Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
US Govt and Pol 4
Stack #186639
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| seniority system | custom whereby the member of Congress who has served the longest on the majority side of a committee becomes its chair and the member who has served the longest on the minority side becomes its ranking member |
| drafting a bill | actual writing of a bill in legal language |
| markup | line-by-line revision of a bill in committee by editing each phrase and word |
| discharge petition | petition signed by at least 218 House members to force a vote on a bill within a committee that opposes it |
| rule | stipulation attached to a bill in the house of Representatives that governs its consideration on the floor, including when and for how long it can be debated an how many (if any) amendments may by appended to it. |
| closed rule | rule that forbids adding any amendments to a bill under consideration by the House |
| restricted rule | rule that allows specified amendments to be added to a bill under consideration by the House |
| open rule | rule that permits unlimited amendments to a bill under consideration by the House |
| unanimous consent agreement | negotiated by the majoirty and minority leaders of the Senate, it specifies when a bill will be taken up on the floor, what amendments will be considered, and when a vote will be taken. |
| filibuster | delaying tactic by a senator or group of senators, using the Senate's unlimited debate rule to prevent a vote on a bill |
| cloture | vote to end debate- that is, to end a filibuster-which requires a 3/5 vote of the entire membership of the Senate |
| rider | amendment to a bill that is not germane to the bill's purposes |
| roll-call vote | vote of the full House or Senate at which all members' individual votes are recorded and made public |
| conference committee | meeting between representatives of the house and Senate to reconcile differences over provisions of a bill passed by both houses |
| party vote | majority of Democrats voting in opposition to a mjority of Republicans |
| party unity | percentage of Democrats and Republicans who stick with their party on party votes |
| bipartisanship | agreement by members of both the Democratic and the Republican parties |
| divided party government | one party controls the presidency while the other party controls one or both houses of Congress |
| constituency | the votes in a legislator's home district |
| trustees | legislators who feel obligated to use their own best judgment in decision making |
| delegates | legislators who feel obligated to present the views of their home constituents |
| logrolling | bargaining for agreement among legislators to upport each other's favorite bills, especially projects that primarily benefit individual members and their constituents |
| gridlock | political stalemate between the executive and legislative branches arising when one branch is controlled by one major political party and the other branch by the other party |
| censure | public reprimand for wrongdoing, given to a member standing in the chamber before Congress |
| judicial review | power of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, to declare laws of Congress, laws of the states, and actions of the president unconstitutional and invalid |
| statutory laws | laws made by act of Congress of the state legislatures, as opposed to constitutional law |
| judicial self-restraint | self-imposed limitation on judicial power by judges deferring to the policy judicial power by judges deferring to the policy judgments of elected branches of gobernment |
| original intent | judicial philosophy under which judges attempt to apply the values of the Founders to current issues |
| judicial activism | making of new law through judicial interpretations of the constitution |
| stare decisis | Judicial precept that the issue has already been decided in earlier cases and the earlier decision need only be applied in the specific case before the bench; the rule in most cases, it comes from the Latin for "the decision stands" |
| precedent | legal principle that previous decisions should determine the outcome of current cases; the basis for stability in law |
| jurisdiction | power of a court to hear a case in question |
| original jurisdiction | refers to a particular court's power to serve as the place where a given case is initialy argued and decided |
| appeal | in general, requests that a higher court review cases decided at a lower level. in the Supreme court, certain cases are designated as appeals under federal law; formally, these must be heard by the Court |
| grand juries | juries called to hear evidence and decide whether defendants should be indected and tried |
| petit (regular) juries | juries called to determine guilt or innocence |
| circuit courts | the twelve appellate courts that make up the middle level of the federal court system |
| briefs | documents submitted by an attorney to a court, setting out the facts of the case and the legal arguments in support of the party represented by the attorney |
| civil cases | noncriminal court proceedings in which a plaintiff sues a defendant for damages in payment for harm inflicted |
| adversarial system | method of decision making in which an impartial judge or jury or decision maker hears arguments and reviews evidence presented by opposite sides |
| standing | requirement that the party who files a lawsuit have a legal stake in the outcome |
| plaintiff | individual or party who initiates a lawsuit |
| sovereign immunity | legal doctrine that individuals can sue the government only with the goernment's consent |
| class action suits | cases initiated by parties acting on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated |
| contingency fees | fees paid to attorneys to represent the plaintiff in a civil suit and receive in compensation an agreed-upon percentage of damages awarded (if any) |
| remedies and relief | orders of a court to correct a wrong, including a violation of the Constitution |
| independent counsel ("special prosecutor") | a prosecutor appointed by a federal court to pursue charges against a president or other high official. this position was allowed to lapse by congress in 1999 after many controversial investigations by these prosecutors |
| litmus test | in political terms, a person's stand on a key issue that determines whether he or she will be appointed to public office or supported in electoral campaigns |
| writ of certiorari | writ issued by the Supreme Court, at its descretion, to order a lower court to prepare the record of a case and send it to the Supreme court for review. most cases come to the Court as petitions for writs of certiorari |
| rule of four | at least four justices must agree to hear an appeal (writ of certiorari) from a lower court in order to get a case before the Supreme court |
| amicus curiae | literally, "friend of the court"; a person, private group or institution, or government agency that is not a party to a case but participates in the case (usually through submission of a brief) at the invitation of the court or on its own initiative |
| solicitor genera | attorney in the Department of Justice who represents the U.S. government before the supreme Court and any other courts |
| majority opinion | opinion in a case that is subscribed to by a majority of the judges who participated in the decision |
| concurring opinion | opinion by a member of a court that agrees with the reult reached by the court in the case but disagrees with or departs from the court's rationale for the decision |
| dissenting opinion | opinion by a member of a court that disagrees with the result reached by the court in the case |
| U.S. Solicitor General | the U.S. government's chief legal counsel, presenting the government's arguments in cases in which it is a party or in which it has an interest |
Created by:
af_becton
Popular History sets