126 Cards in this Set
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national lawmaking
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the creation of policy to address the problems and needs of the entire nation
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representation
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the efforts of elected officials to look out for the interests of theose who elect them
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constituency
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the voters in a state or district
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policy representation
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congressonal work to advance the issues and ideological preferences on constituents
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allocative representation
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congressional work to secure projects, services, and funds for the represented district
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pork barrel
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public works projects and grants for specific districts paid for by general revenues
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casework
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legislative work on behalf of individual constituents to solve their problems with government agencies and programs
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symbolic representation
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efforts of members of Congress to stand for American ideals or identify with common constituency values
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bicameral legislature
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legislature with two chambers
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congressional oversight
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efforts by Congeww, especially through committees, to monitor agency rule making, enforcement, and implementation of congressional policies
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reapportionment
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a recollation of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census
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gerrymandering
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redistricting to benefit a particular group
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racial gerrymandering
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redistricting to enhance or reduce the chances that a racial or ethnic group will elect members to the legislature
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incumbency advantage
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the electoral edge afforded to those already in office
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coattail effect
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the added votes received by congressional candidates of a winning presidential party
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midterm loss
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the tendency for the presidential party to lose congressional seats in off-year elections
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majority party
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the party with the most seats in the house of Congress
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party polarization
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greater ideological (liberal versus conservative) differences between the parties and increased ideological consensus within the parties
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speaker of the house
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the leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the house of representatives
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seniority system
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the accumulation of power and authority in conjunction with the length of time spent in office
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standing committees
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permanent committees responsible for legislation in particular policy areas
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house rules committee
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the committe that determinews how and when debate on a bill will take place
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select committee
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a committee appointed to deal with an issue or problem not suited to a standing committee
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joint committee
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combined House-Senate committees formed to coordinate activitiews and expedite legislation in a certain area
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conference committees
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temporary committees formed to reconcile differences in House and Senate versions of a bill
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legislative agenda
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the slate of proposals and issues that representatives think it worthwhile to consider and act on
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policy entrepreneurship
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practice of legislators becoming experts and taking leadership roles in specific policy areas
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filibuster
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a practice of unlimited debate in the Senate in order to prevent or delay a vote on a bill
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cloture
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a vote to end a Senate filibuster; requires a three-fifths majority, or sixty votes
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roll call votes
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publically recorded votes on bills and amendments on the floor of the house or Senate
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veto override
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reversal of a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress
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pocket veto
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presidential authority to kill a bill submitted within ten days he end of a legislative session by not signing it
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head of state
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the apolitical, unifying role of the president as symbolic representative of the whole country
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head of government
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the political role of the president as leader of a political party and chief arbiter of who gets what resources
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chief administrator
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the president's executive role as the head of federal agencies and the person responsible for the implementation of national policy
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cabinet
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a presidential advisory group selected by the president, made up of the vice president, the heads of the federal executive departments, and other high officials to whom the president elects to give cabinet status
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commander-in-chief
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the president's role as the top officer of the country's military establishment
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commander-in-chief
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the president's role as the top officer of the country's military establishment
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chief foreign policy maker
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the president's executive role as the primary shaper of relations with other nations
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treaties
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formal agreements with other countries; negociated by the president and requiring approval by two-thirds of the Senate
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executive agreements
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a presiodential arrangement with another country that creates foreign policy without the need of Senate approval
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state of the union address
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a speech given annually by the president to a joint session of Congress and to the nation announcing the president's agenda
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presidential veto
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a president's authority to reject a bill passed by Congress; may be overridden only by a two-thirds majority in each house
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executive orders
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clarifications of congressional policy issued by the president and having the full force of law
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senatorial courtesy
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tradition of granting senior senators of the president's party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states
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solicitor general
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Justice Department officer who argues the government's cases before the Supreme Court
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pardoning power
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a president's authority to release or excuse a person from the legal penalties of a crime
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inherent powers
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presidential powers implied but not explicitly stated in the Constitution
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power to persuade
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a president's ability to convince Congress, other political actors, and the public to cooperate with the administration's agenda
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going public
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a president's strategy of appealing to the public on an issue, expecting that public pressure will be brought to bear on other political actors
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honeymoon period
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the time following an election when a president's popularity is high and congressional relations are likely to be productive
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legislative liaison
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executive personnel who work with members of Congress to secure thier support in getting a president's legislation passed
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divided government
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political rule split between two parties: one controlling the White House and the other controlling one or both houses of Congress
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Executive Office of the President (EOP)
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collection of nine organizations that help the president with policy and political objectives
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Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
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organization within the EOP that oversees the budgets of departments and agencies
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Council of Economic Advisors
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organization within the EOP that advises the president on economic matters
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National Security Council (NSC)
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organization within the executive office of the president that provides foreign policy advice to the president
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white house office
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the approximately four hundred employees within the EOP who work most closely and directly with the president
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chief of staff
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the oerson who oversees the operations of all White House staff and controls access to the president
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presidential style
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image projected by the president that represents how he would like to be receiverd at home and abroad
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bureaucracy
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an organization characterized by hierarchial structure, worker specialization, explicit rules, and advancement by merit
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spoils system
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the nineteeth-century practice of rewarding political supporters with public office
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patronage
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system in which successful party candidates reward supporters with jobs or favors
