How Does a Bill Become a Law? Essential Question #2 Introduced Committee Action Debate on the Floor Vote on Bill Goes to other house for committee action, debate, & vote Signed by President

What is their Role in Lawmaking? Legislative Branch: makes laws Judicial Branch: interprets laws Executive Branch: enforces laws Senator: introduce bill, votes, can filibuster Representative: introduce bill, votes President: signs bill to become a law (or can veto or pocket veto)

What is their Role in Lawmaking? Committee Member: reviews bill & recommends it for debate Speaker of the House: schedules voting on bills; runs debates (in House) President Pro Tempore: schedules voting on bills, runs debates (in Senate) Conference Committee Member: settles disputes between 2 similar bills (in House & Senate) to create a compromise

What is their Role in Lawmaking? Majority/Minority Leader: tells majority or minority party when the votes are Majority/Minority Whip: “whips” up support for a bill that the party is backing; encourages members to vote for the bill Vice President: votes in the Senate if there is a tie (50-50) Lobbyist: represents a special interest group; tries to get congresspersons to vote for bills that will help their cause

TEST YOUR SKILLS! Where can a bill be killed? In committee (in House or Senate) On the floor during debate (in Senate by filibuster) By a vote (in House or Senate) By the President (veto or pocket veto)

Test Your Skills! What can the Senate do to break a filibuster? Vote for cloture to move on – need 60 votes How can Congress override a President’s veto? By voting for the bill again – need 2/3 votes of House & Senate

Knowing the Laws Ignorance of a law is no excuse. There are many ways to be informed about laws: the Internet [national, state (statutes) and local (ordinances) laws can all be found here], copies of the law in libraries, town meetings, and other media [newspapers, television].

Government & the Law The government also shares some responsibility to inform you of the laws. The government can inform citizens of the laws through press releases, special law campaigns (“click it or ticket”), and public websites. Right now, Obama posts bills he is considering signing into law on www.whitehouse.gov so that citizens can give their input before he signs them.

Criminal Law Criminal laws seek to prevent people from purposefully harming others or property. The courtroom is an arena where each lawyer tries to present their own case. The judge is impartial & should be fair to both sides. Critics of this system argue that it encourages lawyers to ignore evidence that does not support their case. This makes it an adversarial system.

Criminal Law In criminal cases, the government is always the plaintiff: the party that brings charges against the accused. The reason for this system is that everyone (American society) is a victim when a crime is committed. The individual or group accused of a crime is the defendant.

Crimes Crimes are felonies (serious crimes such as rape, murder, robbery) or misdemeanors (minor crimes such as vandalism or petty theft). Crimes against property are the most common. Larceny: unlawful taking of property. Robbery: taking of property by using force or threat. Burglary: unlawfully entering any building or dwelling with the intention to commit a crime

Civil Law Civil law is concerned with disputes between people or groups when no criminal laws have been broken. A civil case in court is called a lawsuit. The person suing is the plaintiff and the person being sued is the defendant. Tort laws: tort is a civil wrong; Ex: suffering an injury and suing because of negligence Family law: rules applied to relationships between family members; Ex: adoption, divorce

Other Types of Law Constitutional law: laws that deal with the Constitution. Ex: freedom of speech, discrimination Administrative law: rules and regulations that the executive branch creates to carry out its job

WARM UP!! What amendments can you remember?

Court Decisions The Constitution is the basic law of our nation. Courts base their rulings on written laws and precedent (previous rulings on cases). The rulings are then used to build decisions about similar cases in the future. This process is called stare decisis, which means “let the decision stand”.

Rights of the Accused Article I: writ of habeas corpus: you must be brought to court and told why you have been arrested/are being held bills of attainder: law that punishes someone without a trial (Congress cannot pass these) ex post facto laws: making an act a crime after it was committed (Congress cannot pass these)

Rights of Accused Citizens 4th Amendment: protects you from illegal searches & seizures; must present a search warrant to search private property (have to show judge evidence to get a warrant)

Rights of the Accused 5th Amendment: due process: each case has to be tried under the same rules/laws; you cannot be punished without the government following those rules double jeopardy: cannot be tried for the same crime twice grand jury: people accused of federal crimes must be brought before a grand jury to decide whether the government has enough evidence for a trial self-incrimination: you have the right to remain silent (plead the 5th)

Rights of the Accused 6th Amendment Attorney: right to a lawyer present during police questioning & your trial (Gideon v. Wainwright guarantees this right even if you cannot afford a lawyer) Trial by jury: right to an impartial jury in a criminal case; can choose a bench trial (a judge only) if you want 7th Amendment: right to an impartial trial by jury in a civil case (SEVEN-CIVIL)

Rights of the Accused 8th Amendment: 14th Amendment: excessive bail: bail is the amount of $ you must pay to be released from jail while waiting for your trial; it has to fit the crime committed Cruel and unusual punishment: punishment must fit the crime committed 14th Amendment: equal protection: you must be treated equally; they have to follow due process of law for all citizens; no discrimination.

Rights of the Accused – Due Friday, Dec 10th You are working with the Wake County sheriff’s office to create a newsletter to issue to people who have been arrested (use Publisher). Article 1: describe the accused person’s individual rights. You should include the rights in Article I and all of the amendments (that apply). Article 2: Describe the steps in a criminal trial. Include everything & define at least 5 vocabulary words within your article. Article 3: Explain 2 Supreme Court cases that have dealt with rights of accused citizens. Article 4: Write an editorial (YOUR OPINION) describing what you think about the 3 strikes rule or the death penalty. Decorate your newsletter with photos. Worth 1 test grade.