POS 2041 Final Report EXAM 4

Prof. Bass

Savannah Grillo
s3376362
Fall 2014
11:30-12:20 MWF
12/3/14
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I. Constitutional Organization of Congress

The United States has an effective Congressional structure. Created in 1789, the basis of Congress is
to assign power to the people. Stated in Article 1 Section 1 of the United States Constitution, All legislative
powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate, and a
House of Representatives. (US Constitution; Article I: Section I). Article 1 specifically describes the
Legislative Branch of government, its powers, its election processes, and its restrictions. After the Great
Compromise, The US Congress split into a bicameral legislature; It is made up of the House of Representatives
{lower chamber} and the Senate {upper chamber}. The Founders originally wanted Congress to be more
powerful than the President and the Supreme Court because they were trying to break away from the old,
English form of government, which gave absolute power to the king. That being said, they decided to place
many checks and balances on each branch of government to prevent any one branch of government too much
power.
The powers of Congress is described in Article 1, but it is further broken up by the upper and lower
chamber in the Constitution. For the House of Representatives, Representatives and direct Taxes shall be
apportioned among several States which may be included within this union, according to their respective
numbers they shall by law direct shall chuse their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power
of Impeachment. (Article I: Section II). The House has many set powers assigned to them. They have the
power to set in motion impeachment proceedings, elect the President of the United States if the electoral votes
are tied, introduce laws that have to do with taxes, and participate in Joint Committees. (Prof. Bass). Along
with powers, the House also has specific roles. The main role is the Speaker of the House, which is given to the
senior leader of the majority party. It also is composed of a plethora of committees for businesses, finance,
energy, agriculture, and transportation.

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The Senate also has specific roles and powers. The Vice President of the United States shall be
president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. They Senate shall chuse their
other officers, and also a President Pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exersize
the office of president of the United States. The Senate Shall have the Sole power to try all impeachments. When
the President is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence
of two thirds of the members present. Judgements in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to
removal from office, and disqualifications to hold and to enjoy any office of honor (Article I : Section III).
Besides those mentioned, the Senate has the responsibility to nominate presidential appointees and
ambassadors, approve treaties by a 2/3rds vote, expel/ censure members with bad behavior, handle filibusters
and clotures, investigate malfeasance in executive branch, and judge senate elections. Most of these roles are
described in Article I Section V.
Of corse, the main role of Congress as a whole is to pass bills and resolutions. Article I Section VII
describes the process of making bills into laws. The House takes care of all revenue bills specifically, (Senate
can propose Amendments on bills) but a bill is introduced by any member. The bill is sent to the correct
committee, where it is presented on the floor. Both houses must pass it. All bills are presented to the President to
be approved, vetoed {the Presentment Clause}, pocket vetoed, or left for 10 days, automatically making it a
law. Any vetoed bills get sent back to Congress where a 2/3 vote can override the veto. If it has the 2/3 vote, it
becomes a law after it is signed by the president.
Congress has a list of enumerated powers (federal government only) appointed to them in Article I
Section 8. Congress can lay and collect taxes, borrow money on credit, regulate trade with foreign nations,
establish laws of naturalization, coin money, establish posts offices and roads, define and punish piracies and

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felonies, declare war, raise and support armies, exercise legislation in all cases, and make all laws that are
necessary and proper {which is known as the elastic clause. (Bass).
Congress also has a list of restrictions that are described in Article I Section 9. Congress cannot suspend
the writ of habeas corpus unless rebellion requires it, cannot have a bill or attainder or ex post facto, bars
congress from banning the importation of slaves BEFORE 1808, prohibits states from imposing direct taxes
{CHANGED: Amendment XVI capitation law}, cannot draw money from the treasury, and finally, cannot
grant titles of nobility. These powers and restrictions are crucial to the heart of the United States government
system because it follows the checks and balance system.
There are quite a few committees in both the House and the Senate. Two important committees within
Congress are the Foreign Affairs Committee and Homeland Security Committee. The Foreign Affairs
Committees most recent bill to law is Bill H.R 5195 (Emergency Afghan Allies Extension Act of 2014) on
8/8/14; The Homeland Securitys Committees most recent bill to law is H.R. 1344 (Helping Heroes Fly Act) on
8/9/13. The process of making a bill become a law is long and extremely tedious to say the least!
Article I Section X defines the restrictions of the power of the states. Powers of the States, however, are
written in Amendment 10.
States can (reserved powers; (Am X): set up schools, maintain highways, carry out marriage laws, tax, punish
criminals, establish a local government, and a few others.
States cannot (Ar I : Sec X): enter treaty of alliance, grant letters of marque, coin money, impost duties on
imports/exports, engage in war at a time of peace, etc.
There are a few powers both state and federal government share, called concurrent powers. Among these
powers are to maintain law and order, levy taxes, borrow money, and support public welfare.

