NAME:
CLASS BLOCK:
CHAPTER SIXTEEN ASSIGNMENT
AP U.S. Government and Politics: Chapter 16: The Federal Bureaucracy
Directions:
· Answer the following questions in short-answer essay format – complete sentences, concise but articulate answers, check your spelling before you finish, and as always, DO YOUR OWN WORK IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
· Your answers must be indented, typed in bold, blue-color, Times New Roman, 12-point font, single-spaced. Leave one blank line between your answer and the next question. Please use this format in this assignment and all similar assignments in this course.
· Be sure to be specific, using terms and vocabulary from this chapter in the Government in America textbook. Through your answers, prove to your instructor and yourself that you’ve done the reading and that you understand the concepts.
· When it is appropriate, use specific examples that are relevant to the question (using examples from contemporary news reports is most helpful, here).
Chapter 16 Questions for Review
By the end of this chapter on The Federal Courts, the folks who create the AP U.S. Government and Politics Exam that (hopefully) you will be taking in May hope you will be able to understand the nature of the federal judicial system.
1. Explain the difference between civil law and criminal law.
Civil law:
Criminal law:
2. List three regular participants in the judicial system other than judges.
a.
b.
c.
3. What is meant by “judiciable disputes”?
For the Exam in May, and for the APGovPol course itself, students are going to have to know how courts in the U.S. are organized and the nature of their jurisdiction.
4. What are the differences between constitutional courts and legislative courts?
Constitutional courts:
Legislative courts:
5. Complete the table below on the structure of the federal judicial system.
Type of Court / Number of Courts / Number of Judges / Jurisdiction / Policy ImplicationsDistrict Court
Court of Appeals
Supreme Court
6. What is the role of a United States Attorney in the federal justice system?
Students just really, really need to know a lot of stuff for the APGovPol course and Exam in May. One of those things is this: you’ll want to know the role of judges in the judicial process, including their backgrounds and how they were selected.
7. Explain the practice of “senatorial courtesy.”
8. Name three conditions in which nominations to the Supreme Court are likely to run into trouble.
a.
b.
c.
9. Use this bulleted list below to give a demographic profile of a “typical” federal judge. (Add additional bullets as needed, then put them into two columns to take up less space.)
a.
b.
c.
10. Use the bulleted list below to give six criteria that have been important in choosing Supreme Court justices over the years. For presidents, which of these is the most important?
1
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
1
For presidents, the most important criteria seems to be
Yet another thing students will need to have a pretty good understanding of is how the Supreme Court is involved in making public policy, and what judicial implementation is.
11. What are the four key functions of the solicitor general?
a.
b.
c.
d.
12. What are the functions of amicus curiae briefs?
13. What is the difference between a majority opinion, a dissenting opinion, and a concurring opinion?
Majority opinion:
Dissenting opinion:
Concurring opinion:
14. What is the difference between stare decisis and precedent?
Stare decisis:
Precedent:
15. List and explain the three elements of judicial implementation according to Charles Johnson and Bradley Canon.
a.
b.
c.
When it comes to the federal courts system, a learning objective of the APGovPol course is that students will understand the role of the federal courts in shaping the policy agenda in America.
16. The principle of judicial review became a continuing practice of the federal courts in 1803. Explain this important principle of America’s federal courts system.
17. What is the difference between judicial restraint and judicial activism?
Judicial restraint:
Judicial activism:
18. Review the responses you gave to question number 17, above, then complete the following table on public policy and the Supreme Court.
Key Supreme Court Cases (click on hyperlinks below to view an overview of the case and ruling) / Basic Ideology of Majority Opinion (liberal, conservative, etc.) / The Court’s Ruling: Judicial Restraint or Judicial Activism?Marbury v. Madison, 1803
McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
Schenck v. United States, 1919
Korematsu v. United States, 1944
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
Engel v. Vitale, 1962
Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963
Roe v. Wade, 1973
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, 1988
District of Columbia v. Heller, 2008
McDonald v. Chicago, 2010
Students in APGovPol and/or taking the Exam in May will need to be able to evaluate how courts operate in a democratic system and how their activities affect the scope of government.
19. Use the bulleted list below to show the ways in which the court system in America is not a very democratic institution. Add more items to the bulleted list as appropriate.
a.
b.
20. In the table below, define the terms “political question” and “statutory construction” and give an example of each. The “example” you give can be hypothetical, or from an event in our nation’s history, or from a contemporary event, but be brief and accurate.
Term / Definition / ExamplePolitical question
Statutory construction
1