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Authoritarian Regime

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A government that stands apart from the people, oppressing citizens by depriving them of their basic freedom to speak, associate, write and participate in political life without fear of punishment.

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Democracy

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A government by the people, either directly or through elected representatives; rule by the ruled.

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Direct Democracy

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A society that assumes that people can govern themselves.

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Republic

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A governing structure that places political decision makers at least one step away from the citizens they govern.

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Independent Judiciary

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System free of political influence, can safeguard citizen rights, protecting both majority and minorities at the same time.

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Compact

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A type of agreement that legally binds two or more parties to enforceable rules.

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Bicameral Legislature

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A legislative system consisting of two houses or chambers.

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Sovereignty

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The independence and self-government of a political entity.

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Social Contract Theorists

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A group of European philosophers who reasoned that the most effective way to create the best government was to understand human nature in a state prior to government.

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Limited Government

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A type of government in which the powers of the government are clearly defined and bounded so that governmental authority cannot intrude in the lives of private citizens.

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Confederation

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A league of sovereign states that delegates powers on selected issues to a central government.

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First Continental Congress

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The meeting of 55 elected members (from provincial congresses or periodic conventions) held in Philadelphia in 1774. It resulted in a resolution to oppose acts of the British Parliament and a plan of association for the colonies.

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Declaration of Independence

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The formal proclamation declaring independence for the 13 colonies of England in North America. July 4, 1776.

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Articles of Confederation

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The first constitutional framework of the new United States of America. Approved in 1777 by the Second Continental Congress, it was later replaced by the current constitution.

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Legislative Branch

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The branch of government that creates laws.

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Executive Branch

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The branch of government that executes laws.

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Judiciary Branch

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The branch of government that interprets laws.

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Checks and Balances

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Systems that ensure that every power in government has an equal and opposite power in a separate branch to restrain that force.

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Separation of Powers

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State in which the powers of the government are divided among the three branches.

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Unicameral Legislature

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A legislative system consisting of one chamber.

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Supremacy Clause

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A clause in Article IV of the Constitution holding that in any conflict between federal laws and treaties and state laws, the will of the national government always prevails.

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Three-fifths Compromise

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A compromise that stated that the apportionment of the representatives by state should be (for every five slaves = 3 free people) when counting the population for representation and taxation purposes.

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Electoral College System

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Votes in the national presidential elections are actually indirect votes for a slate of presidential electors pledged to each party's candidate. Each state has one elector for each of its representatives and senators.

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Horizontal Powers

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Governmental powers among the branches of the national government - the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

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Vertical Powers

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Governmental powers among the centralized national government and the individual state governments.

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Federalism

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The relationship between the centralized national government and the individual state government.

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Delegated Powers

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Powers expressly granted or enumerated in the Constitution and limited in nature.

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Reserved Powers

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Powers not assigned by the Constitution to the national government but left to the states or to the people, according to the Tenth Amendment.

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Bill of Rights

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The first ten amendments to the constitution, added in 1791.

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Federal Mandate

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A direct order from congress that the states must fulfill.

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Fulcrum of Powers

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The five Constitutional provisions that dictate the balance of power between the national and state governments in the federal structure. They include the interstate commerce clause, the general welfare clause, the necessary and proper clause, the supremacy clause, and the Tenth Amendment.

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The General Welfare Clause

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Grants congress the power to \"lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.

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Necessary and Proper Clause

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Not so much a power, but an extension of Congress's powers that can be used to expand the reach of the federal government.

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The Tenth Amendment

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The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

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Nullification

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Theory that held that states faced with unacceptable national legislation could declare such laws null and void and refuse to observe them.

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Impeachment

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The process by which government actors can be removed from office for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

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Reapportionment

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A process of redrawing voting district lines from time to time and adjusting the number of representatives allotted each state.

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Redistricting

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The redrawing of boundary lines of voting districts in accordance with census data or sometimes by order of the courts.

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Gerrymandering

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Any attempt during state redistricting of congressional voting boundaries to create a safe seat for one party.

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Majority-minority district

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A congressional district drawn to include enough members of a minority group to greatly improve the chance of electing a minority candidate.

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Delegates

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Congress members who feel bound to follow the wishes of a majority of their constituents; they make frequent efforts to learn the opinions of voters in their state or district.

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Trustees

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Congress members who feel authorized to use their best judgment in considering legislation.

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Politico

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Congress members who vote suing a combination of constituent wishes and their own best judgment in considering legislation.

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Term limit

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A legislated limit on the amount of time a political figure can serve in office.

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Original Jurisdiction

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The authority of a court to be the first to hear a case.

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Appellate Jurisdiction

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The authority of a court to hear a case on appeal after it has been argued in and decided by a lower federal or state court.

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Marbury v. Madison

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1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall established the power of judicial review.

