branches of govt

congress

principal representative body made up of house of reps and senate 535 members

house of representatives

435, based on population, 2 year term, must be 25 and citzen for 7, resident of the district

senate

100 members, 2 per state, 6 year term, must be 30 and citzen for 9, resident of state, upper house, not all positions up for reelection at once

filibuster

used as a "nuclear option" to keep vote from taking place, cant sit lean eat drink or leave chamber, hold the floor as long as you keep talking

reapportionment

determining how many seats each state has, occurs after every census

gerrymandering

drawing district lines to benefit a political party, concentrate opposition(packing) and spread opposition (cracking)

incumbent

individuals in office, most run for reelection and win

committee member

most of work done here with different kinds, servants of constituents, separate between house and senate

caucus

group with common interests or charactersitics, combined with house and senate

trustee voting

use their conscience

delegate voting

agents for those who elected them

partisan voting

allegiance to their party

politicos voting

combination of all other kinds of voting

judicial branch

they interpret and define law, hear individual cases and decide how the law should apply, their decision is law

where do the courts jurisdiction come from

article 3 of the const creates "one supreme court and inferior courts"

exclusice jurisdiction

only federal court has authority to hear case

concurrent jurisdiction

federal or state can hear case

original jurisdiction

the court that first hears the case

appellate jurisdiction

the court can only hear a case on an appeal

jurisdiction

authority of a court to hear and try to decide a case

appointment of judges

president nominates someone to become a judge, senate majority vote confirms, judges serve for life

order to get case to supreme court

district to appeal to supreme or superior to state appeals to state supreme to supreme

judicial review

power to declare acts of government unconstitutional and eliminating them, comes from marbury v madison

marbury v madison

supreme court is og jurisdiction about judges, judiciary act of 1789 and marbury lawsuit are unconst, first time scotus calls an act of govt unconst

rule of 4

4 of the 9 supreme court justices want to hear a case then they will issue a writ of certorari

trial process for scotus

no evidence presented or witnesses questioned, one attorney from each side presents the argument and answer questions in 30 minutes, justices will write opinions on the case and then choose which one they agree with, majority opionin is final

dissenting opinion

written or signed by any justice who disagrees with the majority, can be used as the logic for future justices to overturn something

concurring opinion

written by a justice who agrees and their reasoning as to why

presidential requirements (formal)

must be 35, natural-born citizen, resided in US for 14 years, only serve for 2 terms

presidential requirements (informal)

white, male, protestant

national security president powers

commander in chief of the armed forces, make treaties with other nations (2/3 senate approved), nominate ambassadors, receive ambassasdors from other nations verifying their credentials to serve

legislative presidential powers

present state of the union to congress, recommend legislation to congress, call for emergency congress meeting, adjorn congress if they don't, veto legislation(can be overridden in congress with 2/3 in each house)

veto

president can send a bill back to congress with his reasoning

pocket veto

president can let die by not signing it when Congress adjourns w/in 10 days of submitting a bill

line item veto

ability to veto parts of a bill, some state governors have it but not president

adminstrative presidential powers

take care that laws are faithfully executed, nominate officials as provided by congress and w/in the agreement of senate majority, request written opinions of adminstrative officials, fill adminstrative vacancies during congressional recesses

powers of the president

nominate federal judges who are then approved by senate, war powers act, cabinet, patronage, office of the management and budget, executive orders, grant reprives and pardons for federal offenses (not impeachment)

notable executive orders

emancipation proclamation, order 9066(japan internment), proclamation 4311(nixon pardon), order 7034(works progress admin), order 11130(warren commission), order 9981(desegregation of military), order 10730(integration of little rock HS)

shared war powers in const

congress can declare war and president can commit troops and equipment in conflicts

war powers resolution

intended to limit president use of military, requires president to consult with congress prior to using military force and w/draw forces after 60 days unless congress declares war or grants and extension

implied powers of president

executive office of the president, proposals sent to congress, executive privilege (Nixon damaged reputation of the pres.), inherent powers, power of the media, enemy combatant

vice president

just waits for things to do, power has grown more, recent presidents have given VP important jobs

the cabinet

presidential advisors, 14 secretaries and one attorney general confirmed by the senate

white house staff

cheif aids and staff for the president, some more for white house less president, rely on their info and effort but presidents set tone and style

first lady

not official government position, many get involved politically, recently they focus on a single issue

presidential succession

vice president, speaker of the house, pres protempore of the senate, secretary of state, secretary of treasury, secretary of defense, attorney general, secretary of interior, secretary of agriculture, secretary of commerce

informal presidental powers

executive agreements, morale building, agenda setting and public persuasion power, meeting with world leaders, crisis manager, building international coalitions, global leader

president and the press

president and media are often adversaries due to different goals, press conferences are best-known direct interaction of president and media, media doesnt focus on substance of policies but on the "body watch", new coverage of presidents has become more negative

presidential impeachment

gathering evidence and holding a trial to determine wrong doing, article 1 sections 2 and 3, articel 2 section4, article 3 section 1, house bring formal charges and accusations against the president, senate holds trial and judges, must be convicted bu 2/3 senate

andrew johnson impeachment

case against johnson was entirely political

bill clinton impeachment

charged with perjury and obstruction of justice and abuse of power, vote was passed in house along party lines, did not get 2/3 senate

donald trump impeachments

alleged to have sought foreign interferance in the upcoming 2020 election, alleged to have obstructed the investigation into ukraine allegations by ordering his staffers and govt. officials to ignore subpoenas for evidence and tesitmony, capitol building was stormed immediately following a rally and trump didn't exactly stop it and encouraged it was the most bipartisan impeachment vote in history

how many presidents have been impeached and who were they

3, andrew johnson, bill clinton, and donald trump

how many presidents have been impeached and removed

none

richard nixon impeachment

resigned before impeachment process began, would have surely been impeached if he didnt resign