United States Constitution and Congress: An Overview, Quizzes of Political Science

Download United States Constitution and Congress: An Overview and more Quizzes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 1st Amendment DEFINITION 1 Free exercise clause- guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choiceEstablishment clause- guarantee that the government will not create and support an official state churchFreedom of speechFreedom of pressFreedom to peaceably assemble TERM 2 2nd Amendment DEFINITION 2 The right to keep and bear arms, shall not beinfringed TERM 3 3rd Amendment DEFINITION 3 No solider is allowed to stay in a person's house, unless the home owner agrees to it. TERM 4 4th Amendment DEFINITION 4 Protection against unreasonable searches, and seizures. Personal privacy. TERM 5 5th Amendment DEFINITION 5 Right to indictment by a federal Grand jury in federal criminal casesprohibits double jeopardyprotects against self incriminationguarantees due processpayment for property taken under eminent domain TERM 6 6th Amendment DEFINITION 6 Speedy and public trialimpartial juryinformed of nature and cause of accusationassistance of counsel TERM 7 7th Amendment DEFINITION 7 right to jury trial in federal courtstates do not have to have jury trials in civil casescommon law- a legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time. applied uniformly-judge made lawstill the theoretical basis of our law TERM 8 8th Amendment DEFINITION 8 No excessive bailno cruel and unusual punishmentno excessive fines TERM 9 9th Amendment DEFINITION 9 nature of man, simply because you are humandesigned to protect the minority from the will of the majorityright to an abortion as privacy TERM 10 10th Amendment DEFINITION 10 No added or subtracted power to the US constitutioncornerstone of state rightsUSSC has ruled that 10th does not bar legislation intended to be national in scope TERM 21 Allocative Representation DEFINITION 21 congressperson gets projects and grants for the district. congress members who are good at getting prok barrrel projects for their districts are said to bring home the bacon. TERM 22 Casework DEFINITION 22 fielding the calls and serving specific needs for constituents.Example- covers things such as finding out why a constituent's social security check has not shown up, sending a flag that has flown over the nation's capitol to a high school in the district, or heling with immigration and naturalization problems TERM 23 Symbolic Representation DEFINITION 23 a member of congress is the locus of patriotism and our core values TERM 24 What are the Qualifications for to be in Congress? DEFINITION 24 House- 25 years old, 7 years of citizenship, in state residencySenate- 30 years old, 9 years of citizenship, in state residency TERM 25 What is congressional oversight? DEFINITION 25 Congressional oversight of the executive- of the president and the agencies of the bureaucracy that fall under the executive branch. This is usually done through hearings and selective investigations of executive actions whereby Congress attempts to ensure that the president and bureaucracy are carrying out the laws as congress intended. TERM 26 What is reappointment? DEFINITION 26 after ten year census, should maintain "one person, one vote". 435 seats are reallocated among the states after each ten-year census. states whose populations grow gain seats, which are taken from those whose populations have declined or remain steady. TERM 27 What is gerrymandering? DEFINITION 27 drawing district lines to benefit one group or another, and it can result in some extremely strange shapes by the time the state politicians are through TERM 28 What is redistricting? DEFINITION 28 states have the power to draws their own lines TERM 29 What are the necessary funds to run for congress? DEFINITION 29 Senate- 10 millionHouse- Over 1.2 Million TERM 30 4 types of committees DEFINITION 30 StandingSelectJointConference TERM 31 3 things of legislative agenda DEFINITION 31 Presidential ElectionsWell-publicized eventMember of Congress take the lead TERM 32 What is a pocket veto DEFINITION 32 within last 10 days of session, bill dies if President doesn't sign a bill, the bill fails simply because congress is not in session to consider a veto override TERM 33 What is a signing statement DEFINITION 33 Intended to clarify the president's understanding of what a bill meant and how he believed it ought to be enforced. TERM 34 What are the qualifications to be president? DEFINITION 34 4 year terms, natural born, 35 or older, resident for 14 years, TERM 35 What are the executive powers? DEFINITION 35 Chief administrator- implementation of rules, laws, and national policy, utilizes "Cabinet"Commander in Chief- ability to wage wars; often a struggle with congressChief foreign policy maker-negotiates treaties, appoints/receives ambassadors TERM 46 Civil Laws DEFINITION 46 regulate interactions between individuals (tort), courts are conflict resolution TERM 47 Statutory Laws DEFINITION 47 Those which legislatures make at the state or national level, seatbelts, holidays, and taxes TERM 48 Administrative Laws DEFINITION 48 rules established by agencies in executing the laws, examples such as FDA. EPA, consumer laws TERM 49 Judicial Review DEFINITION 49 power of the the supreme court to rule on the constitutionality of laws TERM 50 Jurisdiction DEFINITION 50 court's authority to hear particular cases, not all courts can hear all cases TERM 51 Original Jurisdiction DEFINITION 51 cases which go directly to a court without first being heard in another court TERM 52 Appellate Jurisdiction DEFINITION 52 the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts. Cases which are heard upon appeal; after one of the parties in a case challenge the application of law from a lower court, almost all USSC cases are appellate jurisdiction TERM 53 Merit DEFINITION 53 ethically sound, legally brilliant, and cleared/recommended by the ABA TERM 54 Political Ideology DEFINITION 54 Multiple DimensionsConservative or LiberalStrict Constructionism or Judicial InterpretivismStrong executive or weak executive TERM 55 Reward DEFINITION 55 Its good to be friends with the President TERM 56 Representation DEFINITION 56 Court should represent the variety of people in our country TERM 57 Rule of Four DEFINITION 57 The unwritten requirement that four supreme court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard TERM 58 Amicus Curiea Briefs DEFINITION 58 "friend of the court" documents filed by interested parites to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorair or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way TERM 59 Writing Opinions DEFINITION 59 Opinion- written explanation of the decision made by the court, provide context, precedent, justificationif chief justice is in the majority, then he/she assigns the task of writing majority opinion. If not, the task falls to the most senior justice in the majority TERM 60 Standing Committee DEFINITION 60 majority of work is done, permanent committees, created by statue, that carry over from one session of congress to the next. review most pieces of legislation that are introduced to congress. frequently kill legislation before the full congress ever gets the chance to discuss it. Deal with specific policy areas, such as agriculture, foreign relations, or justice.