You and the Law3 Branches of U.S. Government

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Article I – Legislative Branch Believed the Legislative Branch would

have the most important role making laws

THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Bi-Cameral - Two Houses

Senate 100 seats - 2 per state

House of Representatives 435 seats - minimum of 1 per state

Seats per state decided every 10 years with the census

The most recent reapportionment made it 710,767 people in your state grants you 1 seat in the H.o.R.

Washington’s population is 6,753,369, how many reps do we have?

WHO WORKS IN CONGRESS?

Senators - Serve 6 year termsMust be 30 years oldBeen a US citizen for 9 yearsBe a resident of the state in which you run.

Representatives - Serve 2 year termsMust be 25 years oldBeen a US citizen for 7 yearsBe a resident of the state in which you run.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH Article II in the Constitution President of U.S. head of this branch Enforce laws

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Purpose - To enforce the law The President of the United States is the

leader of this branch

I WANT TO BE PRESIDENT! Sorry! Must be 35 years

old. Must be a Natural-

born citizen (born on US Soil including airbases outside of the country)

Must have lived in the US for 14 years.

HOW LONG IS HE/SHE IN OFFICE? Maximum of 10 years as stated in the

22nd Amendment Limited to 2 terms

If a President becomes disabled 2 years and one day into his term, and the VP takes over, this does not count as one term for the VP

The VP can still run for 2 more terms as President making his total stay in office 10 years.

JUDICIAL BRANCH Article III in the Constitution Supreme Court highest level Interpret law

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH Purpose - To interpret the law The Supreme Court is the primary

leader of this branch 9 total Justices serve on the Supreme

Court They serve life-terms on good behavior.

Do not get elected and the only way they lose their job is through impeachment

HOW CAN I BE A JUSTICE? Just have to be picked by the President

and approved by the Senate! The Senate must approve all S.C.

nominees, or Federal Judicial appointments by simple majority.

9 Justices are on the Supreme Court.

Are we a true Democracy? No, we are a Republic

We vote for elected representatives and they make most of the decisions.

ENTRY TASK:Please respond to the following writing

prompt for the next 5 minutes.

How much DOES the government impact your life?

How much SHOULD the government impact your life?

Think about health care, welfare, traffic laws, marriage restrictions, drug laws,

etc, etc. Talk about any topics that matter to you.

6 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF

THE CONSTITUTION

6 BASIC PRINCIPLES’ PURPOSE CBA connection:

Research a topicDevelop a position on the topicDetermine how the Constitution promotes a

principle connected to the position you take in your CBA

Evaluate how well the Constitution was upheld in a court case

So, overall, you need to connect one of the following principles to a court case that has to do with one of our rights (an amendment).

1. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY All Power is held by the People The power to govern is given through

the Constitution Amendments protecting sovereignty:

15th – African Americans17th – Senators elected directly19th – Women

2. LIMITED GOVERNMENT Government can only do what the

people give it the power to do Constitutionalism - Those who govern

are legally limited

3. SEPARATION OF POWERS Legislative Branch – make the laws

Executive Branch – enforces the laws

Judicial Branch – interprets the laws

4. CHECKS AND BALANCES Each Branch is checked by the other

branches one branch does not have all the power

CHECKS AND BALANCES This is a system in which each branch

can exert some authority over the others

Some examples: President can veto laws created in Congress Congress can override that veto with 2/3 vote

(Only successful 4% of the times) Supreme Court Chief Justice presides in

impeachment proceedings Congress approves all Presidential

appointments Congress can declare war but President makes

treaties with foreign nations The President can appoint Judges Judges can determine if a President acted

unlawfully

CHECKS AND BALANCES FLOW CHART

CHECKS AND BALANCES DISCUSSION In groups of four act or draw out two of

the different checks – out of your two skits or drawings you must have all three branches represented Example

Skit 1: Congress over Prez Skit 2: Prez over Supreme Court

5. JUDICIAL REVIEW Power of the court to determine the

constitutionality of gov’t Supremacy Clause – US Constitution is

the supreme law of the land

6. FEDERALISM Some powers are delegated to the

national gov’t and some are reserved for the states

National gov’t can collect taxes, declare war, and regulate commerce between states and with other nations.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) decided that federal power overrides state powers when there are conflicting laws/decisions.

State gov’ts

CBA reflection and self-assessmentPlease answer the following questions on

a separate sheet of paper: If I was to grade myself, I would give

myself a ____ because… (4, 3, 2, 1, 0) The easiest part of the CBA was… The graphic organizer we were given

was helpful/not helpful because… It helped when Ms. McGuire did… (and

why.) I was confused when Ms. McGuire did (or

did not)… (and why.) If you were to do the CBA again, what

would you do differently? (If anything)

WHAT'S YOUR OPINION? Answer the questions using complete sentences in your

notes. 1. Do you think that the police conducted a legal search

in this case? Explain your answer in detail. 2. Do you think the police should be able to use

anonymous tips to justify searching people? Explain your answer. [When the police use an anonymous tip, the person who calls them doesn't leave their name]

3. Do you believe that police should be able to question a minor without first obtaining the permission of his or her parent(s)? Explain your answer.

4. Do you think the principal had the right to suspend Ben for possession of a gun, even if the search by the police may have been illegal? Explain why or why not.

5. Why do you think school officials are not required to have a warrant that is required by the police before forcing students to participate in metal detector tests or locker searches?