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72 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
qualifications for president
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natural born citizen, at least 35 years old, 14 years resident prior to election
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responsibilities of president
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commander A and chief, chief legislator, chief executive
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use of the executive order
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announcement of law- do not need congress approval
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electoral college - what is it?
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group of electors, equal to number of state representatives(senators), that cast vote for president
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electoral college - why is it controversial?
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electors can vote against popular vote of their own state
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total amount of votes and how is it divided
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538 votes in total-
435 members of the house 100 members of the senate 3 district of columbia |
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# of votes necessary to win
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270
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what happens if there is a tie?
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majority vote in the house of representatives
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presidential succession (if one dies, who is next?)
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VP, speaker of the house, president Pro Tempore of senate, secretary of state
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grounds for impeachment
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treason, bribery, "high crimes and misdemeanors"
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who impeaches and who removes president from office?
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house impeaches, senate removes
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how many votes does it take to impeach?
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2/3 majority of senate to convict = removal
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what were the constitutional grounds to impeach Clinton?
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perjury, obstruction of justice;
questionable to many |
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checks and balances - purpose of judicial checks
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to declare acts of president unconstitutional
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purpose of legislative checks
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to override presidential veto, declare war, appropriate funds, approve presidential appointments
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qualifications for supreme court
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none
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responsibilities of judicial branch
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to interpret / apply laws
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process by which a person becomes a member of the supreme court
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presidential appointment,
senate approval, lifetime job |
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how does a case get to the supreme court?
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it goes through district court, then appeals court, then supreme court. Court may hear a few hundred out of every 8000. rule of 4
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judicial activism
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when courts do not limit their ruling to the dispute before them, but instead establish a new rule to apply broadly to issues not presented in the specific action.
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judicial restraint
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encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power.
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executive checks
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president appoints judges
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legislative checks
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senate approves judges, legislature can pass constitutional amendment
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bill of rights- creation
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agreement between federalists and anti-federalists
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first amendment
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freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press
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freedom of religion
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establishment clause, free exercise clause, separation of church and state- Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists
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differentiate between speech and expression
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speech is speaking freely without censorship, and expression is conveying, or representing in words, art, music, or movement
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speech in schools - Tinker v Des Moines
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three public school students in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Government's policy in Vietnam. There was no interference with learning.
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Cohen v California
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man was arrested for wearing a jacket with the words "Fuck the Draft" inside the Los Angeles Courthouse. obscenity, fighting words, captive audience
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freedom of press- prior restraint
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a government's actions that prevent materials from being published
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freedom of press
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prior restraint, confidentiality of sources
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establishment clause and free exercise clause- religion clause
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prohibits the establishment of a national religion by Congress, and the preference of one religion over another
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separation of church and state
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government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another.
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amendments 4, 5, and 6
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eminent domain, double jeopardy, reasonable suspicion, probable cause, plain view doctrine, due process, fruit of the poisonous tree
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eminent domain
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the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate private property, or rights in private property, without the owner's consent, for public use
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double jeopardy
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forbids a defendant from being tried a second time for the same crime.
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reasonable suspicion
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a person; has been, is, or is about to be, engaged in criminal activity based on specific and articulable facts and inferences. Requires less evidence than probable cause
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probable cause
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a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed and the person is linked to the crime with the same degree of certainty
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plain view doctrine
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allows an officer to seize without a warrant, evidence and contraband found in plain view during a lawful observation.
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due process
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the government must respect all of a person's legal rights instead of just some or most of those legal rights when the government deprives a person of life, liberty, or property.
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fruit of the poisonous tree
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evidence gathered with the aid of information obtained illegally. anything gained from the illegal find (the "fruit") would be tainted
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amendments 8, 9, and 10
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8th- cruel and unusual punishment
9th- unenumerated rights 10th- states rights |
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unenumerated rights
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Rights that are not expressly mentioned in the written text of a constitution but instead are inferred from it
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14th amendment- reconstruction history
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intended to restructure the United States from a country that was "half slave and half free" to one that was all free
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equal protection and due process clause
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all men are created equal and should be given equal protection of the laws, and due process
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senate qualifications / term
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must be 30 years old and a citizen for the past 9 years
6 year term 100 senators in total (2 from each state) |
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House qualifications / term
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must be 25 years old and a citizen for the past 7 years
2 year term 435 members in total |
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speaker of the house
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the Representative of his or her congressional district, performs administrative and procedural functions, duties relating to heading the House and the majority political party
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majority/ minority leader of the house
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majority leader acts as the leader of the party that has a majority of the seats in the house (currently at least 218 of the 435 seats, while minority leader does the opposite
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party whips of the house
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ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires
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why are committees important?
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review of bills, oversee executive branch, may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage
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majority/ minority leader of the senate
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responsible for controlling the agenda of the Senate; for example, he schedules debates and votes
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whips of the senate
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works to ensure that his party's senators vote as the party leadership desires
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president pro tempore
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the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking senator. He rules on points of order and signs Legislation passed by the Senate before it is sent to the President for his signature
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president of the senate
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is also the VP. votes when there are ties. second in line of succession
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local leadership- the house
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Chris Murphy
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local leadership- senators
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Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman
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standing committee
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permanent. aids the parent assembly in accomplishing its duties
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select committee
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temporary. appointed to perform a special function that is beyond the authority or capacity of a standing committee
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conference committee
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both houses of congress. resolve disagreements on a particular bill
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Locke philosophy
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constitutional monarchy,
life liberty and property |
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Hobbes philosophy
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absolute monarchy,
government is always just |
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Machiavelli philosophy
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ends justify the means,
it is better to be feared than loved |
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Rousseau philosophy
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property rights = inequality,
we sacrifice our individuality for protection in society |
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what type of court system do we have in the United States?
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dual court system- federal and state
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how many justices serve on the supreme court?
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9 (8 associate justices and 1 chief justice)
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how long is the term of a supreme court judge?
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for life. this applies to federal judges at all levels
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how do other branches check the power of the supreme court?
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the executive branch uses its best judgment, the senate confirms the appointment, legislature can pass an amendment to the constitution if things get out of hand
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what is a primary election?
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a preliminary election in which voters nominate party candidates for office
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what is a general election?
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an election of the chosen candidate from each party. the winner wins the open seat in congress
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what is the cost of conducting a congressional campaign?
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house of rep: 1 to 3 million
senate: 2 to 20 million |
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define PAC
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political committee organized for the purpose of spending money to elect and defeat political candidates
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