freedom of speech (WBC, Johnson)
- Guns (DC vs Heller, Macdonald)
- Rights of the accused
- Privacy (san bernadino)
What are some examples of rights being developed?
- Race (US vs Arizona, Brown)
- LGBT (Windsor, Obergefell)
- Womens (Roe vs Wade)
What are some examples of rights being slow to be protected?
- Affirmative action
- Restrictions on abortion
Why is it so difficult to pass laws in congress?
- Process (Veto, filibuster etc)
- Self interest of members
- Other branches (Judicial review) or constitution
What are some checks on presidential power?
- Senate confirms appointments
- Congress overrides veto
- Declare war
- Impeachment
- Money
- Judicial review
- Electoral cycle
- Re-election, term limits
What is the president’s role?
- Chief executive
- Commander in chief
- Representation (Head of state)
What is some evidence of an imperial presidency?
- FDR,LBJ,Nixon,GWB
- Foreign/domestic role expanded/unchecked
- Wars/military
- Surveillance
- Plamegate
What are some evidence of checks being effective?
- Judicial review (Clinton vs jones, US vs Nixon)
- Congress (investigation,impeachment)
- Limiting Bush after ‘06
What is some evidence of ineffective checks
- FDR (Crisis, free to act)
- Clinton/Obama, polarisation (excessively hindered)
- Trump unchecked (executive orders)
What are some long term checks?
- Electoral cycle
- Congress
- Supreme Court
Why is the president strong in foreign policy?
- Commander in Chief
- Diplomat in chief
- Crisis
What are some examples of crises when the president has been almost free to act?
- Cold war
- War on drugs
- War on terror
- Diplomacy
What are some factors in the representation of congress?
- People/views
- States and inhabitants
- Social groups
What is an Amicus Brief?
Legal argument submitted to the court regarding an existing case by an interested, but not involved third party
What is evidence Amicus Briefs are important?
- Huge time/effort/expense by expert campaigners
- Credibility (ACLU) so they will be read
- Correlation between number and chance of success
What is evidence Amicus Briefs are not important?
- No means of ensuring influence
- Cancel eachother out
- Hard to know influence unless cited
How has the importance of Amicus Briefs changed over time?
- Increased importance
- Increased publicity
What is an executive order?
Instruction from the president which determines how a law or policy is implemented
Are Executive orders effective?
- Potentially very effective (ACA/DAPA)
- Limits (Scope, easily overturned)
- Fashionable “born of necessity”
How effective is the constitution?
- Checks and balances ensures effective government
- Gridlock/polarisation
- Rights to strong/weak
- Rights about right
What are some examples of the supreme court being a dangerous branch?
- Marbury vs Madison
- Interpretative amendment
What are some limits on supreme court power?
- No power of initiation
- No power of enforcement
- Can be overruled by an amendment
What are some examples of the SC’s expanding power?
- Hyperpartisanship
- Increased politicisation of judiciary
What are some examples of a political judiciary?
- Bathroom bill
- Shelby county
- Bathroom bill
What is the independence of the court due to?
- Separation of powers
- The appointment of justices
- Lifetime tenure
- Justices pay cannot be reduced during office
What are some factors that influence nominations?
- Judicial philosophy
- Judicial ability
- The composition of the senate
- Representation
What are some sources of the courts power?
- Judicial review
- Reversal of cases
- Appointments for life
- Increasing scope of cases
What are some limits on the court’s power?
- Congress can vary the size of the court
- Congress can impeach justices
- Judges aware of public opinion
- USSC relies on other branches to interpret/implement decisions
How is the USSC a political body?
- Justices nominated by politicians
- President nominates judges sympathetic to their agenda
- Justices increasingly divided amongst political lines
- Court’s job to overturn legislation inherently political
Why are so few congressional elections competitive?
- Safe states
- Gerrymandering
- Voting record
