Unit IV Flashcards
Term
The amount of time an official is in office
Appointment/Reappointment
The act of assigning someone to a position
Redistricting
Divide or organize an area into new districts usually for a politician’s benefit
Bicameral
Having two legislative chambers
Constituents
A voting member of community or organization and having the power to appoint or elect
17th Amendment
Outlines the Senate (term, leader, appointment, etc.)
Bills
A draft of a proposed law presented to parliament for discussion
Law
A rule set in place by the government that must be followed
Joint/Concurrent Resolution
A resolution passed by both chambers of Congress
Trustee
An individual person or member of a board given control or powers of administration of property in trust with a legal obligation to administer it solely for the purposes specified
Delegate
A person sent or authorized to represent others
Casework
Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals
Divided Government
One party controls the White House and another controls one or both chambers if Congress
Gridlock
The inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government
Franking Privilage
The ability of members of Congress to mail letters to their constituents for free by using their facsimile signature (frank) for postage.
Gerrymandering
Drawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage over its rivals
Seniority
When the member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became the leader
Majority Leader
The legislative leader elected by the party members holding the majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
Minority Leader
The legislative leader elected by the party members holding the minority of seats in the House of Representatives.
Speaker of the House
Leader of the House who also appoints rules committee, assigns bills to committees, may recommend leaders but cannot appoint. Takes over as president if president and VP die.
President Pro Tempore
Leader of the Senate when VP is absent
Party Whips
Senator or representative who helps keeps the party members in line with the party’s ideals
Congressional Caucus
An association for members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest
Committee Chair
The leader of a committee
Committee of the Whole
The entire membership of a legislative body when sitting as a committee
Committee Hearing
Committee sessions in which members listen to witnesses who provide information and opinions on matters of interest to the committee.
Joint Committee
Committee composed of members from both members of Congress
Select Committee
A committee made for a special purpose
House Rules Committee
Committee that reviews all bills coming from a House committee before being brought in the House. (Exclusive to House of Representatives)
Standing Committee
Permanent committees that deals with a certain subject
Quorum
A roll call in either house of Congress to see whether the minimum number of representatives required to conduct business is present.
Cloture
A procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote
Congressional Budget Office
Advises congress on the probable consequences of its decisions, forecasts revenues, and is a counterweight to the president’s Office of Management Budget.
Filibuster
An action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically contravening the required procedures.
Conference Committee
A joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same bill.
Markup
The process by which a U.S congressional committe or state legislative session debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation
Discharge Petition
A device by which any member of the House, after a committee has had the bill for thirty days, may petition to have it brought to the floor
Earmarks
Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents
Logrolling
Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.
Rider
An unrelated addition to a bill that is added so that it will ‘ride’ to passage through the Congress
Hold
A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination.
(1)Lame Duck & (2)20th Amendment
(1)A politician who is still in office after election period; (2)Changed date of Presidential inauguration (swearing in) to January 20th
(1)President Succession and (2)the 25th Amendment
(1) President -> VP -> Speaker of House
(2) Clarifies even further the line of succession to the Presidency, and establishes rules for a President who becomes unable to perform his duties while in office.
22nd Amendment
Establishes presidential term limit
Take Care Clause
Requirement that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with them
Commander in Chief
The commander of the army
Veto
Formal decision to reject a bill passed by congress
Pocket Veto
A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned
Appointments
An election to a government position
Appointments
An election to a government position
Agenda Setting
The process of forming the list of matters that policymakers intend to address
Senatorial Courtesy
The practice of allowing senators from the president’s party who represent the state where a judicial district is located, to apporve or diapprove potential nominees for the lower federal courts
Pardons
A convicted person is exempt form the penalities of a crime
Executive Agreements
Agreement with another head of state not requiring approval from the Senate
Executive Orders
The president directs an agency to carry out policies/existing laws
Executive Privilege
The right of the president to withhold information from Congress
Bully Pulpit
The president’s use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public
Ambassadors
A representative for the US to a foreign country
Special Session of Congress
A session of Congress called in emergency situations
State of the Union Address
Presidential address to a joint session of Congress; has been televised in recent years
Oath of Office
The oath taken before being formally appointed as president
Vacancies
An empty position in the government
Line Item Veto
Gives presidents the power to disapprove of individual items within a spending bill.
(1)Impoundment and (2)the Impoundment Control Act
A traditional budgeting procedure by which the President of the United States could prevent any agency of the Executive Branch from spending part or all of the money previously appropriated by Congress for their use
Advice and Consent
A legal expression in the United States Constitution that allows the Senate to constrain the President’s powers of appointment and treaty-making
Treaties
A formal agreement between countries
Legislative Veto
Method by which Congress delegates authority to the executive branch while retaining oversight power
Impeachment
Removal of a government official from a government position
Staff
Advisers to the president
National Security Council
An office created in 1947 to coordinate the president’s foreign and military policy advisers. Composed of the president, vice president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense, and it is managed by the president’s national security assistant.
Council of Economic Advisors
A three-member body appointed by the president to advice the president on economic policy.
Executive Office of the President
Provides the President with the support needed to govern effectively (Advisers)
Office of Management and Budget
An office consisting of a handful of political appointees and hundreds of skilled professionals. It performs both managerial and budgetary functions.
Cabinet
A body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government.
Civil Law
Law that governs the relations between individuals and defines their legal rights.
Criminal Law
Law that defines crimes against the public order and provides for punishment.
Litigants)
A plaintiff or a defendant in a case.
Standing
Only those who have sustained injury can take a case to court.
Trial Court
The first court before which the facts of a case are decided
Appellate Court
Courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases
District Courts
The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trial are held and in which juries may be impaneled
Circuit Courts (Courts of Appeals)
Deal with all appeals of decisions made in district courts, for both civil and criminal cases.
US Supreme Court
Highest court in the country
Original Jurisdiction
Right to hear a case for the first time
Appellate Jurisdiction
Right to review a lower court’s decision
Common Law/Case Law
Based on the legal concept of state devises, or judicial precedent.
Amicus Curiae
Briefs that may be sent to support the position of one side or the other.
Majority Opinion
Winning opinion of the court
Dissenting Opinion
An opinion that disagrees with the court’s disposition of the case
Concurring Opinion
Additional opinion in a court decision written by a member of the majority.
Precedent/Stare Decisis
A rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.
Remand
To send or order back; in law, to send back to jail or to a lower court.
Rule of Four
Four judges must agree on a case for it to be brought before the Supreme Court
Writ of Certiorari
A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court
Solicitor General
A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice; in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government.
Judicial Activism
A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground (changing the meaning of the Constitution)
Judicial Restraint
A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policy making roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures.
Original Intent
The view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers.
Original Intent
The view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers.
Strict Constructionism
Way of interpreting the Constitution that allows the federal government to take only those actions the Constitution specifically says it can take
Loose Constructionism
A judicial philosophy that looks to the context and purpose of a law when making an interpretation.
John Marshall
One of the most influential judges to have served on the Supreme Court.
FDR and Court Packing
A legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Warren Court
The Supreme Court of the United States during the period when Earl Warren served as Chief Justice
(1)The Burger and (2)Rehnquist Courts
(1)The Supreme Court of the United States when Warren Burger served as Chief Justice of the United States (2)The Supreme Court of the United States when William Rehnquist served as Chief Justice of the United States
