POLS TEST 4

US district Courts

"entry point" and "trial courts" (witnesses and cross-examination). Workhorses of the federal system, the district courts handle more than a quarter of a million filings a year.

The five "common elements" of the judicial system.

1. Ours is an adversarial system in which lawyers on both sides have an opportunity to present their case, challenge the testimony of the opposing side, and try to convince the court that their version of the events is true. 2. 49 of the 50 states and the federal courts operate under a system of common law. 3. Must have a precedent 4. must have standing in the case. 5. jurisdiction of the court.

The steps at the U. S. Supreme Court that happen once a case gets to it.

1. Written Briefs, 2. Oral public testimony, 3. Closed private conference of the justices, 4. Opinion writing and public announcement

The groups of justices on the Court and the lack of influence of the chief justice.

4 justices nominated by Nixon: Burger, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, 5 other justices were there before Nixon became President, 3 liberal justices: Douglas, Brennan, Marshall, 2 swing justices: Stewart, White

Problem of control:

A difficulty faced by elected officials in ensuring that when bureaucrats implement policies they follow these officials' intentions but still have enough discretion to use their expertise.

Precedent:

A legal norm established in court cases that is then applied to future cases dealing with the same legal questions.

Senatorial courtesy:

A norm in the nomination of district court judges in which the president consults with his or her party's senators from the relevant state in choosing the nominee.

Solicitor general:

A presidential appointee in the Justice Department who conducts all litigation on behalf of the federal government before the Supreme Court and supervises litigation in the federal appellate courts.

Regulation:

A rule that allows the government to exercise control over individuals and corporations by restricting certain behaviors

Regulatory capture:

A situation in which bureaucrats favor the interests of the group or corporations they are supposed to regulate at the expense of the general public.

Federal civil service:

A system created by the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Act in which bureaucrats are hired on the basis are hired on the basis of merit rather than political connections.

Cert pool:

A system initiated in the Supreme Court in the 1970s in which law clerks screen cases that come to the Supreme Court and recommend to the justices which cases should be heard.

How the bureaucracy "works in theory"

After Congress passes legislation and the president signs it, the transition from legislation to regulation begins. Input from local government officials, interest groups, and others helps to refine the regulations as they are developed, and has a strong influence on how regulations will affect people "on the ground."

Office of Management and Budget:

An office within the EOP that is responsible for creating the president's annual budget proposal to Congress, reviewing proposed rules, and performing other budget-related tasks.

How red tape and standard operating procedures may be problems.

Because bureaucrats know things that elected officials do not and because bureaucrats have their own policy goals, it is hard for elected officials to evaluate what bureaucrats are doing

Why downsizing, contracting out to private companies, and external pressures were important for the launches.

Because if they didn't they would lose support from the White House and Congress.

Budget maximizers:

Bureaucrats who seek to increase funding for their agency whether or not that additional spending is worthwhile.

Why judicial review is sometimes called "antidemocratic."

Congress elected by the people, president elected by the electoral college taking into account people's votes, judges/ justices of courts not elected by the people AND Judges with lifetime appointments decide on the acts/ actions of elected officials and Judges are hard to remove

The paths to gain access to the U. S. Supreme Court.

Constitution specifies that the Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving a foreign ambassador or foreign countries or cases in which a state is a party. The other three routes to the Court are all on appeal: as a matter of right (usually called on appeal), through certification (a process that has been used only five times since 1982), or through a writ of certiorari.

The U. S. Supreme Court's "multi-faceted role."

Does the Court operate against the political majority to protect minority interests, or does it defer to the popular will?

Civil servants:

Employees of bureaucratic agencies within the government

The disagreements between NASA engineers and senior managers regarding these technical problems.

Engineers were undermined by supervisors needing to keep costs down, to meet demanding schedule, to retain vital contract, to emphasize "can-do" attitude, and to hold onto the procedures that had served them in the past.

Red tape:

Excessive or unnecessarily complex regulations imposed by the bureaucracy.

