The single most important point of our government structure is that we have a system of checks and balances across all three bodies. Power cannot manifest in any body without the consent of the others. I believe that this is first and foremost in protection against a tyrannical sense of government. The main reason that I feel that checks and balances are so important and crucial in today's society is because we live in a world where someone else is going to always be to blame. If something goes wrong, blame it on the president.
By doing this it would lead the democracy to a dictatorship. The separation of powers is another way to ensure that checks and balances are being enforced and followed through. Caplan brings the issue of the debate of the meaning of separation of powers, “…the separation of powers means that each branch has exclusive control of matters in its domain or whether the Constitution generally gives Congress and the president overlapping, or blended, powers, all of which are quite extensive but none of which obviously serves as an absolute trump to the other,” (Caplan 21-2) So the presidential power used in the issue of foreign policy has been somewhat validated by this statement
Although different in nature, congress and the President of the United States both hold positions of upmost power and unequivocally important decision-making for the American people. However, the argument always stands: who has more power? The power problem as it stands “...is the need to grant government enough power to effectively address the problems that people expect government to solve, while also limiting power so that it can be held accountable” (Katznelson, Kesselman, Draper, p.42). Far from perfect, the political system in place attempts to grant both Congress and The President exclusive and shared responsibilities to provide an equal spread of power. Upon founding of the United States government, not all three branches were to share the same amount of power.
Tyranny is a government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power. The Constitution had guarded against tyranny in four different ways which were Federalism, Separation of powers, Checks and balances and big states vs. small states The beginning guard against tyranny was Federalism, which is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant. James Madison had stated in a “Federalist Newspaper” about Federalism and how it basically worked for the Colony. Federalism protects against tyranny because Federalism isn’t an absolute power, it’s a division of power to certain members of a covenant. The additional guard against tyranny was Separation of Powers which means the government was separated into different branches.
The principle organ of the US state is to legislate, represent and scrutinise the other, safely separated, branches of the government. First of the three elements in which Congress’s primary role plays is in legislation. The very first article of the Constitution lays out how this is done. Bills initiated by both the President and members of Congress are almost certain to be substantially modified as they go through the legislative process, making it very difficult for the President or any political faction to force through their policy agenda. Congress has been somewhat effective in passing laws such as the PATRIOTIC Act under Bush and the Healthcare Reform Act under Obama both show’s that Congress can legislate when it needs be, especially with a majority in both houses.
Essay Title: “A core function of any Supreme Court is to challenge, or even strike down, legislation that the judiciary regards as incorrect. By denying the Supreme Court for the United Kingdom this function, a Supreme Court has been created in name but not in function. It would be better if no change had been made at all.” Discuss. Introduction of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court formally the House of Lords originated from the Curia Regis who was the queen’s advisors on law, and was introduced by part3 of the constitutional reform act (2005). The judicial functions of the House of Lords were assumed by the 12 lords of appeal in ordinary otherwise known as “law lords”.
Federalist #78 Analysis The Federalist #78 was written by Alexander Hamilton on May 28, 1788. In the essay, Hamilton expresses his views on the structure of the Judiciary as written in The Constitution. Although Hamilton listed many positive aspects of the Judicial Branch, he also wrote about negative features the Judicial Branch has neglected to offer as stated in The Constitution. In The Constitution, there are three branches to help balance the government, to make sure there is no way to overpower any other branches within the system. The Executive Branch, which includes the president, is in charge of enforcing laws, the Legislative Branch controls making laws, and the Judicial Branch is a system of courts that interpret the laws created and enforced by the other branches.
The Court is supposed to pass judgement on matters concerning the constitution and their decisions can be of up most significance because a judgment made in a case then affects the whole country. The method by which the Court exercises its power is by Judicial Review. The strength of the Supreme Court is essential in protecting civil liberties that are protected by the Constitution. The Supreme Court has also increased its power through court cases and through judicial revolutions. One case that has significantly altered the power that the Supreme Court is able to exert was Marbury v Madison 1803.
John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for 34 years, was the most influential person in regards to shaping the constitution interpretation to the conservative. John Marshall affirmed the right of judicial review over Congressional legislation; however, the Chief Justice contributed much more to the Judicial Branch and the federal government. He used his traits to position the Judiciary as a co-equal branch of the United States’ government and to prevent the states from eroding federal power after the Eleventh Amendment was ratified. He made the judicial branch of the government the most powerful, in giving it the ability to interpret acts. Some monumental cases shaped the constitution along conservative lines are Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Dartmouth v. Woodward, and Gibbons v Ogden.
A closer analysis of the United States’ system of government might reveal that the Judicial Branch holds a great deal of power. One of the most significant powers of the Supreme Court is the power known as judicial review. This paper will examine the establishment of judicial review doctrine and discuss the primary functions of the concept: empowering the judicial branch, balancing the branches, and protector of constitutional liberties. The powers of the Judicial Branch are expressed in Article III of the United States Constitution. However, judicial review is not explicitly stated among