1. Watch Three Ring Binder Video
Think about these questions while watching the video:
How many branches of government are shown?
Why did the founders choose to separate the government into three branches?

2. The Legislative Branch
Main responsibility
Structure of Congress
Members of Congress
*Make the laws*-Article I
Congress is bicameral
Meaning it has two chambers, or houses
House of Representatives
Senate
435 Members (Population)–CA (53) vs. AK, DW, MN, ND, SD, VT, WY (1)
100 Members (2 Per State)
President of the Senate-VP, Tie Breaker
Speaker of the House-Leader of Maj,3rd
President Pro Tempore-Oldest, 4th
Majority/Minority Leader–Support
Majority/Minority Leader-Support
Majority/Minority Whip-Count Votes

3. The Legislative Branch
Qualifications
How Long
House
Senate
25 years old
30 years old
Citizen for 7 years
Citizen for 9 years
House
Senate
2 year term
6 year term
No term limits, can be reelected indefinitely

4. The Legislative Branch
Key Powers
Congress has two types of powers:
ENUMERATED: actually listed in the Constitution
IMPLIED: not specifically listed, but are “necessary and proper” to get their job done (aka: ELASTIC CLAUSE)

5. The Legislative Branch
Enumerated Powers
Pass laws
Print money
Borrow money
Tax
Create and support armies
Regulate trade between states and with foreign countries
Declaring war and peace
Regulate immigration
Regulate naturalization
Establish lower courts
Establish post offices

6. The Legislative Branch
Checks and Balances
Power of the legislative branch to:
Impeach and remove a President or judge- House impeaches, or accuses of wrongdoing; then Senate holds a trial to potentially remove them from office
Confirm appointments- if Prez wants a specific person as a Justice, the Senate needs a majority vote to confirm, or approve the position
Ratify treaties- Senate ratifies, or approves treaties (agreements between the US and other countries)
Propose amendments

7. The Legislative Branch
Checks and Balances
Limits of the legislative branch:
President can veto legislation- Congress can override with 2/3 vote
Powers not given to Congress are reserved for the states
Cannot pass ex post facto laws (law made that was meant to punish AFTER crime has occurred)
Cannot pass Bills of Attainder (punishing someone without a trial)
Cannot suspend the writ of habeas corpus (cannot detain or imprison someone unlawfully)

8. The Executive Branch Main responsibility Members *Enforce the laws-
Article II
President: Oath of Office
Vice President: President of the Senate, 2nd, little in Constitution
Cabinet: Senior appointed officers of agencies/departments, tradition after Washington, SOS 4th

9. The Executive Branch Qualifications How Long? How Elected
At least 35 years old
Natural born citizen
Must be a resident
of the U.S. for 14 yrs
4 year term
Can serve two 4 year terms or a total of 8 years
Elected by the Electoral College
# of electors based on Reps+Sen (population)
All but two states have a popular election- the winner gets all that state’s votes
(If no candidate wins a majority, the House of Representatives will pick the President)
WATCH ELECTING A PRESIDENT IN PLAIN ENGLISH

10. The Executive Branch Roles of the President and powers
Chief Executive – carry out or enforce laws, in charge of cabinet, appoint judges, give pardons, State of the Union address (speech)
Chief Diplomat – leads foreign policy, make treaties, appoints ambassadors (people who represent the U.S. in other countries)
Head of State – the face of the country (greets leaders, awards medals)
Commander in Chief – can order troops into battle
Legislative Leader – proposes ideas for new laws, vetoes bills (does not allow bills to become laws) or signs them in approval
Economic Leader – plan the gov’t budget
Party Leader – leads their political party (speeches, backs other politicians from their party)

11. The Executive Branch Powers of the President
Like the Legislative branch, the Executive branch has enumerated (or expressed) powers and implied powers
The President can issues Executive orders which are similar to laws or treaties, but do not need the approval of the Legislative branch… these are issued when time is of the essence (when something needs to happen quickly)

12. The Judicial Branch Main responsibility Systems of courts
*Interpret the laws based on the Constitution*-Article III
There are 2 systems of courts:
Federal – disputes about laws that apply to the ENTIRE U.S.
State – mostly deal with disputes about state laws
WATCH GOVERNMENT MADE EASY: JUDICIAL BRANCH

13. The Judicial Branch Members How many Key Powers U.S. District Courts
District Court Judges
94 U.S. District Courts – at least 1 per state (larger states like CA *4* have more)
District court=trial court
Original jurisdiction – hears case for first time
ONLY court where WITNESSES testify and JURIES determine verdicts (outcome of case)
They hear both CIVIL (disputes among citizens) and CRIMINAL (relating to crimes committed)

14. The Judicial Branch U.S. Court of Appeals Members How many Key Powers
Appeals Judges
13 total appeals courts:
12 U.S. Courts of Appeals– which cover a particular area called a “circuit”
PLUS one in Washington D.C. called the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Some people who lose their case at the district court level may appeal to the next level: court of appeals
Appellate jurisdiction – power to REVIEW a decision from a lower court
Looking to see if previous court made a mistake---- NOT to redetermine whether someone is guilty or innocent (was previous trial FAIR and was law interpreted correctly?)
Cases heard by 3 judge panel, NO jury

15. The Judicial Branch Members How many Key Powers U.S. Supreme Court
9 Supreme Court Justices (one chief justice, 8 associate justices)
Appointed by Prez, approved by Senate
No qualifications (no age, citizenship or residency requirements)
Appointed for LIFE, no term limits
ONE court (it is SUPREME, highest court in land)
Sees cases with both original AND appellate jurisdiction
ORIGINAL: in cases involving diplomats (representatives of other countries or disputes between states)
APPELLATE: reviews cases that are thought to go against the Constitution (JUDICIAL REVIEW)
Gets about 7,000 case requests per year, CHOOSES between cases to actually hear