Good citizens will always use their right to vote and will elect a President who they believe will appoint the most capable men to Cabinet positions and to head the independent agencies. CAN YOU DO THIS? Select the word under each sentence which best completes the sentence: 1. The committee chairman will 5. Budget tary of Defense. estimates Answer the following questions: a discussion of the bill. and administers laws relating to them. in order to win their fight against disease. books of what was done earlier. for the armed forces are prepared under the direction of the Secre 1. The head of which department advises the President about legal matters? 2. In which department is the Weather Bureau? 3. How does the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare help the people? 4. Which department helps farmers develop better crops and livestock? 5. How many Cabinet members are there? 6. How are the Cabinet members chosen? 7. Which department coins money? 8. Which department works with the United Nations? 9. Which department maintains our national parks? Talk about: 1. For what reasons was the President's Cabinet enlarged? 2. How does each Federal department affect the daily life of the people? INTERPRETING THE LAWS-THE JUDICIAL BRANCH You must recall certain things if you are to understand one of the most important duties of the judicial branch of the government. The Federal Constitution gave specific powers to Congress and, in addition, gave it authority to pass all laws which might be necessary to use those powers. This last authority is so broad and general that it is possible for Congress to make a mistake and use that authority to pass a law which it has no power to pass. Furthermore, laws passed by Congress are not always clear and, in enforcing them, the executive branch of the government may give them meaning not intended by Congress. Such laws and their enforcement might take away rights or freedoms of the people. The government created by the Constitution protects these rights and freedoms through a sys tem of Federal courts. The Constitution provides that: "The judicial power of the United The Supreme Court of the United States meets in the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. It is a beautiful building of white marble. The figures over the entrance represent our national ideas of law and liberty. Above the main entrance appear the words, "Equal Justice Under Law." The Supreme Court, made up of a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, is usually in session from October to June. One of the most important duties of the justices is to decide whether laws passed by the Congress agree with the Constitution. The justices do this by interpreting and explaining the laws of Congress and the provisions of the Constitution. Should the Supreme Court decide that the Constitution does not give Congress the power to pass a certain law, the court declares that law to be unconstitutional. Such a law can no longer be enforced by the President and his executive officers. John Marshall, a brilliant lawyer who also fought under Washington during the War for Independence, was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when it was first decided in 1803 that the Supreme Court had the authority to declare that a law passed by Congress did not agree with the Constitution. Nonetheless, Chief Justice Marshall himself believed that the Founding Fathers intended the Federal government to be a strong government, and that it should have enough power to govern the nation for the benefit of the people. He interpreted the Constitution in a way that gave the government this needed strength without destroying the rights and freedoms of the people. It has been said that he gave life and power to the Constitution. William Howard Taft, another great Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, said that the reason for the existence of the courts is to promote the happiness of all the people by the speedy and careful administration of justice. He believed that the courts were created to help individuals who seek justice. As you study this chapter, you will learn how the judicial branch of our government serves the people and protects their freedom. DISCUSS: How do the Federal courts help to preserve freedom? MEETING NEW WORDS: appeal: To request a higher court to review a lower court's decision; also, the request itself award: Money or some other thing of value given in payment of a claim decided in one's favor customs: Taxes or money charged on something imported or brought into the country from another country; import taxes diplomatic: Having to do with the official activities of government officials who work with representatives of other countries dispute: Quarrel; argument; difference of opinion jurisdiction: Authority of the government or an agency of the government to exercise control over people or property; authority of a court to hear and decide a criminal or civil case resign: To give up a position or job self-restraint: A restriction by a person of his own actions; self-control Fill in the blank in each of the following sentences with the proper word from the list above: the lower Federal courts which exist today. By creating the Supreme Court and authorizing the establishment of other Federal courts, the Constitution created the judicial power; that is, the power to hear and decide the two classes of cases criminal and civil. Certain things which a person may do will harm other persons. To protect all the people from the effect of these acts, the Congress passed laws making them crimes. The laws provide for the punishment of persons who commit these acts. If a person breaks one of these laws, the Federal government will prosecute him in court. This is called a criminal case. Persons convicted in a criminal case may be punished by imprisonment. You will remember that Amendment 6 of the Constitution guarantees a trial by jury to every person accused of a crime. It is also possible for a person to take some action which affects the rights of another person. Such action, however, may not be a crime because no criminal law has been broken. In such a case one person can sue the other person in court. This is called a civil case. A person who is found to be wrong in a civil case is never punished by being sent to prison, as in a criminal case, but the court may make him pay a certain sum of money to the other person. Such money payment is called damages. The Judges of the Federal Courts An independent judiciary, free from control by the King, was proposed in England during the 17th century. The authors of the Constitution adopted this idea when they included in the fundamental law provisions regulating the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the lower Federal courts. The Founding Fathers provided that the President shall appoint all Federal judges, with the consent of the Senate, and that a Federal judge shall hold office during "good behavior." He can be removed from office only by Congress upon impeachment for, and conviction of, "high crimes and misdemeanors." Otherwise, every judge is appointed for life, or until he chooses to resign. The Constitution provides further that the salary of a Federal judge shall not be reduced while he is in office. The judges, therefore, are independent and cannot be influenced by other branches of the government, or by any person or group of persons. |