1. The Executive Branch

2. “The Role of the President”

3.  The President of the United States is a very powerful person who plays many roles in the government.  However, the President’s power is deliberately limited by the Constitution.

4.  The President is the head of the executive branch, the branch of government responsible for executing, or carrying out the law.  This heavy responsibility goes with an office that many think is the most powerful in the world. The President carry out the laws.

5.  In creating the presidency, the Framers did not want a leader with unlimited powers.  One limit on the President’s power is the term of office.  The President is elected for a term of four years and must run for reelection in order to serve a second term.  No President may hold office for more than two terms.  Congress must approve many presidential decisions.  To be President, a person must be at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen of the United States.  He or she must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years. The President's salary is set by Congress.

6.  The President serves as chief executive, or head of the executive branch.  The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.  The President is also our chief diplomat, the most important representative of the United States in relation with other nations.  The President leads in making foreign policy, the set of plans for guiding our nation’s relationship with other countries.  Domestic policy a set of plans for dealing with national problems.

7.  The Senate must approve the Presidents appointments of ambassadors.  Ambassadors are the official representatives to foreign governments.  A President can sign a treaty before Senate approval.  The President does have freedom, to make executive agreements, agreements with other countries that do not need Senate approval.  The President also chooses Supreme Court Justices and other federal judges with the approval of Congress.

8. FIRST PRESIDENTRECENT PRESIDENT

9. The Judicial Branch

10. The Role of the Federal Courts

11.  Our legal system provides a framework for resolving conflicts and protecting the rights of citizens. Federal and state courts hear criminal and civil cases. The Supreme Court hears a handful of those cases on appeal.

12.  The judicial Branch of the federal government is made up of the Supreme Court and more than 100 other federal courts.  The most important members of judicial branch are judges.  The judges of the judicial branch have a very important role in our government.  The President appoint judges to serve on a special federal courts.  Unlike legislators, federal judges should be impartial.

13.  Legal conflicts in our country are resolved by courts of laws.  Courts resolve two kinds of legal conflicts criminal and civil cases.  In criminal case, a court determines whether a person is found innocent or guilty. If a person is found guilty, the court also decides what the punishment will be.  In a civil case a court settles a disagreements.  Both sides in a court case are called the parties.  The framework for the federal court system was created by the Constitution.

14.  The typical civil case is brought to court by a party called the plaintiff, an individual or a group of people who bring a complaint against another party.  The defendant is the party who answers a complaint and defends against it. The defendant maybe an individual, a group, or a government body.  The defendant in the case: The People of Florida vs. Jones is Jones.  In contrast, a criminal case is always brought to court by prosecution, a government body that brings a criminal charge against a defendant who is accused of breaking one of its laws. The prosecution is referred to as “The People” and is represented by a government lawyer known as a prosecutor.

15.  The process of interpretation is an important job of the courts.  Court’s decision can establish a precedent, a guideline for how all similar cases should be decided in the future.  A precedent makes the meaning of law or the Constitution clearer.  Precedent helps judges make a decisions because they may find an earlier case similar to the current case  The Jury decide the facts in a case.  The Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education established a precedent that made any law segregating blacks and whites unconstitutional.

16.  Our legal system is made up of two separate but interconnected court systems, the states and federal government.  Most legal cases begin at the level of state government.  The purpose of the Judiciary Act to establish lower courts.  When the original jurisdiction makes a decision that the plaintiff and the defendant in the case believes is unjust they have right to appeal, to ask a higher court to review the decision and determine if justice was done.

18.  The workhorse of the federal court system are the district courts  There are 94 district courts scattered across the United States.  The courts of appeals handle appeals from the federal district. In fact the courts of appeals are often called circuit courts.  In a court system, a circuit is a geographic area.

19.  The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. They serve as the final court appeals for both the state and federal courts systems.  One of the most important powers of Supreme Court is judicial review, the power to overturn any law that the Court decides is in conflict with the Constitution.  Supreme Court hears cases about Constitutional issues.

20.  Most Supreme Court decisions are accompanied by an opinion, a written statement explaining the reason for the decision.