US Constitution

Supreme Court justices serve "during good behavior," which means "for life" or until they choose to resign or retire, as long as they don't commit an impeachable offense (bad behavior). The nine Supreme Court justices hold their offices "during good behavior" according to Article III, Section 1, of the US Constitution. This means that they may hold office for life; however they may be involuntarily removed from office by impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, the same...

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is next in the line of Presidential succession. However, this would require that both offices, President and Vice President, be simultaneously vacant. This is much less likely following the enactment of the 25th Amendment, which provides for a replacement Vice President whenever the position is vacated. According the current Presidential Succession Act (3 USC § 19), the order of succession if both the President and Vice President die, are removed from office, and/or are unable to perform...

Chief Justice of the United States is John Glover Roberts, Jr. Former President George W. Bush nominated Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States, to succeed the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died in office in 2005. Important Note 1: Although most people think this office is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the official title is Chief Justice of the United States (28 USC § 1). The sixth Chief Justice, Salmon Chase, suggested the title change to emphasize the Supreme...

The Constitution itself, and all federal laws and treaties, are the supreme law of the land. Article 6, Paragraph 2 is referred to as the supremacy clause. The Supremacy Clause of Article VI (6) of the US Constitution declares the Constitution, as well as federal laws and treaties made in accordance with the Constitution are the supreme law of the land. In lay terms, this means that the Constitution, federal laws and treaties can overrule state and local laws. Article VI, Clause 2...

The Electoral College elects the president. The members, called electors, are elected by the popular vote of the citizens of each state in the general election, which is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The candidates for elector have the same party affiliations as the candidates for president and VP and citizens select the electors accordingly. Often the names of the electors do not appear on the ballot, just the candidates they represent. However electors are not legally...

The Senate (Legislative branch) votes to confirm or reject the Presidents' (Executive branch) US Supreme Court (Judicial branch) nominees. Approval requires a simple majority of the Senators voting, unless a Senator attempts to block the vote by filibuster, in which case a three-fifths (60) vote is required to end the filibuster. under current Senate rules. For more information, see Related Questions, below. congress A+ ...

The US Constitution and federal laws and treaties that adhere to the Constitution officially became the "supreme law of the land" in the United States Article VI the document and the laws of the United States which "shall be made in pursuance thereof..." are the "Supreme Law of the Land." The phrase, "shall be made in pursuance thereof" indicates the Constitution is the ultimate authority to which all other laws and treaties must conform. Article VI, Clause 2 (Supremacy Clause) This Constitution, and the laws...

US presidents are elected to a four-year term. The maximum number of full terms that a president can serve is two. Presidents who took over for another president and have served more than two years can seek only one additional term. ...

George WASHINGTON, President New Hampshire: JOHN LANGDON, NICHOLAS GILMAN Massachusetts: NATHANIEL GORHAM, RUFUS KING Connecticut: WM. SAML. JOHNSON, ROGER SHERMAN New York: ALEXANDER HAMILTON New Jersey: WIL. LIVINGSTON, DAVID BREARLEY, WM. PATERSON, JONA. DAYTON Pennsylvania: B. FRANKLIN, THOMAS MIFFLIN, ROBT MORRIS, GEO. CLYMER, THOS. FITZSIMONS, JARED INGERSOLL, JAMES WILSON, GOUV MORRIS Delaware: GEO. READ, GUNNING BEDFORD jun, JOHN DICKINSON, RICHARD BASSETT, JACO. BROOM Maryland: JAMES MCHENRY, DAN OF ST THOS. JENIFER, DANL CARROLL Virginia: JOHN BLAIR, JAMES MADISON jr North Carolina: WM. BLOUNT, RICHD....

Rhode Island. The State's leaders refused to participate in the Constitutional Convention because they believed it was a conspiracy to overthrow the current government, which was operating under the Articles of Convention. Patrick Henry, who would have been their delegate, declared he "smelt a rat," and didn't want to participate in a project that threatened state sovereignty. ...

It's National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The elastic clause provides flexibility for our government. The elastic clause in the US Constitution grants Congress the right to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution....

Judicial review is the power of the courts to review laws, treaties, policies or executive orders relevant to cases before the court and nullify (overturn) those that are found unconstitutional. The Marbury v. Madison decision and provides the Supreme Court with the power to interpret the Constitution. Judicial Review is not an American invention, but a standard part of British common law that became part of the legal process in the United States. The first recorded use under the US Constitution was in 1792,...

