Joliet Junior College Presidency and The Judiciary Reflection Paper

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Joliet Junior College

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reflection paper about the the presidency and the judiciary  

  • 1)Select a relevant topic: the first reflection paper may discuss the presidency and/or the judiciary.
  • 2)Engage course material: you must make it clear that you have read and thought about the relevant readings. This means employing, explaining, and perhaps even challenging relevant terms and concepts.
  • 3)Consider a current event: you must discuss some current event in light of the topics and concepts covered in class.
  • 4)Make an argument

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The Judicial Branch 2/06/2020 What conclusions can we draw from the end of the impeachment process? Different narratives: • Trump approval +2-3% this week • The vote to remove for abuse of power was bipartisan (Romney voted to remove) • The 52 senators who voted to acquit represent 18 million fewer Americans than the 48 senators who voted to remove for abuse of power “…the judiciary is beyond comparison the weakest of the three departments of power…it can never attack with success either of the other two; and […] though individual oppression may now and then proceed from the courts of justice, the general liberty of the people can never be endangered from that quarter.” --Federalist 78 (Hamilton) Do you agree? The Legal System: Criminal vs. Civil Law Criminal law • Involves matters ranging from traffic offenses to murder. • Government is always the plaintiff. • Defendants who are found guilty may be fined or sent to jail. Civil law • deals with disputes that do not involve criminal penalties. • Losers in civil cases cannot be fined or sent to jail, but they may be required to pay monetary damages. The Legal System: Precedent Courts apply statutes (laws) and legal precedents. • Precedent: prior case whose principles are used by judges as basis for their decision in present case • Precedent is applied under the doctrine of stare decisis. • This doctrine asserts that a previous decision by a court applies as precedent in similar cases until it is overruled. • This is a feature of common law (vs. civil law) Common law vs. Civil law The U.S. Court System The Federal Courts: How a Case Is Heard Cases involving federal laws, treaties with other nations, or the Constitution go to federal court. Federal courts also hear case if: • The U.S. government is a party in the case. • A civil case involves citizens of more than one state and in which more than $75,000 is at stake. Appellate Court Appellate courts are court of appeals • The appellant must show that the trial court made a legal error in its decision • Defendants often Claim that they have been denied of due process of law • Roughly 20 percent of all lower-court cases are reviewed by federal appeals courts. • The U.S. Supreme Court is not obligated to hear appeals. • Unless reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, all decisions from an appeals court are final. Caseloads of American Courts The Supreme Court: Judicial Review The major power of the US Supreme Court is judicial review. • Courts review laws, executive actions, and rules, and can declare them invalid or unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution does not mention judicial review. • The power comes from Marbury v. Madison (1803). • In more than two centuries, the Court has declared fewer than 160 acts of Congress to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court: Procedures • After a decision is reached, one justice in the majority is assigned to write the opinion: a document explaining the legal reasoning for the decision • Justices who disagree with majority may choose to publicize their disagreement in a dissenting opinion. • Why would justices bother writing dissenting opinions? Court Appointments Supreme Court justices and Federal judges are both nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Appointments are made for life (barring impeachment). • Before 2013, Federal court nominees could be filibustered in the Senate • Before 2017, Supreme court nominees could be filibustered in the Senate What are the qualifications to be appointed? Is the Judicial Branch “above” politics? Should it be? The Judicial Branch’s Political Entanglements 1) Ongoing disagreements about judicial philosophies 2) Courts’ relationships to the other branches of government and the recent politicizations of the Court Judicial Philosophies • Strict constructionists and those committed to original intent hold that justices should interpret the constitution based ONLY on its text and the intention of those writing that text, i.e., the framers of the constitution • Loose constructionists and those committed to a living document hold that the Court should read the text of the constitution more expansively to accommodate for new social circumstances. The Supreme Court and the other branches of government: The Confirmation Process 1987: The birth of “borking” The Supreme Court and the other branches of government: The Confirmation Process 2016: the failed Merrick Garland nomination The Supreme Court and the other branches of government: The Confirmation Process 2018: the Kavanaugh confirmation fight The politicization of the Supreme Court The nomination process extends congressional disagreements and impasses into the makeup of the court AND The pattern of recent decisions by the Supreme Court suggest that its decisionmaking process reflects congressional gridlock • Significant Supreme Court decisions are increasingly 5-4 whereas landmark decisions in the past tended to be 9-0 So: do we want more democratic checks on the courts, or less? For next class… 1) Second reflection papers! 