The Court's decisions on the two issues or questions in the case. (EP)

Executive Privilege: Example of "judicial law making", President had executive privilege due to SOP (a new legal basis) but executive privilege was not absolute, could not be used to withhold information relating to a possible crime; president had to turn over tapes

The importance and "cumbersomeness' of civil service regulations.

Firing requirements make it extremely difficult to remove poor performers

Independent agencies:

Government offices or organizations that provide government services and are not part of an executive department.

The impact of the public's demand for services on the size of the bureaucracy

If Americans want a smaller government that is less involved in everyday life, they do not support the large-scale budget cuts that would be necessary to achieve this goal.

What the "trade-off between expertise and control" involves.

It affects both the kinds of policies that bureaucrats implement and the structure of the federal bureaucracy, including the number of agencies and their missions, staff, and tasks. Moreover, elected officials use a variety of methods to solve the problem of control.

The "legal" factors affecting U. S. Supreme Court decisions.

Justices' Judicial Philosophy, judicial restraint, judicial activism, shapes the justices' views on the role of the court relative to the other branches importance of the original intent and language strict construction/original intent or living constitution, importance of the precedents (prior rulings)

The "political" factors affecting U. S. Supreme Court decisions.

Justices' backgrounds and political/legal experience, values, party identification and loyalties, political ideology (liberal, conservative, libertarian, etc..) the "attitudinalist approach", Peer pressure, Public opinion & interest groups' briefs needed to get support, compliance, keep public confidence, The President's ideology, policy preferences, party

Standing:

Legitimate justification for bringing a civil case to court.

How the case got to the Supreme Court from the U.S. district court.

Leon Jaworski (new special prosecutor) dramatized the importance of quickly resolving the case and releasing the tapes by taking an unusual step. He bypassed the U.S Court of Appeals and asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari- an order to the lower court to send the case to the higher court for review. And so, two years after the ill-fated bugging of Democratic headquarters, the U.S Supreme Court took the case of U.S v. Nixon.

District courts:

Lower-level trial courts of the federal judicial system that handle most U.S federal cases.

Why it is difficult to get bureaucrats to act in "an impartial way."

Many enter the bureaucracy with their own ideas about what government should do, and they make decisions in line with those goals.

"Significant difficulties" when presidents and Congress try to deal with bureaucratic drift.

Members of Congress also pressure bureaucrats to release memos, working drafts, and other documents as a way of keeping track of what bureaucrats are doing

_____ means that the controversy is not relevant when the Court hears the case.

Mootness

What the "Saturday Night Massacre" involved.

On October 20, 1973 involved Nixon firing special prosecutor Archibald Cox and both the attorney general and his deputy resigned rather than carry out the president's orders, which they considered illegal. It then had the country thinking about having Nixon impeached

Political appointees:

People selected by an elected leader, such as the president, to hold a government position

Judicial review in practice

Power of the Supreme Court to review and decide cases and Supremacy of the national constitution, laws, treaties

What Marbury v. Madison involved and its importance.

President Adams (federalist) appointed Marbury (federalist) to JOP position, Appointment never delivered while Adams was president, Jefferson (democrat-republican) won the election in 1800, Jefferson decided not to give Marbury the appointment. Marbury sued Sec. of State Madison (democrat-republican) John Marshall was appointed chief justice in 1801. Marshall single-handedly transformed the Court into an equal partner in the system of checks and balances. The most important step was the decision Marbury v. Madison (1803), which gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review. Marshall simply asserted that the Supreme Court had the power to determine when a law was unconstitutional.

Court of appeals

Public sessions, Less dramatic, "No jurors, witnesses, or cross-examinations",Examine the earlier rulings and procedures. are the intermediate courts of appeals, but in practice they are the final court for most federal cases that are appealed from the lower courts.

_____ occurs when bureaucrats cater to a small group of individuals regardless of the impact of these actions on public welfare.

Regulatory capture

Standard Operating Procedures:

Rules that lower-level bureaucrats must follow when implementing policies.

The president appoints federal judges with the "advice and consent" of the ____.

Senate

The questions or issues that the Supreme Court considered in the case.

