Appellate jurisdictionjurisdiction the power a court has to review the decision of a lower court; the Supreme Court exercises appellate jurisdiction in the overwhelming majority of the cases it hears
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a situation in which men and women hold different positions on a wide range of political issues
National debtamount of money owed by the government
everyone should have the same chance; what individuals make of that chance depends their abilities and efforts
Diplomacythe conduct of international relations, particularly involving the negotiation of treaties and other agreements between nations
Betts v. Brady (1942)Sixth amendment does not selectively incorporate to providing poor people in not-capital state cases a lawyer
Floor leaders
District courtslowest level of federal courts, where most federal cases begin and trials are held
Conservativea person whose political views favor more local, limited government, fewer government regulations,
Religion does not override child labor laws. Wisconsin v. Yoder
Initiativeallows voters to petition to propose legislation and then submit it for a vote by qualified voters; not available at the national level
the belief that judges should have freedom in interpreting the Constitution
Discretionary spending
a system whereby the people rule either directly or by elected representation
Recess appointmenta presidential appointment made when Congress is not in session; doesn't require immediate confirmation
the policies of government or the particular subject matter of the laws determining what the law is about and whether the law is fair or if it violates constitutional protections
Reapportionmentredistribution of the 435 congressional seats among the states after the census determines changes in population distribution
Congressional oversight
Mandatory spending
Privileges and Immunities Clausestates are prohibited from unreasonably discriminating against residents of other states
responsible for interpreting and applying the laws; in the federal government it consists of the US district
Retrospective
Pardona convicted person is exempt from the penalties of a crime; only the president has this power at the national
Federal budgetamount of money the federal government expects to receive and authorizes government to spend for a fiscal year
Grassroots lobbyingorganizing a letter-writing campaign or taking out ads to influence public opinion and persuade public officials to support a particular policy
a governing or controlling body whose power exists only within predefined limits that are established by a Constitution or other source of authority
Lemon testtest standard set by the Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman to measure the constitutionality of state laws. Separate, Secular, and Neutral in effect and intent
party officials in the Democratic Party who attend the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses
corporation a corporation that may receive part of its funding from Congress and is managed by a board appointed by the president; the function it performs could be carried out by private enterprise; an example is the US Postal service
1943, forcing students to salute the flag is a violation of 1st amendment free speech, and is therefore unconstitutional. Such gestures = symbolic speech. Tinker v. Des Moines.
Get-out-the-vote
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a law that makes a person guilty of a crime without a trial; neither Congress nor the states can enact such a law Constitutionally
Dealignment
Dissenting opinion
Symbolic speechusing actions and symbols rather than words to convey an idea
Margin of errorthe percentage that a scientific poll is likely to be off; a margin of error of +/- 3 percent is common
Blanket primarya primary election in which candidates from all parties are on the ballot, and a registered voter can vote for the Democratic candidate for one office and the Republican candidate for another
powers that the Constitution specifically grants to the federal government
General electionvoters choose office holder from among all the candidates nominated by political parties or running as independents
Procedural Due Processmethod of government action, or how the law is carried out according to established rules and procedures
Constituencyservice casework; assistance to constituents by congressional members
Incumbent
Ideologya consistent set of beliefs by groups or individuals
Pocket veto
Voter turnout
drafted in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson declaring America's separation from Great Britain
Progressivegenerally refers to the belief that government or people acting on its behalf can be used to address social problems or inequities facing the nation
the process of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts to reflect population changes in the census; responsibility for redistricting usually falls to the state legislatures; follows reapportionment
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Closed primarya primary election that is limited to registered voters of a particular political party
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Privileges and Immunities Clausestates are prohibited from unreasonably discriminating against residents of other states
Legislative courtscourts courts created by Congress for a specialized purpose with a narrow range of authority; judges serve a fixed term
Revolvingdoor the practice of government officials becoming lobbyists for the industries or companies they were responsible for regulating while they were public servants
conformityto social norms and values, tough on criminals
provided in an interview that a reported can quote and attribute to the source, referring to the source by name
Checks and balances
Barnettte v. McColumm
Anti-Federaliststhose opposed to the ratification of the Constitution because it gave too much power to the central government at the expense of the states and the lack of a bill of rights
Natural rights
Ex post facto lawa law that makes an action a crime even though it was legal when it was committed or increases the penalty for a crime after it has been committed