vocab_a-c

Question 1

adversary system

Answer 1

a system of law where the court is seen as a neutral area where disputants can argue the merits of their cases

Question 2

affirmative action

Answer 2

government-mandate programs that seek to create special employment opportunities for African Americans, women, and other victims of past discrimination

Question 3

amendment

Answer 3

addition to the Constitution that require approval by two-thirds of both house of Congress and three-quarters of the states

Question 4

amicus curiae briefs

Answer 4

friend of the court briefs that qualified individuals or organizations file in lawsuits to which they are not a party, so the judge may consider their advice in respect to matter s of law that directly affect the cases in question.

Question 5

appellate jurisdiction

Answer 5

term used to describe courts whose role is to hear appeals from lower courts

Question 6

Articles of Confederation

Answer 6

the first US constitution, the government lasted from 1781-1789 under this because it didn’t have the power to collect taxes from states and regulate foreign trade to generate revenue from import/export tariffs

Question 7

bicameral

Answer 7

consisting of two legislative houses (House of Representatives and Senate)

Question 8

Bill of Rights

Answer 8

first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that guarantee personal liberties and limits the power of the government

Question 9

blanket primary

Answer 9

primary election in which voters may select a candidate from any party for each office

Question 10

block grants

Answer 10

federal money given to states with only general guidelines for its use with states deciding how it will be spent

Question 11

bread-and-butter issues

Answer 11

those political issues are specifically directed at the daily concerns of most working-class Americans, such as job security, tax rates, wages, and employee benefits

Question 12

broad constructionism

Answer 12

belief that the Constitution should be interpreted loosely when concerning the restrictions it places on federal power, broad constructionists emphasize the importance of the elastic clause, which allows Congress to pass laws “necessary and proper” to the perfomance of its duties

Question 13

Brown v. Board of Education

Answer 13

the 1954 case in which the Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” (Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896) standard as it applied to education

Question 14

budget deficit

Answer 14

condition that arises when federal expenditures exceed revenues; when the government spends more money than it takes in

Question 15

budget resolution

Answer 15

set of budget guidelines that must pass both houses of Congress in identical form by April 15, it guides government spending for the following fiscal year

Question 16

categorical grants

Answer 16

federal aid given to states with strings attached, to receive it, the states must agree to adhere to federall mandated guideline for spending it

Question 17

caucus

Answer 17

meeting of local party members for the purpose of choosing delegates to a national party convention also refers to Democratic members of the House of Representatives meeting

Question 18

census

Answer 18

the process, mandated by the Constitution, by which the population of the U.S. is officially counted every 10 years, data is then used to help distribute federal money and to reapportion congressional districts

Question 19

checks and balances

Answer 19

system that prevents any branch of government from becoming too powerful by requiring the approval of more than one branch for all important acts

Question 20

civil court

Answer 20

court in which lawsuits are heard

Question 21

civil disobedience

Answer 21

nonviolent act requiring activists to protest peacefully against laws they believe unjust and to be qilling to accept arrest as a means of demonstrating the justice of their cause (popularized by Henry David Thoreau, practiced by Martin Luther King Jr)

Question 22

civil liberties

Answer 22

those protections against goverment power embodied in the Bill of Rights and similar legislation, include free speech, free exercise of religion and right to a fair trial

Question 23

civil rights

Answer 23

those protections against discrimination by the government and individuals, intended to prevent discrimination based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, physical handicap, or sexual orientation

Question 24

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Answer 24

federal law that made segregation illegal in most public places, increased penalties and sentences for those convicted of discrimination in employment, and withheld federal aid form schools that discriminated on the basis of race or gender

Question 25

civil service system

Answer 25

method of hiring federal employees based on merit rather than on political beliefs or allegiances (replaced spoils system)

Question 26

class action suit

Answer 26

a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of people, and whose result affects that group as a whole, interest groups such as the NAACP often use these to assert their influence over policy decisions

Question 27

clear and present danger test

Answer 27

interpretation by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes regarding limits on free speech if it presents clear and present danger to the public or leads to illegal actions (Fire!)

Question 28

closed primary

Answer 28

primary election in which voting is restricted to registered members of a political party

Question 29

cloture

Answer 29

a motion in the Senate to end debate, often used in the event of a filibuster that require three-fifths majority

Question 30

coalition

Answer 30

a combo of groups of people who work together to achieve a political goal

Question 31

commander-in-chief

Answer 31

the president’s role as leader of all U.S. military forces

Question 32

concurrent powers

Answer 32

Constitutional powers shared by the federal and state governments

Question 33

conference committee

Answer 33

congressional committee that includes representatives of both house of Congress created to settle differences between the House and Senate versions of bills that have been passed by their respective legislatures

Question 34

Congressional Budget Office

Answer 34

agency of budget experts who assess the feasibility of the president’s plan and who help create Congress’s version of the deferal budget

Question 35

conservative

Answer 35

a political ideology that tends to favor defense spending and school prayer and to disapporve of social programs, abortion, affirmative action, and a large active goverment

Question 36

constitutional convention

Answer 36

an untried method by which the Constitution may be amended, two-thirds of all state legislatures must petition the federal government (do not confuse with Constitutional Convention or when the Constitution was written)

Question 37

cooperative federalism

Answer 37

preeminent form of U.S. federalism since the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, national and state governments share many powers

Question 38

criminal court

Answer 38

court in which criminal trials are heard