Learn how cases reach the Supreme Court and how the justices make their decisions. Use this lesson plan in class. View a larger version of the infographic. An appeal is a request for a higher court to reverse the decision of a lower court. Most appeals come from federal courts. They can come from state courts if a case deals with federal law.
Dissatisfied parties petition the Court for review Parties may appeal their case to the Supreme Court, petitioning the Court to review the decision of the lower court. Justices study documents The Justices examine the petition and supporting materials. Justices vote Four Justices must vote in favor for a case to be granted review.
Parties make arguments The Justices review the briefs written arguments and hear oral arguments. In oral arguments, each side usually has 30 minutes to present its case. The Justices typically ask many questions during this time.
Justices write opinions The Justices vote on the case and write their opinions. Justices who disagree with the majority opinion write dissenting or minority opinions. The Court issues its decision Justices may change their vote after reading first drafts of the opinions. All cases are heard and decided before summer recess. It can take up to nine months to announce a decision. The Court receives 7,, requests for review and grants for oral argument. Other requests are granted and decided without argument.
Ask a real person any government-related question for free. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.
The House of Representatives is made up of elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives.
He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency. Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U. The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie.
The Senate is composed of Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in , Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state.
Senator's terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years. Senators must be 30 years of age, U. The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate. The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade.
The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House. In order to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the House and the Senate must pass the same bill by majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds of each body voting in favor.
The first step in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write it, but only members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal budget. During the legislative process, however, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes. After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review.
There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with subcommittees. The committees are not set in stone, but change in number and form with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation.
Each committee oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas. A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely.
The checks and balances system withstood one of its greatest challenges in , thanks to an audacious attempt by Franklin D. Roosevelt to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices. After winning reelection to his second term in office by a huge margin in , FDR nonetheless faced the possibility that judicial review would undo many of his major policy achievements. From , a conservative majority on the Court struck down more significant acts of Congress than any other time in U.
In February , Roosevelt asked Congress to empower him to appoint an additional justice for any member of the Court over 70 years of age who did not retire, a move that could expand the Court to as many as 15 justices. In the end, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote an influential open letter to the Senate against the proposal; in addition, one older justice resigned, allowing FDR to replace him and shift the balance on the Court.
The nation had narrowly averted a constitutional crisis, with the system of checks and balances left shaken but intact. The act was created in the wake of the Korean War and during the Vietnam War and stipulates that the president has to consult Congress when deploying American troops.
If after 60 days the legislature does not authorize the use of U. The War Powers Act was put forth by the legislature to check the mounting war powers exercised by the White House.
After all, President Harry S. Truman had committed U. Controversy over the War Powers Act continued after its passage.
President Ronald Reagan deployed military personnel to El Salvador in without consulting or submitting a report to Congress. President Bill Clinton continued a bombing campaign in Kosovo beyond the day time in And in , President Barack Obama initiated a military action in Libya without congressional authorization. In , the U. It was narrowly defeated. Congress did not pass The National Emergencies Act until , formally granting congress checks on the power of the president to declare National Emergencies.
Created in the wake of the Watergate scandal , the National Emergencies Act included several limits on presidential power, including having states of emergency lapse after a year unless they are renewed. Presidents have declared almost 60 national emergencies since , and can claim emergency powers over everything from land use and the military to public health. They can only be stopped if both houses of the U. Baron de Montesquieu, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!
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