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Currently, Republicans are the majority party in both the House and the Senate (114th) . However, in the
113th Congressional Body, The Democrats held majority in the Senate, and the Republicans held majority in the
House. There are major differences between the main parties. {Prof. Bass: I made the chart to simplify the differences.}
Issues

Republicans

Democrats

Health Care

oppose universal healthcare

favor government oversight of healthcare

Tax

across the board tax cuts for all incomes and

corp. interest

cuts for lower and middle income; raised on

higher income/ corps.

Social Programs

favor government funding of privately run

social programs; tighter control of program
and less funding

support more tax dollars to welfare, food

stamps, unemployed benefits, medicaid, etc.;
fed/state run social welfare prograams

Social Issues

more conservative; opposes legalization of gay

marriage; oppose abortion; for Amendment II

more progressive; extending marriage rights;

free will of abortion; Against Amendment II

Environment / Energy

energy concerns; for new drilling of oil;

support market conditions to dictate what type
of energy is used

environmental concerns; oppose new drilling

for oil; stress renewable resources

Labor and Free Trade

BUSINESS!; oppose minimum wage raise;

favor free trade to keep costs down

business prospers when all people have more

resources; increase minimum wage; trade
restrictions to protect American jobs

Foreign Policy

displacing enemy regimes;

targeted strickes

My personal opinion of Congress role in government is positive. Although there as been quite a few
hiccups with Congress, even over the last few years, our legislative branch seems to try very extensively to
work on the nations best interest. Congress has a difficult job. They have to not only please the citizens of the
USA, they also have to please each other to get anything passed, changed, etc. Issues regarding Immigration,
economy, gun control (Am II), tax reform, and energy seem to always have Congress divided and in huge
tangles. Because they are such factor relying issues, one set of prepositions might appeal and help some
people, but destroy others. Author of Sleepwalking is Restercise, Jarod Kintz brought up a good point. 4 in 5
Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, which begs the question: Are 1 in 5 Americans
retarded? (Klinz). Although a little harsh sounding, it is absolutely true. You cant please everyone. Imagine
what Congress has to do!

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II. The United States Presidency

Congressman Tom Rice refers to the creation and job of the Executive Branch to, implement
and enforce the law written by Congress, and vest this power in the president. (Rice). The Executive Branch of
the United States Government is held by the President, but is also held by the Vice President, Executive Office
of the President, and Cabinet. The evolution of the role of the president has changed dramatically since the
1700s. Early on, the president held very little power. However, with the help of Washington, Adams, and
Jefferson, they helped shape the influence of the president on government to a more respected, powerful title,
with checks and balances limiting its power. Article II of the Constitution defines the powers, roles, and
qualifications of the Executive Branch. The executive power shall be bested in the president of the United
States of America. He shall hold his office during the Term of four years The Person having the greatest
Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors
appointed Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote (Article II:
Section I).
There are many qualifications for a person to become president, as outlined in Article II Section I. The
president, must be a natural born citizen, at least 35 years old, and live in the United States for at least 14
year, (Bass). The president has many unique powers, and overtime it has expanded because of the concept of
inherited powers. Some of the responsibilities of the President are the Commander in Chief of the Army and
Navy, the authority to negotiate treaties with other nations, the appointment power, the authorization of
proposed legislation, call/ adorn Congress for special sessions, executive privileges (has to do with information
being released to courts or Congress), a much more. (Ar II:Sec II).
A President, Vice President, and all other civil officers can be impeached on the account of treason,
bribery, or other high crimes, as stated in Article II Section III. There has been two presidents in history that