Separation of Powers (does the court have jurisdiction? Can Supreme Court check what the President can do?), Executive Privilege (can the president withhold info)

The Court's decisions on the two issues or questions in the case. (SoP)

Separation of Powers: Court had jurisdiction, Federal question was involved, Essential for the Court's checks and balances rule

Why the civil service system was established.

So people were hired on the basis of merit rather than political connection

The task and job of the bureaucracy and why they involve politics and conflict.

Task: assist president and congress Job: enforce the laws and policies through implementation and regulation

Criteria or factors to explain why cases make it to the U. S. Supreme Court.

The Case must involve an actual dispute (adversarial relationship not collusion),The person must have standing (has a stake), The case must be relevant (not moot) when it gets to the Court, The case must have social or political significance, The case must involve a "federal question" (relates to The Constitution, a U.S. Law, or Treaty)

Importance of the Supreme Court's "reputation and prestige."

The Court must rely on its reputation and prestige to compel the president and Congress not to stray too far from its decisions.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the "court of last resort" for cases coming from both the state and the federal courts. One important function of the Court is to ensure that the application and interpretation of the Constitution are consistent nationwide by resolving conflicts between lower courts, or between a state law and a federal law, or between laws in different states.

Judicial review:

The Supreme Court's power to strike down a law or an executive branch action that it finds unconstitutional

Original jurisdiction:

The authority of a court to handle a case first, as in the Supreme Court's authority to initially hear disputes between two states. However, original jurisdiction for the Supreme Court is not exclusive; it may assign such a case to a lower court.

Appellate jurisdiction:

The authority of a court to hear appeals from lower courts and change or uphold the decision.

The most important impact of a case having a large number of amicus curiae briefs is ____.

The case is more likely to be heard

Principal agent game:

The interaction between a principal (such as the president or Congress), who needs something done, and an agent (such as a bureaucrat), who is responsible for carrying out the principal's orders.

Appeals courts:

The intermediate level of federal courts that hear appeals from district courts. More generally, an appeals court is any court with appellate jurisdiction.

Mootness:

The irrelevance of a case by the time it is received by a federal court, causing the Court to decline to hear the case.

Judiciary Act of 1789:

The law in which Congress laid out the organization of the federal judiciary. The law refined and clarified federal court jurisdiction and set the original number of justices at six. It also created the Office of the Attorney General and established the lower federal courts

Writ of certiorari:

The most common way for a case to reach the Supreme Court, in which at least four of the nine justices agree to hear a case that has reached them via an appeal from the losing party in a lower court's ruling.

Defendant:

The person or party against whom a case is brought

Plaintiff:

The person or party who brings a case to court

Constitutional interpretation:

The process of determining whether a piece of legislation or governmental action is supported by the Constitution.

Jurisdiction:

The sphere of court's legal authority to hear and decide cases.

Bureaucracy:

The system of civil servants and political appointees who implement congressional or presidential decisions; also known as the administrative state

Public opinion on what policy areas should be cut.

The top 5 areas that should be cut are aid to world's needy, state department, unemployment aid, military defense, and aid to needy in the US

Statutory interpretation:

The various methods and tests used by the courts for determining the meaning of law and applying it to specific situations. Congress may overturn the courts' interpretation by writing a new law; thus, it also engages in statutory interpretation.

How the justices made their decisions as a group.

They made a unanimous (majority) decision because they felt that the stakes of the case, for the government and the Court, were too high to allow (to be kept secret).

The importance of the Court's wanting to protect its status as a political institution.

They spoke in one voice because their institution was being challenged. Their decision represented "the rule-of-law defended against attack"

Organization and monitoring strategies to deal with bureaucratic drift.

To make sure that they get the policies they want, they also determine where the agency is located within the federal government structure and who runs it. These efforts may occur solely within Congress, involve both Congress and the president, or be arranged by presidential actions.

Concurring opinion:

a justice agrees with the outcome for a different reason

Dissenting opinion:

a justice disagrees with the outcome

A government rule that affects the choices that individuals or corporations make is called ____.

a regulation

Strict construction:

a way of interpreting the Constitution based on its language alone

Living Constitution:

a way of interpreting the Constitution that takes into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances rather than the text alone.

