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GOVERNMENT 101: The Constitution
I. Checks and Balances:
The Constitution creates a system of separate institutions that share
powers. Because the three branches of government share powers, each can
(partially) check the powers of the others. This is the system of checks
and balances. The major checks possessed by each branch are listed below.
Congress
- Can check the president in
these ways:
a. By refusing to pass a bill the president
wants
b. By passing a law over the president's veto
c. By using the impeachment
powers to remove the president from office
d. By refusing to approve a presidential appointment
(Senate only)
e. By refusing to ratify a treaty the president
has signed (Senate only)
- Can check the federal courts
in these ways:
a. By changing the number and jurisdiction
of the lower courts
b. By using the impeachment powers to remove
a judge from office
c. By refusing to approve a person nominated
to be a judge (Senate only)
President
- Can check Congress by vetoing
a bill it has passed
- Can check the federal courts
by nominating judges
Courts
- Can check Congress by declaring
a law unconstitutional.
- Can check the president by
declaring actions by him/her or his/her subordinates to be unconstitutional
or not authorized by law.
In addition to these checks provided for in the Constitution, each branch
has informal ways of checking the others. For example, the president can
withhold information from Congress (on the grounds of executive privilege),
and Congress can try to get information from the president by mounting
an investigation.
II. Liberties Guaranteed in the Constitution (before the Bill of Rights
was added)
- Writ of habeus
corpus may not be suspended (except during an invasion or rebellion).
- No bill
of attainer may be passed by Congress or the states.
- No ex
post facto law may be passed by Congress or the states.
- Right of trial by jury in
criminal cases is guaranteed.
- The citizens of each state
are entitled to the privileges and immunities of the citizens of every
other state.
- No religious test or qualification
for holding federal office is imposed.
- No law impairing the obligation
of contracts may be passed by the states.
III. The Bill of Rights: Ratified on December 15, 1791
The
Amendments to the Constitution - From Project Vote Smart
The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution Grouped by Topic and
Purpose (see appendix for original text)
PROTECTIONS AFFORDED CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS
Amendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly;
the right to petition the government.
PROTECTIONS AGAINST ARBITRARY POLICE AND COURT ACTION
Amendment 4: No unreasonable searches or seizures.
Amendment 5: Grand jury indictment required to prosecute a person
for a serious crime.
No double
jeopardy - being tried twice for the same offense
Forcing a person to testify against himself or herself is prohibited
No loss of life, liberty, or property without due process
Amendment 6: Right to speedy, public, impartial trial with defense
counsel and right to cross-examine witnesses.
Amendment 7: Jury trials in civil suits where value exceeds $20.
Amendment 8: No excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual
punishments.
PROTECTIONS OF STATES' RIGHTS AND UNNAMED RIGHTS OF PEOPLE
Amendment 9: Unlisted rights are not necessarily denied.
Amendment 10: Powers not delegated to the United States or denied
to the states are reserved to the states.
OTHER AMENDMENTS
Amendment 2: Right to bear arms.
Amendment 3: Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime.
IV. Ways of Amending the Constitution:
Under Article V, there are two ways to propose amendments to the Constitution
and two ways to ratify them.
To propose an amendment
- Two-thirds of both houses
of Congress vote to propose an amendment, or
- Two-thirds of the state legislatures
ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.
To ratify an amendment
- Three-fourths of the state
legislatures approve it, or
- Ratifying conventions in three-fourths
of the states approve it.
Some Key Facts:
- Only the first method of proposing
an amendment has been used.
- The second method of ratification
has been used only once, to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment (repealing
Prohibition).
- Congress may limit the time
within which a proposed amendment must be ratified. The usual limitation
has been seven years.
- Thousands of proposals have
been made, but only thirty-three have obtained the necessary two-thirds
vote in Congress.
- Twenty six amendments have
been ratified.
Constitutional Vocabulary
Bill of Attainer - A legislative act that declares the guilt of
an individual and doles out punishment without a judicial trial. The state
legislatures and Congress are forbidden by Article 1, sections 9 and 10
of the Constitution to pass such acts. This is an important ingredient
of the separation of powers.
Executive Privilege - The claimed right of executive officials
to refuse to appear before, or to withhold information from, the legislature
or courts on the grounds that the information is confidential and would
damage the national interest. For example, President Nixon refused, unsuccessfully,
to surrender his subpoenaed White House tapes by claiming executive privilege.
Executive Order - This critical instrument of active presidential
power is nowhere defined in the Constitution but generally is construed
as a presidential directive that becomes law without prior congressional
approval. The power for the executive order is implied in Article II of
the Constitution when it allots "executive power" to the president:
"The executive power shall be vested
in a president of the United States of America." - Article II, section
1
"[The President] shall take care that
the laws be faithfully executed..." - Article II, section 3
Double Jeopardy - The guarantee in the Fifth Amendment to the
Constitution that one may not be tried twice for the same crime. For example,
an individual declared not guilty of murdering a neighbor cannot be tried
again for that murder. The person is not, however, exempt from being tried
for the murder of another individual.
Habeus Corpus - A court order directing a police officer, sheriff,
or warden who has a person in custody to bring the prisoner before a judge
and show sufficient cause for his or her detention. Designed to prevent
illegal arrests and unlawful imprisonment. A Latin term meaning "you
shall have the body".
Impeachment - A formal accusation against a public official by the lower house of a legislative body. Impeachment is merely an accusation and not a conviction. Two presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither was convicted. In the case of Johnson, the Senate failed by one vote to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote required for conviction. In the case of Clinton, fifty senators voted for conviction, again missing the two-thirds requirement.
Ex Post Facto Law - A law that makes criminal an act that was
legal when it was committed, or that increases the penalty for a crime
after it has been committed, or that changes the rules of evidence to
make conviction easier; a retroactive criminal law. A Latin term meaning
"after the fact." The state legislatures and Congress are forbidden
to pass such laws by Article I, section 9 and 10 or the Constitution.
Other Sources of Information:
The Constitution of the United States Site contains the actual text of
the Constitution as well as links to information on the Founding Fathers,
the 39 Delegates who signed the Constitution, an in-depth look at the
Constitutional Convention and the ratification process, and questions
and answers pertaining to the Constitution. Online from the National Archives
and Records Administration (NARA).
About the Constitution
History and background on the Constitution, as well as the Articles of
Confederation. Online from the Library of Congress.
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