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Judicial Review

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The power of the Supreme Court to overturn acts of the president, Congress, and the states if those acts violate the Constitution. This power .makes the Supreme Court the final interpreter of the Constitution

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Statutory Construction

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The power of the Supreme Court to interpret or reinterpret a federal or state law.

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Trial Court

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The point of original entry in the legal system, with a single judge and at times a jury deciding matters of both fact and law in a case.

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Appellate Court

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The court that reviews an appeal of the trial court proceedings, often with a multi-judge panel and without a jury; it considers only matters of law.

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Criminal Cases

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Cases in which decisions are made regarding whether to punish individuals accused of violating the state or federal criminal code.

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Plea Bargains

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Agreement in which the state presses for either a reduced set of charges or a reduced sentence in return for a guilty plea.

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Civil Cases

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Noncriminal cases in which courts resolve disputes among individuals and parties to the case over finances, property, or personal well-being.

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Class-Action Suit

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A single civil case in which the plaintiff represents the whole class of individuals similarly situated, and the Court's results apply to this entire class.

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Constitutional Courts

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Courts mentioned in Article III of the Constitution whose judges have life tenure.

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Docket

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The Supreme Court's agenda of cases to consider.

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Writ of Certiorari

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Latin term meaning \"to be more certain.\" Enables the Supreme Court to accept only the cases that are worth the time.

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Rule of Four

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The minimum of four justices must vote to hear a case

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Briefs

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Written arguments to the court outlining not only the facts and legal and constitutional issues in a court case but also answering all anticipated arguments of the opposing side.

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Solicitor General

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Third-ranking official in the Justice Department, appointed by the president, represents the U.S government before the Supreme Court.

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Oral Argument

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Discussions involving both sides of the suit before the court discussing important factors from briefs on the case.

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The Conference

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After reading the briefs and hearing both parties of the oral arguments, all 9 justices discuss both the cases under consideration and which appeals to grant in the future.

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Assignment of Opinions

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If the chief justice is in the majority, he or she assigns a member voting in the majority to draft an opinion, the written version of the decision.

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Majority Opinion

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5 or more votes. A decision of the Supreme Court that represents the agreed-on compromise judgment of all the justices in the majority.

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Plurality (minority) Opinion

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4 or less votes. Less than a majority vote on an opinion of the court; does not have the binding legal force of a majority opinion.

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Concurring Opinion

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A written opinion of a justice who agrees with the majority decision of the Court but differs from the reasoning.

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Dissenting Opinion

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A written opinion of a justice who disagrees with the holding of the court.

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Bureaucracy

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A large and complex organizational system in which tasks, roles, and responsibilities are structured to achieve a goal.

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Bureaucrats

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People who work in a bureaucracy; not only the obscure, faceless clerks normally disparaged by critics of government but also \"street-level bureaucrats\" such as police officers, social workers, and schoolteachers.

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Appointment Power

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The presidents ability to appoint agency officials.

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Reorganization

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Having the power to move programs around within specific agencies.

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Which Party controls Senate? And who is the leader?

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Republican. Mitch McConnell

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Which Party controls HOR? Who is the speaker?

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Republican. John Boehner

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If the President veto's a bill, can it still become a law?

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Yes, if congress overrules the vote by 2/3

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Who is Chief Justice?

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John Roberts

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What year was the Constitution enacted?

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1787

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Who are Foothill's HOR Rep and Senators

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Anna Eshoo, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer

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Brown vs. Board of Education

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Segregated schools are unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy vs. Fergusson

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Bowers vs. Hardwick

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Anti-Sodomy. Overturned by Lawrence vs. Texas by saying anti-sodomy laws are unconstitutional and people can have sex anyway they want.

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Wickard vs. Filburn

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growing too much wheat, have to pay a fine, just extra for me and my family, interstate commerce, congress can regulate anything that has a direct effect on interstate commerce.

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U.S vs. Lopez

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Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its authority when it banned possession of guns within one thousand feet of any school. Guns near schools don't have anything to do with commerce.

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Marbury vs. Madison

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Case in which the supreme court first asserted the power of Judicial review in finding that the congressional statue expanding the Court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional.

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McCulloch vs. Maryland

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The state of Maryland taxed banknotes produced by the Bank of the United States, claiming that the Bank was unconstitutional. Using implied powers, Marshall countered that the Bank was constitutional and ruled that Maryland was forbidden from taxing the Bank.

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Rowe vs. Wade

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Legalized abortions

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Obama-Care

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All must get healthcare or pay fine, insurance companies cant deny people with pre-existing conditions, expand Medicaid kids under parents until 26

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Enumerated Powers

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The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution.

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Political Parties

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Organizations to connect and label like minded individuals to come together to implement their power to win elections and achieve a political agenda.

Foothill College – Poli 001: Mark Harmon

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