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Institutions words
Key terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| appropriation | money that congress has allocated to be spent |
| appropriations committee | congressional committee that deals with federal spendig |
| appellate jurisdiction | authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court |
| bureaucracy | departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions in the executive branch of government |
| casework | personal work done by a member of congress for his constituents |
| civil law | concerns noncriminal disputes between private parties |
| class action lawsuit | lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of people against a defendant e.g lawsuits brought by those who have suffered from smoking against tobacco companies |
| closed rule | rules committee rule that bans amendments to a bill |
| cloture | senate motion to end a filibuster that requires a 3/5 vote |
| concurring opinion | written by a supreme court justice who voted with a majority, but for different reasons |
| conference committee | works out a compromise between different house senate versions of a bill |
| constituents | the people who are represented by elected officials |
| discharge petition | a motion to force a bill to the House floor that has been bottled up in a committee |
| dissenting opinion | written by a supreme court justice (or justices) who express a minority viewpoint in a case |
| executive agreement | an agreement between the president and another head of the state that, unlike a treaty, does not require senate consent |
| executive order | presidential rule or regulation that has the force of law |
| executive privilege | the privilege of a president and his staff to withhold their "privileged" conversations from congress or the courts |
| filibuster | nonstop senate debate that prevents a bill from coming to a vote |
| finance committee | senate committee that handles tax bills |
| Frankling privilege | allows members of congress to send mail postage free |
| gerrymandering | redrawing district lines to favor one party at the expense of the other |
| hold | senate maneuver that allows a a senator to stop or delay consideration of a bill or presidential appointment |
| impeachment | house action that formally charges an official with wrongdoing. conviction requires 2/3 vote from the senate |
| Impoundment | refusal of the president to spend money that has been appropriated by congress |
| injuction | court order that forbids a party from performing a certain action |
| judicial activism | philosophy that the courts should take and active role in solving problems |
| judicial restraint | philosophy that the courts should defer to elected lawmakers in setting policy, and should instead focus on interpreting law rather than making law |
| judicial review | power of the courts to review the constitutionality of laws or government actions |
| legislative oversight | ongoing process of congressional monitoring of the executive branch to ensure that the latter complies with the law |
| legislative veto | process in which congress overturned rules and regulations proposed by executive branch agencies. struck down in 1983 |
| line item veto | powers of most governors (and president Clinton for only a few years) to delete or reduce funding in a bill bu line basis |
| logrolling | when two members of congress agree to vote for each others bill |
| majority opinion | written to express the majority viewpoint in a supreme court case |
| seniority system | tradition in which the senator from the majority party with the most years of service on a committee becomes the chairman of that committee |
| stare decisis | Latin for "let the decision stand." supreme court policy of following precedent in deciding cases |
| sunset laws | laws that automatically expire after a given time |
| ways and means committee | house committee that handles tax bills |
| whistleblower | an employee who exposes unethical or illegal conduct within the federal government or one of its contractors |
| writ if certiorari | issued by the supreme court to a lower court to send up the records of a case so that it can be reviewed by the high court |
| writ of habeas corpus | court order that the authorities show cause for why they are holding a prisoner in custody. Deters unlawful imprisoment |
| writ of mandamus | court order directing a party to perform a certain action |
Created by:
Rmenendez12
Popular American Government sets