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| State and local governments today employ more people than the national government. |
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| . The United States can best be described as a/an __________________ system |
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| Article ________ of the United States Constitution lists the powers of Congress. |
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| Article _______ of the United States Constitution is the federal supremacy clause. |
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The constitutions, laws and policies of the 50 states cannot contradict the United
States Constitution. |
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| The ______ amendment to the United States Constitution often is called the “states’ rights” amendment. |
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| The longest of the state constitutions in total words is the __________ Constitution. |
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| Georgia has had ________ constitutions |
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| The United States Constitution has a Bill of Rights, but the Georgia Constitution does not. |
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| Both the United States Congress and the Georgia General Assembly are bicameral |
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| . Both the United States Constitution and Georgia Constitution permit judicial review. |
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| The United States Constitution has more articles than the Georgia Constitution |
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| Georgia voters must approve all amendments to the state constitution. |
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| The Georgia Constitution requires the state to have a balanced budget |
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| The Governor of Georgia does not possess the power of the line-item veto. |
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| Georgia elects almost all its judges on a nonpartisan ballot. |
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| All legislators in Georgia (both House and Senate) serve two-year terms. |
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| Georgia has a cabinet system like the executive branch of the federal government |
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| The Georgia Constitution limits the number of counties at __________. |
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| Georgia’s first constitution became effective in ________. |
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| The first Georgia constitution disestablished the Anglican Church. |
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Definition
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| . The first Georgia constitution established a state supreme court |
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| Georgia was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution |
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. In the second Georgia constitution slaves were counted for representation purposes
as _________ of a person. |
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| Georgia’s constitutions made no provision for public education until the 20th century. |
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| . At one point the Georgia legislature elected the governor. |
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| The main author of the Confederate Constitution was also the author of the Georgia constitution under the confederacy. |
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| After the Civil War northern troops remained in Georgia until _________ |
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| The county-unit system in Georgia tended to give disproportionate strength to urban areas such as Atlanta. |
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Definition
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| . In 1963 the United States Supreme Court declared the Georgia county-unit system unconstitutional. |
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| The current Georgia constitution was implemented in _______. |
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The Georgia Constitution can be amended in a two-step process. The first step is the
proposal of an amendment by 2/3’s of both houses of the General Assembly. |
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Definition
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| The second step is ratification (approval) by 2/3’s of the electorate voting on the proposed amendment. |
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Definition
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| . The Governor of Georgia can veto a constitutional amendment. |
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| In Georgia voters can get an issue on the ballot through the initiative process |
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| The majority of proposed constitutional amendments considered by state legislatures are approved for a vote by the people of that state. |
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Definition
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| . The presiding officer of the Georgia House of Representatives is called the ______. |
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| The Leader of the Georgia Senate is _____________________. |
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Definition
| The Lt. Governor of the state |
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| The Georgia General Assembly meets every other year. |
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| The Georgia General Assembly is limited to a ________ day session |
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There are no age or residency requirements for election to the Georgia General
Assembly other than being a registered voter. |
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| The Governor may call the Georgia General Assembly into special session |
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If the Georgia legislature wished to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of an
individual or an organization, the General Assembly would pass a _______________
describing their achievements. |
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| Only members of the General Assembly may introduce legislation. |
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The Georgia Constitution requires that legislation dealing with public revenues be
first introduced in the Senate, and then later in the House |
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Definition
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| . Bills in the Georgia General Assembly are constitutionally restricted to one purpose. |
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The legislature may approve tax legislation by a simple majority vote of both houses
of the legislature. |
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A 2/3’s vote of both houses of the General Assembly is required to override the
Governor’s veto of legislation. |
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The Georgia Constitution requires the Governor to prepare the state’s budget and
submit it to the legislature. |
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Definition
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Term
Georgia voters elect more officials who serve in the Georgia executive branch than is
the case in the executive branch at the federal level |
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Definition
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| The Governor of Georgia can only serve two consecutive terms. |
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| Other statewide elected officials (e.g., Agriculture Commissioner, Insurance Commissioner) are limited to two consecutive terms. |
