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| Friend of the Court”; a third party to a lawsuit who files a legal brief for the purpose of raising additional points of view in an attempt to influence a court’s decision. |
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| A court that hears appeals of trial court decisions. Appeals must be based upon questions of law, not determination of facts. |
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| The complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel. |
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| Bureaucratic implementation that produces policy more to the liking of the bureaucracy than originally legislated, but without triggering a political reaction from elected officials. |
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| An effort by members of Congress to gain the trust and support of constituents by providing them with personal service, especially assistance with the federal bureaucracy. |
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| A lawsuit in which large numbers of persons with common interests join together under a representative party to bring or defend a lawsuit. |
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| Departments or bureaus of government whose mission is to promote, serve, or represent a particular interest. |
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| : A provision by the House Rules Committee prohibiting the introduction of amendments and strictly limiting the amount of debate permitted during floor action on a bill. |
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| A rule requiring a supermajority of the members in a legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill. Currently, it requires sixty votes to invoke cloture in the U.S. Senate. |
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| The prospect that enacted policy will change because the composition of the enacting coalition is so temporary and provisional. |
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| A joint committee created to work out a compromise for House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation |
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| A role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions. |
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| Petition that gives a majority in the House of Representatives the authority to bring a bill to the floor of the House in the face of committee inaction. |
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| A formal government agreement entered into by the president with another nation’s government that has the force of a treaty but does not need the “advice and consent” of the Senate. An executive agreement is between governments while a treaty is between nations. |
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| Rules or regulations issued by the president that have the effect and formal status of legislation. |
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| An implied presidential power that allows the president to refuse to disclose information regarding confidential conversations with his advisors to Congress or the judiciary. This privilege is not absolute; it has limitations. |
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| A procedure used in the Senate for halting action on a bill by continuously holding the floor through unlimited debate. The filibuster can only be ended by invoking cloture. |
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| Corporations created by Congress and owned by the national government that provide goods and services like private corporations but are in an industry considered so important that government ownership is required. |
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| The issuance of charges against a member of the executive or judicial branches by the House of Representatives. |
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| Independent Executive Agencies: |
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| Government units in high profile areas that Congress did not want buried in executive departments. They are similar to departments but are usually smaller and have a more narrow responsibility. |
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| Independent Regulatory Commissions: |
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| An agency created by Congress to perform a regulatory function in an industry that requires regulations of a technical nature. |
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| A committee of Congress that includes members of both the House and the Senate. It is used to coordinate action between the two chambers. |
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| Judicial philosophy that posits that the Court should look beyond the text of the Constitution or a statute to consider broader societal implications for decisions. |
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| Judicial philosophy that believes the Court should allow the decisions of other branches of government to stand, even when they offend a judge’s own sense of principles. |
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| Power of the Court to declare laws or actions, including those of state and local governments, unconstitutional and invalid. |
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| A legislative practice wherein reciprocal agreements are made between legislators, usually in voting for or against a bill. |
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| : A meeting of a Congressional committee to make changes to a bill before the bill is sent to the floor. |
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| A provision by the House Rules Committee that permits thorough floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill. |
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| Stage in Supreme Court proceedings in which attorneys for both sides appear before the Court to present their positions and answer questions posed by the justices. |
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| The effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques including casework, to exercise control over the activities of the executive branch. |
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| The power of the president to cancel a person’s conviction of a crime by a court and to eliminate all sanctions and punishments resulting from the conviction. |
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| The power of the president to release a prisoner before his or her sentence has been completed. Conditions for a parole may be included. |
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| If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by Congress, without the president’s signature, the bill is considered vetoed. A pocket veto cannot be overridden by Congress. |
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| ppropriations made by Congress for local projects that are often not needed but are created so that the local Member of Congress can gain support among his or her constituents. |
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| Removing all or part of a program from the public sector to the private sector. |
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| Select/Special Committees: |
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| Temporary committees in Congress appointed for a specific purpose. These committees may not introduce legislation. |
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| The right of an individual or organization to initiate a court case. |
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| Permanent committees in Congress that consider policies within their designated subject area and may introduce legislation. |
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| Let the decision stand. In court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases. |
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| An approach to constitutional interpretation that emphasizes the Framers’ original intentions. |
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| A heightened standard of review used by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutional validity of a challenged practice. |
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| Category or class, such as race, that triggers the highest standard of scrutiny from the Supreme Court. |
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| A role played by elected representatives who vote based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency. |
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| A communication network in Congress between leadership in each party and the rank and file members of the party |
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