 Makes the Laws  Powers over Executive Branch  Can override Presidential veto with a 2/3 vote  Can deny Presidential appointments  Powers over Judicial Branch  Can deny judicial appointments

Gerrymandering – drawing Congressional district lines to give one political party an advantage Reapportionment – redistributing membership in the House according to new census numbers

Filibuster – speaking without a break in the Senate in an effort to defeat a bill Cloture – a vote in the Senate to end debate and take a vote

 John Boehner (R) – Ohio  Speaker is member of majority party  Controls committee assignments  Controls debates  Decides which potential laws get discussed

 Harry Reid (D) – Nevada  Makes sure all Democrats are on the same page  Steers committee assignments  Controls Senate debates and bills

Judicial Branch

S upreme C ourt O f T he U nited S tates 9 justices Serve until: Retirement Death Job is to interpret the law Holds power of judicial review from Marbury v. Madison Can declare laws unconstitutional

Good Work If You Can Get It SCOTUS hears cases on appeal from lower courts No original evidence Can choose the cases they want to hear Writ of certiorai If they don’t want to hear it, original ruling stands In the case: Each side gets 30 minutes to state their case Justices grill lawyers for as long as they want Tell folks to wait months until they reveal opinions away-same-sex-marriage-cases/

Liberal justices typically have a more loose construction view and appointed by _______________________ Presidents Conservative justices typically have a more strict construction view and appointed by _______________________ Presidents

Landmark Cases Tinker v. Des Moines Students have expression rights it doesn’t impede learning Powell v. Alabama Must have access to a lawyer in capital punishment cases Wallace v. Jaffree Establishment case, no prayer during school hours Nixon v. US There is even a limit on executive privilege…rule of law

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

EXECUTIVE POWERS Job is to enforce the laws Power over judicial branch Appoint judges Grant pardons Power over legislative branch Propose laws Veto laws Term Limits 2 terms of years a piece Maximum of 10 years

25 TH AMENDMENT 1)When President dies, resigns, or removed from office VP takes over 2)President nominates new VP if the role is vacant 3)VP takes over when President temporarily cannot fulfill obligations 4)VP can declare President unable to fulfill obligations if President is in real bad shape

FORMAL AND INFORMAL ROLES Formal PowersInformal Powers Chief Executive See that Government programs are carried out and that the laws passed by Congress are implanted Foreign Policy Leader Job of formulating the nation’s plans and procedures for dealing with other countries Commander in Chief Authority to order troops in to action and to call them back home Chief of State Takes on the role of the symbolic figure of the United States Party Leader Takes lead in shaping and then promoting the party platform Chief Citizen Should be seen as models of good citizenship and held to a high standard

EXECUTIVE POWERS EXECUTIVE ORDERS A formal rule or regulation instructing executive branch officials on how to carry out their jobs EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE Power that allows a President to refuse to release information to Congress or a court DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION The power to formally recognize the legitimacy of a foreign government PARDON Power to release a convicted criminal from having to fulfill a sentence TWO KINDS OF VETO ¨ Veto: Rejecting a bill ¨ Pocket Veto: If the President chooses to not sign or veto a bill. After 10 days, if Congress remains in session, the bill becomes a law. If Congress adjourns, the bill doesn’t become a law

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS (CABINET) Provide advice and guidance on policy to the President For example, the Department of Education gives the President information on educational matters