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. As with the federal government, Georgia’s fiscal year begins on October 1st each
year. |
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Term
If a bill is passed by the General Assembly and the Governor takes no action (i.e.,
neither signs nor vetoes it), the bill automatically dies. |
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Definition
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The Georgia Governor may exercise power over college-level education in the state
by serving on the Board of Regents |
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Definition
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Term
. In Georgia the __________________________ regulates telephone services and
utilities such as natural gas and electricity |
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Definition
| Public Service Commission |
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| There are no constitutional qualifications to be a judge in Georgia. |
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Term
Members of the Georgia Supreme Court, like the United States Supreme Court, serve
life terms. |
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Term
Traffic violation cases (e.g., a speeding ticket) are tried in Superior
Court. |
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The Georgia Supreme Court is required by the state constitution to grant the request
of a Georgia resident for an appeal of their conviction in a Superior Court felony case. |
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| The theory that human beings, living in a state of nature, possessed certain fundamental rights that they brought with them into organized society. |
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| The cumulative body of decisions, often based on custom and precedent, of judges who dispensed law, beginning in 12th century medieval England . |
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| A Latin phrase meaning “stand by past decisions.” This principle is often used by judges in deciding cases. |
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| The law enacted by Congress, or by state legislatures or local legislative bodies. |
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| A legal principle of fair dealing that may provide preventive measures and legal remedies that are unavailable under ancient provisions of common law. |
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Definition
| Court cases that concern relations between individuals or organizations, such as a divorce action, or a suit for damages arising from an automobile accident or for violation of a business contract |
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| Court cases that concern crimes committed against the public order. |
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| The rules and regulations made and applied by federal regulatory agencies and commissions. |
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| The power of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress or actions by the executive branch—or laws and actions at any level of local, state, and federal government—unconstitutional. |
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| The 1803 case that established for the Supreme Court the power of judicial review. judicial activism A philosophy that was often embraced by a majority of the members of the Warren Court , which boldly applied the Constitution to social and political questions, such as the rights of criminal defendants or reapportionment. |
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| A philosophy, often associated with Justices Frankfurter, Brandeis, and Holmes, that requires the Supreme Court to avoid constitutional questions where possible, and to uphold acts of Congress unless they clearly violate a specific section of the Constitution. |
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| The philosophy that government should interfere as little as possible in the affairs of business. jurisdiction The kinds of cases that a court has the authority to decide. |
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Definition
| The right of the Supreme Court, under the Constitution, to hear certain kinds of cases directly, such as cases involving foreign diplomats or cases in which one of the fifty states is a party. |
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Definition
| A writ that, if granted, means that the Supreme Court will hear a case. The majority of cases presented to the Supreme Court come in the form of petitions for a writ of certiorari |
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Definition
| A writ that, if granted, means that the Supreme Court will hear a case. The majority of cases presented to the Supreme Court come in the form of petitions for a writ of certiorari |
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Definition
| A writ that, if granted, means that the Supreme Court will hear a case. The majority of cases presented to the Supreme Court come in the form of petitions for a writ of certiorari |
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Definition
| Minor criminal offenses, such as speeding. |
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Definition
| Serious crimes, such as murder, arson, or rape. |
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Definition
| A finding by a grand jury that there is enough evidence against an individual to justify a criminal trial. |
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Definition
| A finding issued by a judge, used often in the states, that there is enough evidence against an individual to warrant a criminal trial. |
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Definition
| The proceeding before a judge in which the formal charges against the accused are read. |
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Term
In 2004, the Supreme Court ruled that persons held as enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba has the right to challenge the government in court. The Court ruled 6-3 that they could not be denied their right to contest their detention.
1. The Court did uphold the president’s right to detain enemy combatants, but those persons are entitled to a hearing.
2. In a 5-4 decision, the Court declined to hear the case of Jose Padilla, yet, ordered him to refile his case in South Carolina .
3. In upholding the detainee’s right to due process, the Court reiterated the promise of the Magna Carta that those imprisoned are to be judged by their peers.
4. The Court also reaffirmed the Miranda case, declaring that police can not trick people into confessing by interrogating them without informing them of their Miranda rights. However, the Court also ruled that people cannot refuse to give their names to police. |
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Definition
These decisions showed a balance between conservative and liberal values.
1. The Rehnquist Court is deemed unpredictable, tending to be conservative ideologically, yet it favored judicial caution in many decisions.
2. This trend reflected the Reagan appointees. The two Clinton appointees didn’t shake this moderate conservatism.
3. By 2004, many decisions were decided by a 5–4 margin. Even the change of one justice could alter the ideological trend of its decisions.
4. Reagan filled one vacancy with the first woman justice, Sandra Day O’Connor (1981).
5. In his second term, he appointed conservatives Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy.
6. Bush nominated an obscure federal appeals court judge, David Souter, to fill William J. Brennan’s seat. On the heels of civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall’s retirement, Bush tapped a conservative, controversial appeals judge, Clarence Thomas.
a. The 43-year-old African American was accused of sexual harassment by former employee and Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill. He categorically denied the charges.
b. The judiciary could not resolve the conflicting stories and the Senate later confirmed him (52–48).