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civil service
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nonmilitary employees of the government who are appointed through the merit system
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Pendleton Act
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1883 civil service reform that required the hiring and promoting of civil servants to be based on merit, not patronage
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Hatch Act
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1939 law limiting the political involvement of civil servants in order to protect them from political pressure and keep politics out of the bureaucracy
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accountability
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the principle that bureaucratic employees should be answerable for theor performance to supervisors, all the way up the chain of command
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clientele groups
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groups of citizens whose interests are affected by an agency or a department and who work to influence its policies
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departments
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one of the major subdivisions of the federal government, represented in the president's cabinet
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independent agencies
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government organizations independent of the departments but with a narrower policy focus
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regulations
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limitations or restrictions on the activities of a business or individual
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government corporations
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companies created by Congress to provide to the public a good or service that private enterprise cannot or will not profitably provide
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bureaucratic discretion
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bureaucrats' use of their won judgement in interpreting and carrying out the laws of Congress
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Federal Register
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publication containing all federal regulations and notifications of regulatory agency hearings
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bureaucratic culture
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the accepted values and procedures of an organization
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whistleblowers
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individuals who publicize instances of fraud, corruption, or other wrong-doing in the bureaucracy
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agency capture
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process whereby regulatory agencies come to be protective of and influenced by the industries they were established to regulate
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iron triangles
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the phenomenon of a clientele group, congressional committee, and bureaucratic agency cooperating to make mutually beneficial policy
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issue networks
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complex systems of relationships between groups that influence policy, including elected leaders, interest groups, specialists, consultants, and research institutes
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congressional oversight
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efforts by Congress, especially through committees, to monitor agency rule making, enforcement, and implementation of congressional policies
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
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1966 law that allows citizens to obtain copies of most public records
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Privacy Act of 1974
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a law that gives citizens access to the government's files on them
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courts
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institutions that sit as neutral third parties to resolve conflicts according to the law
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common law tradition
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a legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time, applied uniformly--judge-made law
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precedent
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a previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on subsequent decisions
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substantive laws
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laws whose content, or substance, defines what we can do or cannot do
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procedural laws
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laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced--how legal proceedings take place
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procedural due process
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procedural laws that protect the rights of individuals who must deal wtih the legal system
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criminal laws
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laws prohibiting behavior the government has determined to be harmful to society; violation of a criminal law is called a crime
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civil laws
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laws regulating interactions between individuals; violation of a civil law is called a tort
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constitutional law
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laws stated in the Constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about the meaning of the Constitution handed down in the courts
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statutory laws
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laws passed by a state or the federal legislature
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administrative law
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law established by the bureaucracy. on behalf of Congress
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executive orders
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clarifications of congressional policy issued by the president and having the full force of the law
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judicial review
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power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of laws
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jurisdiction
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a authority to hear certain cases
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original jurisdiction
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the authority of a court to hear a case first
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appellate jurisdiction
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the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts
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appeal
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a rehearing of a case because the losing party in the original trial argues that a point of law was not applied properly
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senatorial courtesy
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tradition of granting senior senators of the president's party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states
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strict constructionism
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a judicial approach holding that the Constitution should be read literally; with the framers' intentions uppermost in mind
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judicial interpretivism
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a judicial approach holding that the Constitution is a living document and that judges should interpret it according to changing times and values
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writs or certiorari
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formal request by the U.S. Supreme Court to call up the lower court case it decides to hear on appeal
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rule of four
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the unwritten requirement that four Supreme Court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard
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solicitor general
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Justice Department officer who argues the government's cases before the Supreme Court
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amicus curiae briefs
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"friend of the court" documents filed by interested parties to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorari or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way
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judicial activism
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view that the courts should be lawmaking, policymaking bodies
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judicial restraint
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view that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past
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opinion
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the written decision of the court that states the judgement of the majority
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concurring opinions
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documents written by justices expressing agreement with the majority ruling but describing different or additional reasons
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dissenting opinions
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documents written by justices expressing disagreement with the majority ruling
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mass media
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means of conveying information to large public audiences cheaply and efficiently
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blogs
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web logs, or online journals, that can cover any topic, including political analysis
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commercial bias
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the tendency of the media to make coverage and programming decisions based on what will attract a large audience and maximize profits
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gatekeepers
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journalists and media elite who determine which news stories are covered and which are not
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revolving door
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the tendency of public officials, journalists, and lobbyists to mover between public and private sector jobs
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priming
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the way in which the media's emphasis on particular characteristics of people, events, or issues influence the public's perception of those people, events, or issues
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framing
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process through which the media emphasize particular aspects of a news story, thereby influencing the public's perception of the story
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horse-race journalism
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the media's focus on the competitive aspects of politics rather than on actual policy proposals and political decisions
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selective perception
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the phenomenon of filtering incoming information through personal values and interests
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sound bite
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a brief, snappy excerpt from a public figure's speech that is easy to repeat on the news
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feeding frenzy
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excessive press coverage of an embarrassing or scandalous subject
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permanent campaign
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the idea the governing requires a continual effort to convince the public to sign onto the program, requiring a reliance on consultants and an emphasis on politics over policy
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news management
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the efforts of a politician's staff to control news about the politician
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leaks
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confidential information secretly revealed to the press
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new media
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high-tech outlets that have sprung up to compete with traditional newspapers, magazines, and network news
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POL 106: TEST THREE