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have been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon was about to be impeached, but he
resigned just before. To be impeached, The House Judiciary Committee decides whether or not to proceed with
impeachment.The Chairman of the Judiciary Committee will propose a Resolution calling for the Judiciary
Committee to begin a formal inquiry into the issue of impeachment. The Full House will debate and vote on
each Article of Impeachment. Should any one of the Articles of Impeachment be approved by a simple majority
vote, the President will be impeached." After this process, the Senate Steps in to hold the trial. The President
will be represented by his lawyers. A select group of House members will serve as "prosecutors." The Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court will preside with all 100 Senators acting as the jury. The Senate will meet in
private session to debate a verdict. The Senate, in open session, will vote on a verdict. A 2/3 vote of the Senate
will result in a conviction. The Senate will vote to remove the President from office, and may also vote (by a
simple majority) to prohibit the President from holding any public office in the future.
There are many amendments that frame the roles and limitation of the executive branch. Amendment
XII declares that there must be a separate ballot for the President and the Vice president. Amendment XXII
deals with the maximum number of years a person can serve as president, which is two years. Amendment
XXIII gives proportional electoral college voting to Washington D.C. Amendment XXV was created to clear
up any ambiguities that Article II had on presidential succession. If a president dies while in office, the first 5
members in the line of secession is as follows: VP, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore, Secretary of
State, and Secretary of Treasury.
The president has many groups of advisers that are part of the executive branch. The VPs only
specific duty is to act as the presiding officer of the Senate. The Executive Office of the Presidents (EOP) is
appointed entirely by the president. Their responsibilities are to support the presidents decisions and advise to
help them govern efficiently. They are usually the main communicators to the American people and foreign

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nations. They provide daily briefings for the media on Presidents activities and agenda. They are basically the
heavy workers that have close ties with the president. Finally, the Cabinet is an intimate advisory of the heads of
15 executive departments. Among these 15 are the Department of Agriculture, Defense, Education, etc.
In my opinion, I have mixed feelings towards the current president and the rest of the executive branch. I
believe in a smaller government, so the current party in office goes against that. More and more power seems to
be given to the Executive Branch as time goes on. They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. (Franklin) Ben Franklin was a man extremely ahead of his
time. Our Ex Branch isnt corrupt like many other government systems around the world. However, we are
diverging from the original basis of our government system, which is to have equal power distributed among
each branch of government. From The Declaration of Independence, announcing that We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it to the Preamble of the Constitution, stating, WE the PEOPLE. Secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and to our posterity to ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.. We,
as citizens of the United States, are slowly being striped of freedom and liberty. Yes, you cannot have absolute
freedom; that would result in a chaos. But, we must always hold true the foundations of our government, and
not strip away our personal freedoms, rights, and liberties.

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III. Judicial Branch and The Supreme Court

Law: a uniform system of rules to govern or carryout law and prescribe certain behavior for everyone
in a given area of legal jurisdiction. (Bass). The third and final branch of government is the judicial branch. It
is made up of 92 District Courts, 12 Courts of Appeals, State Trial Courts, State Court of Appeals, State
Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., the highest court in the United States. Their
decisions are final. The Supreme Court was established by Article III of the United States Constitution, which
describes the jurisdiction of the Court as follows: "The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made under
their authority,(Article III : Section II). In Article III Section I, it grants the Supreme Court as a sole entity,
the head of the judicial branch, and the ability to create inferior courts. In Article IV Section I, the Full Faith
and Credit Clause defines that each state must recognize laws, records, and court rulings of other states. Article
IV Section II required captured fugitives must be sent back to home state to face trial. There are also a
multitude of Amendments that puts checks and balances on the Judicial Branch. Amendments V, VI, VII, VIII
all lay out court rules, proceedings, rights of the accused, fines, bails, etc. Amendment XI gives the restrictions
on the Judicial Branch, which effectively overruled the court's decision by explicitly removing from federal
court jurisdiction all cases in which the citizen of one state (or a foreign nation) sought to sue another state.
The Judicial Branchs main responsibility is to interpret law. They can declare laws unconstitutional (a
check and balance with the Legislative Branch), and declare a presidential act unconstitutional (a C&B with the
Executive Branch). The President appoints judges and can pardon power to the Judicial Branch, and the
Legislative Branch approves federal judges.
The appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts also extends to cases originating in the state courts. In
Both civil and criminal cases, a decision of the highest state court can be appealed to the US Supreme Court by

