U2B: Executive, Judiciary, and Bureaucracy

Flashcard deck · A.P. U.S. Government · Execucutive, Judiciarcy and Bureaucracy · Social Studies

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Covers 71 AP Gov terms including Marbury v. Madison, judicial review, iron triangles, bureaucratic drift, executive orders, and Federalist 78.

Terms in this deck

Amicus Curiae Brief: A friend-of-the-court brief filed by an interest group to influence a Supreme Court decision.
Appellate Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.
Baker v. Carr (1962): Supreme Court case that established the "political question" doctrine and the Court's authority to hear redistricting cases.
Bully Pulpit: The president's use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public.
Bureaucrat: A career government employee.
Bureaucratic Adjudication: The process by which the federal bureaucracy settles disputes between parties that arise over the implementation of federal laws or determines which individuals or groups are covered under a regulation or program.
Bureaucratic Discretion: The ability of bureaucrats to make choices about how to implement and enforce laws based on their own judgment.
Bureaucratic Drift: The tendency of bureaucratic agencies to stray from their original goals or legislative intent over time.
Cabinet: The heads of the fifteen executive departments who advise the president and run major federal agencies.
Chief Justice: The head of the Supreme Court who presides over oral arguments, manages conference discussions, and assigns majority opinions.
Concurring Opinion: An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.
Dissenting Opinion: A statement written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion, presenting his or her reasoning.
Executive Agreement: An agreement between the president and the leader of another country.
Executive Branch: The branch of government that carries out laws.
Executive Office of the President (EOP): A collection of offices within the White House organization designed mainly to provide information to the president.
Executive Order: A rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law.
Executive Privilege: The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.
Federal Bureaucracy: The agencies and employees of the executive branch of government.
Federal Civil Service: The merit-based bureaucracy, excluding the armed forces and political appointments.
Federal Courts of Appeals (Circuit Courts): The middle level of the federal judiciary; these courts review and hear appeals from the federal district courts.
Federal District Courts: The lowest level of the federal judiciary; these courts usually have original jurisdiction in cases that start at the federal level.
Federalist 78: Written by Alexander Hamilton; discusses the federal judiciary and argues that the judiciary must depend on the other two branches to uphold its decisions.
Formal Powers (Enumerated): Specific grants of authority defined in the Constitution or in law.
Freedom of Information Act: Gives all citizens the right to inspect all records of federal agencies except those containing military, intelligence, or trade secrets; increases accountability of the bureaucracy.
Going Public: A president's strategy of appealing to the public on an issue, expecting that public pressure will be brought to bear on other political actors.
Government Corporation: A government-owned business that provides services that could be offered by the private sector, such as the postal service.
Hatch Act: A federal law prohibiting government employees from active participation in partisan politics.
Impeachment: A formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office.
Implementation: The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.
Independent Regulatory Agency: A government agency that operates separately from executive departments and is less directly controlled by the president.
Informal Powers: Powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties.
Iron Triangle: A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.
Issue Network: Webs of influence between interest groups, policymakers, and policy advocates.
Judicial Activism: An interpretation of the U.S. Constitution holding that the spirit of the times and the needs of the nation can legitimately influence judicial decisions, particularly decisions of the Supreme Court.
Judicial Restraint: A theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power.
Judicial Review: The power that allows courts to determine the constitutionality of laws.
Judiciary Act of 1789: A 1789 act of Congress that created the federal court system, establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures.
Lame Duck: An elected official who continues serving after their successor has been elected but before the successor takes office.
Majority Opinion: A statement that presents the views of the majority of Supreme Court justices regarding a case.
Marbury v. Madison (1803): Established judicial review.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): Supreme Court case that established federal supremacy and the doctrine of implied powers of the national government.
Merit System: The practice of hiring people into government jobs on the basis of their qualifications.
National Security Council (NSC): An EOP body that advises the president on national security and foreign policy matters.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB): A key EOP agency that prepares the federal budget and reviews regulations proposed by executive agencies.
Original Jurisdiction: The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial; these courts determine the facts about a case.
Pendleton Act: An 1883 law that created a Civil Service Commission and stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds nor be fired for political reasons.
Persuasion Power: The president's informal ability to convince members of Congress, the public, or other actors to support their agenda.
Plea Bargain: An agreement between a defendant and prosecutor to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Pocket Veto: A veto taking place when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president, who simply lets it die by neither signing nor vetoing it.
Political Patronage: Appointment to political office, usually as a reward for helping get a president elected.
Political Question Doctrine: The principle that courts should not decide issues that are fundamentally political in nature and better left to other branches.
Precedent: An example or prior ruling that may serve as a basis for imitation or later action.
Presidential Pardon: Presidential authority to release individuals convicted of a crime from legal consequences and set aside punishment.
Recess Appointment: A presidential appointment made while the Senate is in recess, allowing the president to bypass Senate confirmation temporarily.
Regulation: Government intervention in a market that affects the production of a good.
Rule of Four: The principle that at least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard.
Rulemaking: The process by which federal agencies create regulations that have the force of law, typically involving public notice and comment.
Senatorial Courtesy: The presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.
Shaw v. Reno (1993): Supreme Court ruling that race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing congressional districts.
Signing Statement: A presidential document that reveals what the president thinks of a new law and how it ought to be enforced.
Solicitor General: The government official who represents the United States before the Supreme Court and decides which cases the government will appeal.
Spoils System: The practice of rewarding political supporters with government jobs, replaced by the merit system after the Pendleton Act.
Stare Decisis: Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases.
State of the Union Address: The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation, setting presidential priorities.
Supreme Court: The highest federal court in the United States.
Treaty: A formal agreement between two or more sovereign states, ratified by the Senate.
U.S. v. Nixon (1974): Supreme Court case that ruled executive privilege is not absolute, forcing Nixon to release Watergate tapes.
Veto: The chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature.
War Powers Resolution: A law passed in 1973 spelling out the conditions under which the president can commit troops without congressional approval.
Whistleblower Protection Act: A law passed in 1989 that created an Office of Special Counsel to investigate complaints from bureaucrats claiming they were punished after reporting to Congress about waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies.
Writ of Certiorari (Cert): An order by the court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review.

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