Attitudinalist approach:

a way of understanding decisions of the Supreme Court based on the political ideologies of the justices.

Appellate jurisdiction (parts and paths of U.S court):

appeal

In general, the Court ____ challenges with the elected branches and often _____ to act on "political questions."

avoids, refuses

When bureaucrats pursue their own goals rather than their assignments from officeholders, this is called

bureaucratic drift

A system of ____ relies on legal decisions that are built from precedent established in previous cases.

common law

The civil service regulations ____ the flexibility that managers have in their hiring decisions and _____ the influence of elected officials.

decrease; decrease

The civil service reforms of the Progressive Era _____ the spoils system and _____ the power of party organizations.

ended; decreased

Marbury v. Madison is significant because it ____.

established judicial review

The technical problems regarding the two launches.

foam insulation hitting the Columbia at takeoff, and O-rings eroding on the Challenger rocket boosters.

Plurality opinion:

he majority agrees with the outcome but there is no majority agreement on the reason

Advocates of _____ argue that the Court must defer to the elected branches and not strike down their laws.

judicial restraint

Independent agencies have _____ freedom from oversight than executive departments do and ____ be controlled by the president through his appointees.

more; can

Certiorari (parts and paths of U.S court):

most often used. "Rule of Four" Supreme Court will take the case "to become informed" about how the case is or was handled in a lower court (9 justices on the Supreme Court).

Generally, the chief justice or the _____ justice decides who writes the majority opinion; justices' individual areas of expertise _____ a factor in making this assignment

most senior; are

Oral arguments generally last _____, and justices ______ wait until the end of the arguments to ask questions.

one hour; do not

The perspective that when the Constitution is not clear the justices should be guided by what the Founders wanted is called _____.

original intent

The process of appointing judges/justices to the national ("federal") courts and roles of the president and Senate.

president nominates -> senate reviews, approves or disapproves

In the problem of control, the ____ is the principal and the ____ is the agent.

president; bureaucracy

How regulations involve politics, impact people's lives, and are controversial.

regulations: Regulatory commissions" "control/ direct an aspect of the economy.

While police patrol oversight has the advantage of being ____, it has the drawback of being ____.

responsive; costly

Certification (parts and paths of U.S court):

seldom used, "If a court hearing a case is not sure what the Supreme Court's current policy is, the court will request the Supreme Court to offer an opinion"

When one has suffered direct and personal harm from the action addressed in a case, it is called ____.

standing

The Court's application of national and state laws to particular cases is called ____.

statutory interpretation

Judicial review enables the Supreme Court to ____.

strike down laws passed by Congress

Most of the details about the Supreme Court were established in ____.

the Judiciary Act of 1789

The importance of "bureaucratic drift."

the aim is to set up the agency so that bureaucrats can use their expertise, while making sure their actions are consistent with elected officials' wishes.

Why bureaucrats and their expertise are important.

the average bureaucrat is a specialist in a certain policy area (often holding an advanced degree), with a better grasp of his or her agency's mission.

Judicial activism:

the idea that the Supreme Court should assert its interpretation of the law even if it overrules the elected executive and legislative branches of government.

Judicial restraint:

the idea that the Supreme Court should defer to the democratically elected executive and legislative branches of government rather than contradicting existing laws.

The "basic paradox' regarding the role of the judicial branch.

the judicial branch can be seen as the least democratic or most democratic branch.

Majority opinion:

the majority of the justices agree with outcome and for the same reason

Original intent:

the theory that justices should surmise the intentions of the Founders when the language of the Constitution is unclear.

One of the reasons bureaucrats respond to pressure from elected officials is because _____.

they need congressional support to get larger budgets

When a litigant who lost in lower court files a petition, the case reaches the Supreme Court ____.

through a writ of certiorari

What is the job of the Office of Management and Budget?

to prepare the president's annual budget proposal for the Congress

Most justices _____ in initially deciding which cases should be heard.

use a cert pool

Original jurisdiction (parts and paths of U.S court):

very few cases

The problem that may result when bureaucrats' discretion is limited or taken away.

way is that it limits the positive influence of their expertise.