And Other Things You Need to Know About the Government ‘Merica And Other Things You Need to Know About the Government

Bell Ringer No Bell Ringer. Take the day off. Happy Thursday.

Bell Ringer What is the purpose of the Supreme Court?

Who Exists in the American Government? Judicial Branch – Supreme Court + Lower Courts Legislative Branch – Congress Senate and the House of Representatives ______________ Branch – President, his cabinet, and the Vice President, & Military

Judicial Branch It is the job of the judicial branch to decide whether or not something is constitutional

The Supreme Court Brady Bunch The Supreme Court – The highest court in the United States ___ Chief Justice + ___ Associate Justices = 9 Justices

Important Terms ________ __________ _________ Supreme Court of the United States __________ Those who serve on the court _________ The decision made by the courts

Can I Become A Member? Yes.. …sort of… Probably no The Constitution Does not dictate any requirements such as age, nationality, etc

How Do I Become a Supreme Court Member? 1st the President has to nominate you to the ______________ 2nd the senate has to approve you with a _________ ________ ________ __________– over half the votes

So What is My Job? It is your job to make a ruling in cases: Involving Foreign Diplomats Cases that occur over state borders Whether a law is or isn't constitutional

What Do I Get Out of It? Being on the supreme court means: Serve for ________ * Cannot get a pay cut *Can be removed from office through impeachment

Impeached? Impeachment - to accuse a government official with the intent of removing them from office How does it happen in the supreme Court?

Supreme Court Impeachment 2 Step Process Controlled by Congress House of Representatives must decide that the case has sufficient evidence to warrant a trial The Senate then Holds a trial to decide whether the individual should be removed from office

But I Digress Outside of being removed from office through impeachment, a Justice serves for life/retirement and gets a set salary that cannot be changed. This is so the Justices are free from the influence of politics

How the Supreme Court Works The Supreme Court receives around 10,000 petitions (cases) a year. They usually end up hearing between 75-150 cases How do they decide? Any guesses?

Granting Cert. If 4 of the 9 justices agree to hear your case they will issue a writ of certiorari writ of certiorari - an order to a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it.

What Cases are Usually Picked? The cases that are picked are ones that would effect the whole country Not simple dispute cases A simple majority wins the case

ie. The Legislative Branch Congress ie. The Legislative Branch

Bell Ringer What are your feelings towards the current US congress? Why?

Congress Membership Total: ________ 435 members in the House of Representatives ______ - senators

The House of Representatives Often abbreviated to, “the House” Referred to as, “the _________ house”

How many? The amount of representatives from each state depends on the ________’s ____________ Each state is divided into districts Each district sends one representative

Why do they look weird? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mky11UJb9AY ____________________ – achieving a desired result by manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency

How do they decide? The number of state representatives is determined by the state’s population No state can have fewer than ___

Can I Become A Representative? No Not even a little Why would you ask? *sigh*

Requirements and Term Must be ____ years old A US citizen for __ years Must live in a state where a district is located Can only serve for _ years

Powers of the House (there are more, but these are a pretty good summary) _____ on charges of impeachment vote for president if the electoral college is tied Introduce _____ and _______________

Current Make-up (2016)

Senate

Senate Referred to as the “________ ________”

Overview Each state sends _____ representatives Each member of the senate is called a, “__________” Can you be one?

Senate That’s a definite no Must be _____ years old Have been a citizen of the US for __ years Must have a in the state they represent Serve for _____ years with a ______ being reelected every ____ years

Powers Try those going through the impeachment process Ratify Treaties Work with the to ratify laws

Senate Breakdown

Congressional Powers (abridged) and Pass Legislation. Set the . Declare . Establish governmental buildings and organizations

The Executive Branch

Who? The executive branch includes: . _____ president. Cabinet.

Presidential Powers (1/3) Propose _______________ Sign/Veto ______________ Sign _________

Presidential Powers (2/3) Head of the ____________ (commander and chief) Who sends military off to war? The president can send the military off somewhere except: He must notify congress within _____ hours of deployment Congress has to approve the deployment within _____ days or the troops are withdrawn

Presidential Powers (3/3) Executive _______. Definition: a rule or order issued by the president to _____________ or federal agencies. Cannot be given directly to private citizens* Ends when the president’s final term has come to an end

Requirements Must be years old. Must have lived in the United States for years. Must be a citizen

Vice President Casts a vote in the __________ in case of a ____. Becomes _________ if the president leaves office/dies. _______________ to countries in the President’s place

Cabinet President’s _____________ Nominated by the _____________ and confirmed by the ______________. Aside from the Attorney General and Vice President, they are given the title, “_____________.”