7. In 1993, Clinton nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a women’s rights advocate and a moderate. The next year, he nominated Stephen Breyer, a Boston federal appeals court judge who was known as a moderate pragmatist. |
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Term
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Definition
A. Crime, politics, and the public.
1. In wake of 9/11, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, expanding the federal government’s authority to act against terrorist suspects. The president may detain enemy combatants, but cannot deny the right to a hearing.
a. Critics focused on Attorney General John Ashcroft, accusing him of zealously disregarding constitutional rights.
b. Those actions echoed the atmosphere of the Cold War, illegal breakins by the FBI, and the drawing up of lists of subversives.
2. During the politically active 1960s and 1970s, the police and the courts became the enforcement arm of the “Establishment.”
3. To most Americans, the police and courts represented the forces of law and order.
4. Crime and its prevention influence our lives extensively today.
a. Closed-circuit TVs guard stores, hotels, and department stores.
b. Other reminders: Security checks at airports, home burglar alarms, protective glass for cashiers at gas stations.
5. In the 1960s, the Warren Court handed down a series of decisions favoring the rights of the accused. The resulting backlash played a major role in making crime a political issue.
6. The Vietnam War raised questions about the justice system’s operations, adequacy, and fairness in dealing with protesters; use of informants to entrap associates; and grand jury and FBI information gathering.
7. The Watergate scandal and the need for a special prosecutor outside the Justice Department fueled public skepticism.
a. Instead of complying with the special prosecutor’s request, the president fired him. Public anger forced him to appoint a new one.
b. Nixon and his attorney resisted the courts, turning over the tapes only after an 8–0 Supreme Court decision.
c. Attorney General John Mitchell and other top White House people were jailed.
d. It was clear that the president and his people tried to stonewall investigators.
8. The 1986 Iran-contra scandal in the Reagan years cast a shadow over the final years of the Reagan presidency.
9. In 1994, another independent counsel investigated the president and Hillary Clinton about Whitewater and the failed Arkansas thrift. The probe later shifted to Clinton ’s relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, which led to his impeachment, trial, and acquittal.
10. The furor over tactics used by federal officers at Waco and Ruby Ridge, along with bomb attacks in New York , Oklahoma City, and at the Atlanta Olympics, demonstrated new pressures on the system. |
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Term
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Definition
1. If law were limited to what can be established and enforced by the state, then Louis XIV would have been correct in saying, “It is legal because I wish it.”
2. Locke believed in the principle of natural rights, as did the Founding Fathers.
a. The revolutionaries of 1776 applied natural law to justify revolt.
b. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others practiced “civil disobedience” against unjust, immoral, and unconstitutional laws.
3. Sociological explanations of law hold it to be a gradual growth of customs and rules to reconcile conflicts among people in society. It also may involve culture, morality, and religion. When enough people decide to break a law, it can be difficult to enforce.
4. Common law is English in origin and is based on a cumulative body of judge-made law. Judges often rely on the stare decisis (stand by past decisions) principle of precedent law.
5. Statutory law is law made by Congress, or by state legislatures or local legislative bodies. The legal principle of equity, or fair dealing, may provide preventive measures and legal remedies unavailable under common law.
6. Civil cases involve the relations between individuals or organizations. They includes divorces and antitrust and damage suits. The government is often a party.
7. Criminal law involves crimes committed against public order as defined by federal, state, or local statutes.
8. Administrative law involves the rules and regulations made and applied by federal regulatory agencies and commissions which can be challenged in federal courts.
III. The Supreme Court
A. The Court is a political institution that makes both policy and law. The Court lies at the heart of the ongoing struggle in the American political system.
1. Robert Dahl suggests, “To consider the Supreme Court of the United States strictly as a legal institution is to underestimate its significance |
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Term
| The Supreme Court: politics, policy, and public opinion. |
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Definition
. One reason for the controversy is that its precise role was left ambiguous by the framers of the Constitution.
2. It is the apex of the judicial branch, but does it have the right to resolve conflicts among the three branches? As Robert G. McCloskey noted, “The fact that the Constitution is supreme does not settle the question of who decides what the Constitution means.”
3. A graphic illustration is the Nixon tapes case in which Nixon cited separation of powers and executive privilege, saying the Court could not compel him to do anything. The Court told Nixon that no one could withhold evidence in a criminal trial, and he eventually yielded. |
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Definition
1. In making decisions, the Court must be concerned about how Congress will react.
2. Professor Walter F. Murphy said there is a three-step pattern to this:
a. First, the Court makes a decision on an important aspect of public policy.
b. Next, the Court is criticized and threats of retaliation come from Congress.
c. Finally comes judicial retreat.
