Electoral College

The constitution says that each state “shall appoint” electors, who then vote for one of the major candidates.

Electors

Somebody who votes or is entitled to vote in an election.

Executive order

A rule or command that has the force of law.

Pardon

A declaration of forgiveness and freedom from punishment.

Amnesty

A pardon toward a group of people.

Reprieve

An order to delay a persons punishment until a higher court can hear the case.

Foreign Policy

A nations plan for dealing with other nations.

National security

The ability to keep the country safe from attack or harm.

Executive agreement

An agreement between the president and the leader of another country.

Ambassador

An official representative of a country’s government

Trade sanctions

Efforts to punish another nation by imposing trade barriers.

Embargo

An agreement among a group of nations that prohibits them from trading with a target nation.

Federal Bureaucracy

The agencies and employees of the Executive branch.

Independent Agencies

Agencies that are not a part of the cabinet. (Executive agencies, government corporations, and regulatory commissions.)

Government Corporations

Like private businesses, except that the government rather than individuals owns and operates them.

Political appointees

People whom the president has chosen because they have proven executive ability or were important supporters of the president’s election campaign

Civil service workers

People like doctors, lawyers and clerks employed by the government through the civil service system.

Civil Service System

The practice of hiring government workers bias of open, completive examinations and merit.

Spoils system

Government jobs went to people as a reward for their political support.

Merit system

Government officials hire new workers from lists of people who have passed the tests otherwise met civil service standards

Circuits

Districts Congress serves.

Jurisdiction

The authority to hear and decide a case

Exclusive Jurisdiction

Only federal courts may hear and decide cases.

Concurrent Jurisdiction

Either court may try crimes that violate both state and federal law.

District courts

The federal courts in which trials are held and lawsuits are begun.

Original Jurisdiction

The authority to hear cases for the first time

Appeals courts

To review decisions made in lower courts.

Appellate Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to hear a case appealed from a lower court.

Remanding

Sending the case back to the lower court to be tried again.

Precedent

Offering a model upon which to base their own decisions on similar cases.

Judicial Review

The court can review any federal, state, or local law or action to see if it is constitutional.

Constitutional

Allowed by the Constitution

Docket

Calendar.

Concurring opinion

The justice that agrees with the majority decision but has different reasons.

Dissenting opinion

Justices who oppose the majority decision.

Unanimous opinion

All justices vote the same way.

Stare decisis

“ let the decision stand.”

Marbury v. Madison, (1803) This case resulted from a petition to the Supreme Court by William Marbury, who had been appointed by President John Adams as Justice of the Peace in the District of Columbia but whose commission was not subsequently delivered. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State James Madison to deliver the documents, but the court, with John Marshall as Chief Justice, denied Marbury's petition, holding that the part of the statute upon which he based his claim, the Judiciary Act of 1789, was unconstitutional.