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raising federal issue. (Text, 606) This is important in regards to the due process of law, and especially habeas
corpus. These concepts are to protect the accused person from civil rights owed to them. Cases and trials rely on
the Constitution, an efficient interpretation of the laws (judicial review) by the courts, and so many other
factors. This is why a case can take quite a while to even go to trial, let alone to be sent to the Supreme Court.
The United States follows the idea of Innocent until proven guilty to again, protect the accused person from
an unjustly sentence.
Early in USs history, there was major ambiguity on just how much power the federal government truly
had. In the landmark case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) (Under Chief Justice John Marshall), it ended all
confusion and brought rise to the importance of the implied powers of Article I Section VIII, The Necessary
and Proper Clause. This gave Congress the power to establish a national bank. Many states were angered by the
creation of a national back because it competed with their own state banks, so they argued that this creation was
unconstitutional on Congresses powers. Maryland imposed a tax on the bank, but cashier J. McCulloch refused
to pay. When this case went to the Supreme Court, Maryland argued that it had the power to tax any business
inside of its state. the attorneys of McCulloch argued that the national bank was actually constitutional because
it was necessary and proper for Congress to create. The decision of this trial resulted in Chief Justice Marshall
favoring McCulloch. Many concepts became more concrete with this trial. The Necessary and Proper clause,
the Supremacy Clause, and the Commerce Clause.
There have been many monumental cases/trials in US history. The Brown VS Board of Education
(1954) was life changing for almost every person in the nation. It reversed the principle of separate but equal
precedent of Plessy V Ferguson. (Text, 164). It sanctioned desegregation, and brought rise to many laws, most
importantly, Amendment 14. It ended racial discrimination in law, and it allowed Courts to use Strict Scrutiny
with any racial cases.

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Another crucial case in history, Riley v. California (2014), held that Police generally may not, without
a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been
arrested, (Wikipedia). This reversed the Chimel v. California (1969) decision, being, if police arrest
someone, they may search the body of the person without a warrant and "the area into which he might reach" in
order to protect material evidence or the officers' safety. That is the origin of the notion that police may search
a suspect, and the area immediately surrounding the person, without a warrant during a lawful arrest in
accordance with the SITA doctrine. (Wikipedia) Supreme Court decided unanimously that police need a
warrant to search a suspects cellphone in a unanimous decision. Chief Justice John Roberts said, Modern cell
phones, as a category, implicate privacy concerns far beyond those implicated by the search of a cigarette pack,
a wallet, or a purse. (Roberts).
There are many different sources of law. There is Constitutional law, statutory law, common law,
administrative law, and case law/ court rules. Much of the work of the courts involve the application of statutes
to the particular case at hand. (Text, 618) The common law is judge-made law. In Statutory Law, Legislature
possesses are given the authority to modify, abolish or adopt the common law. There are many limits on the
legislative branch. The First Amendment prohibits government from punishing an individual for exercising
choice of religion. If a legislature does not enact law that violates a constitutional provision, it is the duty of the
judicial branch to declare the law void. This is the power of judicial review. Administrative law are very general
statutes that grant one or more administrative agencies the authority to make more precise laws. Court rules
govern civil and criminal processes. Most court rules are drafted under the direction of the highest court of the
state and become effective either by vote of the court or after being presented to the state legislature for
ratification. In the federal system, the rules are drafted by the Judicial Conference, under the direction of the
Supreme Court, and then presented to Congress. If Congress fails to act to nullify the rules, they become law.

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Constitutional law, particularly the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, has a major impact on our
legal system and our society as a whole. The United States Constitution is the foundation of American law, and
no laws may be passed or enforced if they are in conflict with the Constitution.
My opinion on the US Judicial Branch is that it is arguably the most important branch out of the three. I
have mixed feelings about our court system. Some of the decisions were wonderful, but some of them were also
horrendous. The worst decisions in Supreme Court history are definitely Dred Scott (1857) {thank goodness
this was deemed unconstitutional}, Citizens United (2010), Plessy VS Ferguson (1896) {again, thank God this
was reversed}, and Schenck (1919). For the most part, however, the Supreme Courts good decisions outrage
their bad decisions. Cases like Reno Vs ACLU (1997), Marbury VS Madison (1803), Brown VS Board (1954),
and Roe VS Wade (1973). This nation has been through a lot in just a small amount of time it has been
developed,. Even though it has had major struggles, it is because of those struggles that makes the nation
stronger and more aware. As Lincoln announced in his Kansa/Ohio Speech of 1859, We, the people are the
rightful masters of both Congress and the courts not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who
pervert the Constitution. (Lincoln)

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Works Cited

Ginsberg, Benjamin, Theodore J. Lowi, and Margaret Weir. We the People: An Introduction to American Politics. 9th
ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. Print.
Professor Robert Bass
"Riley v. California." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Jan. 2014. Web.
"House Homeland Security Committee." Congress.gov. N.p., n.d. Web.
"The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription." National Archives and Records Administration. National
Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web.

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