2) Exam review: BRING QUESTIONS! The Presidency (part 1) 1/30/2020 What has been happening with the impeachment process? Our main questions… 1) What do presidents do, and how has this changed over time? 2) Why has the presidency changed (so) drastically over time? 3) In what ways has the presidency changed under President Trump? 4) How should we evaluate these changes? Expressed Powers of the Presidency: Executive • Must see that all laws are faithfully executed • Appoints and supervises all executive officers • The president assembles the bureaucracy • Senate approval required for appointments of ambassadors, ministers, and federal judges • President can claim executive privilege (within limits) • executive privilege: a claim that communication between president and close advisers must be kept confidential Expressed Powers of the Presidency: Legislative • Can veto bills • Addresses Congress on state of the union • Helps initiate legislative action in Congress Expressed Powers of the Presidency: Military The president is: • Commander in chief of the military • Can deploy troops domestically during an emergency • other reasons include enforcing federal judicial order and protecting federally guaranteed civil rights • Head of the nation’s intelligence network • includes the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Council (NSC), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Expressed Powers of the Presidency: Judicial • The president can grant pardons, reprieves, and amnesty. • It may be used on behalf of a particular person or large group of people. • E.g., President Andrew Johnson pardoned all southerners involved with the Confederacy (1868) • E.g., President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon after Watergate (1974) Expressed Powers of the Presidency: Diplomacy • Makes treaties (but with the advice and consent of the Senate) • “Recognizes” countries and can restore diplomatic ties • Functions as the chief representative of the US abroad The President is both Head of Government and Head of State Implied, Delegated, and Inherent Powers: An ever-expanding presidency Executive agreements • a contract between two nations that does not require Senate approval Legislative initiative • president’s power to present a legislative agenda Heading new government agencies • Agencies created by the congress but delegated to the president Military Action • i.e., act to defend the nation from imminent threat • Limited (but not eliminated) by the War Powers Act in 1973 • Is this an inherent power or an increasingly imperial presidency? “The presidency” is more than any individual president: it is an institution The Presidency as an Institution Why has the presidency expanded (so) drastically over time? A combination of two factors: 1) Problems inherent to other branches of government (especially Congress) 2) Advantages unique to the presidency as an institution The Presidency vs. the Congress • No congressperson can claim to represent the entire nation—the president can • Congress is often stuck in gridlock—the presidency is not Presidential Power: Going Public The president is in a unique position to affect public mobilization Nineteenth-century presidents were expected to not speak out in public about policies. Now, “going public” is a favored weapon in the political arsenal of most presidents. • Franklin Roosevelt was an innovator in the realm of press relations: the fireside chats • In what ways has President Trump used this power? What are some limitations to “going public”? Presidential Power: Executive Orders and Signing Statements Executive order: presidential directive to the bureaucracy to undertake some action, bypassing Congress and the legislative process Signing statement: Announcements made by the president when signing bills into law, which present his or her interpretation of law • Presidents may use signing statements to point to sections of law they believe improper or unconstitutional What are some limitations to executive orders? For Tuesday’s class… • New set of readings (check the UPDATED syllabus) • Guiding questions • In what ways has Trump changed the presidency? Will these changes “stick”? • Is the pattern of expanding presidential power a good thing or a bad thing? • Start preparing for your midterm exam! • ID questions • Descriptive essay question • Argumentative essay question
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Paper Outline
Title: Presidency and the Judiciary
Body
This is the main part of the paper. It provides a discussion on the roles of presidency and
the judiciary in reflection to current occurrences.
Paragraph 1: provides what is to be discussed in the paper.
Paragraph 2: discuss the presidency
Paragraph 3: continuation on the presidency and recent issues
Paragraph 4: discuss the judiciary and its current issues
Reference: citation is done in APA style.


Running head: REFLECTION PAPER

1

Presidency and the Judiciary
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Course
Date

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REFLECTION PAPER
Presidency and the Judiciary
In reflection of the presidency and the judiciary, the president is mandated with multiple
roles that accord them power and image. The court is explicitly explained in its composition of

being the most disturbed and weakest of the three arms of the government. The paper reflects the
functions of the president and those of the judiciary. Through the provision of recent
developments in the areas of the presidency and the judiciary, the roles of the ...


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