3. Robert Dahl says the policy views of the court “are never for long out of line” with public opinion.
4. Congress can control the Court in a number of ways:
a. It can control the jurisdiction and size of the Court.
b. After the Civil War, Congress blocked the Court from reviewing Reconstruction laws.
c. In the 1980s, “court-stripping” bills were introduced by conservatives led by Jesse Helms. These attempts to restrict the Court’s jurisdiction and remove its power over cases dealing with abortion and school prayer failed.
d. In conjunction with the states, Congress can amend the Constitution to get around court decisions.
e. Congress may attempt to overturn specific Supreme Court rulings by legislation. For example, Congress in 1988 reinstated civil rights protections that were narrowed in 1984 and passed the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988. |
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Term
| The Supreme Court in action. |
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Definition
1. Unlike the president and Congress, the Court acts mostly out of the glare of the press. A public survey in 1995 found that only 17 percent of those polled could name three justices of the Supreme Court.
2. More light was shed on the Court with the opening of the papers of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1993 and Justice Harry Blackmum in 2004.
3. The 1979 controversial book The Brethren revealed:
a. The conflict and intense competition between the justices.
b. How the justices engaged in trade-offs and deals, and formed shifting alliances. This was later confirmed by the release of the Marshall papers.
c. Justice Burger was not very well-respected by some colleagues |
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Term
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Definition
1. The chief has four advantages:
a. The added prestige and title of the position.
b. The power to influence case selection.
c. The power to chair the conference.
d. The power to assign the writing of an opinion if he is in the majority.
2. Leadership styles among justices vary. Charles Evans Hughes was popular but led with a firm hand. Warren Burger tried to maneuver the opinion assignment even when he was in the minority.
3. Justices are known for being fiercely independent with fiercely opposing views.
4. The interaction among the justices is a political process, with votes traded and positions compromised. |
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Term
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Definition
1. Once the opinion is assigned, justices are free to write concurring or dissenting opinions.
2. Important bargaining takes place, with justices trading votes in order to influence the shape of an opinion.
3. Some scholars say written dissent hurts the perception of court unity.
4. Others note that today’s dissent could become the majority view in the future.
5. Opinions are usually handed down in the first part of the week. |
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Term
| The American Court System |
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Definition
A. Since the nation has a federal government and fifty state governments, it has a dual system of courts.
1. The Supreme Court is at the top of the system.
2. It considers only major cases involving substantial federal questions or constitutional issues, typically after all remedies in state courts have been exhausted. |
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Term
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Definition
1. The bulk of cases that come to the federal judiciary are handled in the “inferior” courts below the Supreme Court, which have been created by statute.
a. Right below the Supreme Court are the circuit courts or courts of appeal.
b. The nation is divided geographically into twelve judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals.
c. There are four to twenty-three judges on a circuit, but typically three hear a case.
d. The circuits also hear cases seeking regulatory relief.
2. Below the circuit courts are the federal district courts.
a. There were 89 circuit courts in the 50 states in 2004, plus one in District of Columbia , Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands .
b. Each district has two to 28 judges, and 679 district judgeships.
c. These are trial courts that handle cases involving disputes between citizens of different states and violations of federal law. |
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Term
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Definition
1. Congress has created special-purpose courts to deal with certain kinds of cases.
2. The United States Court of Federal Claims handles cases over compensation for property taken by the government, claims for income tax refunds, and claims for government worker back pay.
3. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears copyright, trademark infringement, and patent cases.
4. The United States Tax Court hears a variety of tax cases.
5. The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has a three-judge civilian panel. It is the final appellate tribunal in court-martial cases.
a. The Vietnam War focused attention on the process of military justice. The most controversial case was the conviction of First Lieutenant William Calley, Jr. for his involvement in the My Lai massacre, where between 100 and 300 civilians were killed.
b. Military personnel—2.6 million in 2004—are subject to military justice and therefore are temporarily outside the civilian system of justice.
c. There is a danger that court decisions will be swayed by command considerations.
d. In 1983, Congress empowered the Supreme Court to review some military cases. For example, Congress held that the Miranda rights must apply to military cases.
e. Except in death penalty cases, military juries need not be unanimous.
f. In 1969, the Court ruled that military personnel must be tried in civilian courts for crimes not connected with the service. The Court later reversed itself in 1987.
g. In 1974, the Court upheld the Article 134, which permitted the military to impose criminal penalties for offenses that imperiled the armed forces. |
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