Essay Question (short answer)

Explain how the President and Congress check and balance each other in the lawmaking process.

The president can veto a bill passed by Congress. Congress can override a Presidential veto.

Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier

The principal of a school would not permit the publication of an issue of the school paper because it contained inappropriate material written by students. Result: This does not violate the 1st A. because a school has the right to promote particular types of student speech and set standards within reason. Schools may set standards for speech and press and regulate if material goes against the values of the school.

How did conditions after the Civil War lead to the Civil RIghts Movement? Provide 2 examples.

1. Social factors of the Reconstruction lead to the Civil Rights Movement - Just being freed from slavery, blacks were expecting equality. When they were greeted with sharecropping, they were not pleased. Loop holes were found in the amendments so blacks could not vote, and segregation started taking place. Blacks knew they were not being treated fairly, and wanted equality. 2. Economic factors of the Reconstruction lead to the Civil Rights Movement - The south, needing a work force to work the farms, created sharecropping to run the farms. They stayed in control of their workers, and did not treat them fairly. The land owners would usually ensure blacks stay in enough poverty to stay in debt, so the owner can stay in charge 3. Politically - Loop holes were found in the 13th 14th and 15th amendments. Impossible literacy tests and fines were set up so that blacks couldn't vote. It was made so in reality, blacks didn't have equal protection under the law and were not treated fairly. This is why Plessy vs. Ferguson first went to the Supreme Court.

New Jersey v TLO

4th amendment protects against unreasonable searches, but schools can perform these searches; girl has drugs in her purse, school searches it and finds it, she tries to claim its unconstitutional, Supreme Court says search is reasonable because of reasonable suspicion and probable cause

Right to Attorney

6th Amendment. Gideon v. Wainwright

Mapp v Ohio

A landmark case in the area of U.S. criminal procedure, in which the United States Supreme Court decided that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures" may not be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts, as well as federal courts.

The Declaration of independence 1776

An act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776, which declared that the Thirteen Colonies in North America were "Free and Independent States" and that "all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved."

Explain the Electoral College and the process by which the President is elected.

Constitutional system for electing president and vice president. Each state has electors = to number of senators + representatives (DC also has 3 because of 23rd Amendment). Citizens of state vote for candidate. Winner gets all electoral college votes (except Maine & Nebraska which uses proportional system). Winner of majority of electoral college votes becomes president. If no majority then President picked by House from top 3 candidates.

How did the Brown v Board of Education decision affect the precedent ofPlessy v Ferguson

In Brown v Board of Education, the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation, insofar as it applied to public education.

What were the strategies used by the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement? What were the advantages and disadvantages of these strategies? Discuss two strategies, and an advantage/disadvantage for each.

Moral Suasion: the strategic use of guilt to generate moral behavior. Advantage: people will act in order to alleviate guilt Disadvantages: not everyone has the same standards of morality Litigation: the directed use of lawsuits to challenge the standing of Jim Crow. Advantage: Settles disputes legally and finally. Disadvantages: Slow Civil Disobedience: use of collective non-violent action to disrupt state activity. Advantage: Gains sympathy from media and public Disadvantages: Physically risky, potential arrests Economic Boycott: use of collective non-violent action to disrupt private activity. Advantage: Hits businesses where it matters to them Disadvantages: can be slow Grassroots Organizing: rural and urban strategies to build mass movement. Advantage: build large following Disadvantages: takes time Solicitation of Corporate Sponsors: use of private organization to fund political activities. Advantage: income Disadvantages: corporations may want influence Use of Television: the first movement to coincide with the rise of mass media. Advantage: large audience Disadvantages: fickle audience

5th amendment

Right of Accused Persons/ Indictment of Grand Jury (1) No Self-Incrimination (Miranda) (2) No Double Jeopardy (defendant cannot be tried again on the same, or similar charges) (3) No deprivation of life liberty or property without "due process of law" (fair treatment)

Tinker v Des Moines

Students decided to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to their schools during Christmas holiday season. The principals told them to remove them or face suspension, In 1969 Supreme Court stated that The First Amendment, as applied through the Fourteenth, did not permit a public school to punish a student for wearing a black armband as an anti-war protest, absent any evidence that the rule was necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others.

Supreme court

The court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. It has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction, but unlike other federal courts, it controls its own agenda.

Importance of Judicial Branch

judiciary provides checks on the powers of the executive and the legislature and so judges need to be independent of the other two branches of government. It is important that the government cannot exact revenge on judges for decisions they do not like by dismissing the judge or reducing his or her salary. This independence is vital for the effective working of the judiciary and for public confidence that the law is being enforced without fear or favour.