The Executive and Judicial Branches Unit 3 Article II Article III

Organization of the Executive Branch

Basics of Executive Carries out the laws Grows larger with each new law Includes: – President- 4 year term, he chooses Vice President as a running mate –Vice-President: is a member of the Presidents Cabinet, is President of the Senate –15 Cabinet Level Executive Departments: Cabinet heads appointed by the President Civil Service System

Role of the President Elected every 4 years Elected by electoral college, not direct election Requirements: must be: native born, U.S. Citizen, 35 years old, and have lived in the US for 14 years. Oath: I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States

Role of the President Commander in Chief: –Directs the military –Makes military decisions on the advice of commanders –Can grant pardons Chief Diplomat: –May negotiate treaties with approval of the Senate –Establishes a Foreign policy – –Appoints Ambassadors

Role of the President Chief Executive: –Administer the government –Appoint officials, some with Senate approval –May issue Executive Orders – –Sets Domestic Policy – –Influences legislation

Role of the Vice-President Second in line for the job President of the Senate – Advisor to the President

Other Parts of Executive Presidential Cabinet: – The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. Law Enforcement: – The executive branch executes the law. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress Foreign Relations: – Regulatory Agencies: –

Foreign Relations: – Regulatory Agencies: –

The Electoral College

Electoral College Each state gets electors equal to their number of Senators plus the number of Representatives –Ohio:Senators2 Representatives16 Total Electors18 Each candidate chooses electors to represent him/her Electors that win the popular vote in that state get the right to vote for president

Electoral College In most states, it is all-or-nothing, meaning the candidate gets ALL of the electors, regardless of the margin of victory

2012 Electoral Map

Original Reasons for the Electoral College Concerns about the education of people and communication problems FEDERALISM – the power of the state is important Feared that only the most populated states would get to choose the President

Con’s of the Electoral College The possibility of electing a president that has not gotten a majority of the popular vote The risk of “faithless” electors –Electors who change their vote –But many states have laws against this Lower voter turnout due to lack of understanding

2004 Election One hand equals a candidate visit in the last 5 weeks before the election One $ equals one million dollars spent campaigning

Pro’s of the Electoral College Requires a distribution of support in order to be elected –The President is not elected by: Big states only, or Urban areas only Encourages the two-party system and political stability

Review of 3-2 Write the questions in your notes, leaving space for the answers 1.How are the number of electors for a state determined? 2.How are a state’s electoral votes awarded? 3.What is meant by “favored son” and how did it lead to the development of the Electoral College? 4.What is a “faithless elector” and is it a big risk? 5.How does the Electoral College encourage lower voter turnout? 6.How does the Electoral College prevent the big states from dominating the election?

Review of How are the number of electors for a state determined? The electors are equal to the number of Senators plus the number of Representatives 2.How are a state’s electoral votes awarded? The winner of the state’s popular vote gets the right to vote for president. Winner-take-all in most states

Review of What is meant by “favored son” and how did it lead to the development of the Electoral College? Favored son means people would just vote for the person from the home state and the result would be the state with the largest population picking the President 4.What is a “faithless elector”? Is it a big risk? A Faithless Elector is one that does not vote for the person that they promised to represent. It is not a big risk because most states have laws preventing it.

Review of How can the Electoral College lead to lower voter turnout? People do not understand and decide not to vote because they think their vote doesn’t count. 6.How does the Electoral College prevent the big states from dominating the election? A candidate must get a distribution of support to get elected (must win some states in the middle)

The Judicial Branch

Purpose of the Judicial Settles disputes about the laws Courts at different levels hear cases and judge them against the Constitution and other legal precedents. –Precedent – an example that sets a standard Cases can be appealed to a higher court for review

Levels of Federal Courts District Courts –At least one per state Courts of Appeals –12 courts nationwide that hear appeals of district court decisions Supreme Court –Final court of appeals for both state and federal courts

Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life –9 justices President nominates Justices –Nominees must be approved by the Senate The Court decides which appeals cases to hear

Current Members of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice John Roberts)

Judicial Review Judicial Review is the power to overturn any law that the court decides is in conflict with the Constitution This power is NOT in the Constitution Marbury v. Madison (1803) set the precedent for the Supreme Court to be able to strike down a law as unconstitutional

Word Scramble bank Supreme court, cabinet, nine justices,, comissioner, court of appeals, civil service, district court, governor, low turn out, four years, regulatory agencies, trustees, electoral college, senate, sheriff, executive order, thirty five, legislative branch, checks, diplomat, head of military, judicial branch, balance, pardon, Marbury v Madison, executive branch, ambassador Cross word Bank Judicial Review, Marbury V Madison, District Court, Pardon, Senate, Sheriff, Nine, Ambassador, four years, commissioners, cabinet, executive order, electoral college, thirty five, court of appeals, precedent, civil service, trustees