The Judicial branch is given power to interpret the laws and is there to check the Legislative and Executive branch. The American system of checks and balances has worked well over the course of America's history. Even though some huge clashes have occurred when vetoes have been overridden or appointees have been rejected, these
The Supreme Court takes part in judicial review which is examination by a country's courts of the actions of the legislative, executive, and administrative branches of government to ensure that those actions conform to the provisions of the constitution. “Judicial review enables the courts to protect constitutional principles against attacks by elected officials” (Dye 326). Since they are not elected by the people many believe that it would be better if we had restraints on the judicial power. Justices seek both to advance favored policies and to win approval from audiences they care about. They are likely to care a great deal about their reputations among other elites, including academics, journalists, other judges, fellow lawyers, members of other interest groups, and their friends and neighbors.
In a nutshell, this epitomizes how corporate capitalism has become hopelessly intertwined with democracy to the point that it is difficult to approximate where one ends and the other begins. In conclusion serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. Our founding fathers envisioned citizen legislators who under the obligation of civic duty were given the opportunity to serve their countrymen and when their term was up they returned home. This ideal seems quaint when compared with current day career politicians who do nothing but lower Americans faith in the ability of their own government by way of endless scandals and investigations. The machinery of corruption can be overhauled within congress but that entails changing long held fundamental concepts as to who “we the people” truly means.
Checks and Balances The system of checks and balances is part of our constitution. This system guarantees that no part of the government can become too powerful. Each branch is made sure that the power of the other branches is balanced between them. (Kelly, 2011) The Legislative Branch is given the power to make the laws as far as the Executive Branch, they are given the power to care out those laws, and the Judicial Branch is given the power to construe the laws. Together they have achieved to a workable balance with no branch possessing more power than the rest.
Lobbying in America Lobbying has long been a topic of controversy since the dawn of our political system. Some see it as a necessary means to petition the government while others claim it is a mere mask for bribery. The former opinion has stood the test of time and proved that despite episodes of scandal, lobbying has promoted vital legislation and is a constitutional right every free individual should be able to practice. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines lobbying as a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by the government, by individuals or by specialized lobby groups; it includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituents or organized groups. The word
The constitution does not grant congress oversight responsibility but it does give congress the powers to make laws so oversight of congress has become an implied power. It is congresses' role to make law and see how it is working after it has passed through the houses and therefore they have given themselves a number of significant powers in order to carry this out. Subpoena documents, the illegality of lying to congress, and powers of impeachment are all examples of this. However the effectiveness of oversight is often called into question with some commentators. Most of congresses oversight comes from congressional committees as unlike in Britain congress cannot hold question time as the executive is not present in congress so it is only in committees that members of congress can directly question the executive.
Oxley; the vote in the senate was totally in favor, ending with 97-to-0 votes in favor. The Act, which is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was passed in the wake of a myriad of corporate scandals. What these scandals had in common was false reporting of selected financial transactions. For instance, companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco covered up or misrepresented a variety of questionable transactions, resulting in huge losses to stakeholders and a crisis in investor confidence. Sarbanes-Oxley aims to enhance corporate governance and strengthen corporate internal controls and
The passing of the Federal Election Campaign Act in 1972 and then the creation of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 1974 were massive advancements to regulate campaign financing. Forcing candidates to disclose donation totals and campaign expenditures along with putting limits on donations, this course of action proved to be successful. In more recent times the FEC went head to head against Citizen United where the Supreme Court ruled that the government cant regulate independent political expenditures by non-profit organizations under the first amendment. Since then this principle has spread to for profit corporations, Unions and other groups. Decisions made by the Supreme Court can have far reaching consequence in
The U.S. Constitution established each branch. The role of each branch is very different but each has its own issues that require moral decision-making. It is because of ethics and moral reasoning we have laws, and we continue to need ethics to refine and perfect our legal system (Ruggiero, 2008 pg. 8) Congress is the legislative part of our government, which includes the Senate and the House of Representatives (Truman Library, 2009). The primary role of the legislative branch is to create laws.
(Levin-Waldman, O.M., 2012, p.48) He also can do whatever he feels is needed to “protect and defend the Constitution”. (Levin-Waldman, O.M., 2012, p.48) However, for most parts he must pass things by Congress. Congress is the authority when it comes to things such as suspending habeas corpus. If the Constitution is not protected by the previous then hopefully the Supreme Court will hold the President or Congress accountable like in Boumediene versus