The Supreme Court uses judicial review to declare actions by the President or Congress to be invalid if they are contrary to the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and no presidential act or congressional laws may conflict with it. The Courts are the interpreters of the laws and as such they interpret the Constitution and laws to decide if they conflict with one another. Further, it allows the Judicial Branch to "define" that law by answering questions about...

The Bill of Rights is in the US Constitution and guarantees rights that are vital to a free and open democratic society. The Bill of Rights specifies such important rights as freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. The idea behind these ten amendments is to make sure the federal government does not become a tyranny. ...

According to Article VII, the Constitution was required to be ratified by 9 of the 13 states before it went into effect. All 13 eventually ratified, the last two being North Carolina (1789) and Rhode island (1790). In June 1788, New Hampshire fulfilled the requirement for ratification set forth in Article VII by becoming the ninth state to approve. The Constitution didn't become law until it formally replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789, however. ...

Judicial Review The Supreme Court's ability to analyze laws in terms of their constitutionality is called "judicial review." If the Court decides a law is unconstitutional, the law will be nullified. The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Marshall, set precedent for this interpretation in their ruling in the case of Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137 (1803), when the Justices concluded Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because it conferred upon the Supreme Court powers not explicitly provided as...

The President nominates a candidate for the US Supreme Court; the Senate votes whether to confirm or reject the nomination. If the candidate is confirmed, he or she is appointed to the US Supreme Court. Process The preselected list of candidates is usually recommended by people in the President's political party or by members of legislation (House of Representatives, and Congress), usually it's a combination of both. The President nominates a potential justice. After a candidate has been nominated, the FBI investigates the person's background and...

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966) Miranda applied the "exclusionary rule" to any statements or confessions the defendant made in response to police interrogation if the defendant hadn't been informed of relevant due process rights beforehand. Under the exclusionary rule, illegally obtained evidence may not be used to convict a defendant in court. According to the US Supreme Court, a person in police custody must be told he (or she) has the right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment). The person...

Some Weaknesses of the Articles The Articles of Confederation gave too much power to the states and not enough to the central government. Essentially, they created a weak central government, under which the states could not operate effectively as a single nation. The articles created no separate executive department to carry out and enforce the acts of Congress and no national court system to interpret the meaning of laws. 9 out of the 13 states had to approve any major law before it was...

There were three authors of the Federalist Papers. James Madison (28 papers: 10, 14, 37-58 and 62-63) and Alexander Hamilton (52 papers: 1, 6-9, 11-13, 15-36, 59-61, and 65-85) wrote most of the Federalist Papers, but John Jay wrote papers 2-5 (Foreign Affairs) and 64 (on the Senate). All of the essays were signed Publius and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed...

A man named Governor Morris of Pennsylvania was in charge of the committee to draft the final copy of the Constitution. Other men who had much to do with writing the Constitution included John Dickinson, Governor Morris, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, Edmund Randolph, James Madison, Roger Sherman, James Wilson, and George Wythe. Morris was given the task of putting all the convention's resolutions and decisions into polished form. Morris actually "wrote" the Constitution. The original copy of the document is preserved...

The history of the forming of the borders of the united states are incredibly complicated, and it would be hard to write the all out here without plagurism. For a comprehensive list of all the border changes, with maps and dates, see the link in the related links section, below. ...

LEVELS The three levels are: Trial level Appellate level Supreme Court Trial level includes many types of courts, such as the District Court, Bankruptcy Court, Court of Federal Claims and other courts with specialized subject matter jurisdiction. The Appellate level is the US Court of Appeals, to which an appeal of decisions from any trial level court may be taken. The Supreme Court is where appeals from decisions in the Court of Appeals are taken. The decision of the Supreme Court is final. FEDERAL COURTS AT ABOVE LEVELS The...

The Judicial Branch* is one of three independent parts of the US Government, and consists of the constitutional courts of the federal court system (not the entire federal court system, as most people believe). The primary responsibility of the judicial branch is to interpret and apply the laws, and ensure their constitutionality. The three branches of government share responsibility for the legal system. The Legislative branch (Congress) creates law; the Judicial branch determines their constitutionality and resolves disputes; and the Executive branch enforces the...