| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Declaration of Independence | the public act by which the Second Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776, declared the Colonies to be free and independent of England. States important principles that became the basics of democracy (natural rights, government is created to secure rights for the people) |
| Federal System of Government | federal government overrides other governments, separate states are united under one central authority which has power to enforce federal laws and where the separate states retain some independent law; the centralized united states governmental body established by the UNited States Constitution The federal government has three brances: the legislature, executive, and judiciary. Through a system of separationunder the United States Constitution" separation of powers or "checks and balances", each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches. of powers |
| Constitution | the basic law of a politically organized body such as a nation or state. The U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1787 and put into effect in 1789 |
| Article 1 | legislative branch – two houses of congress to make the laws House of Representatives and the Senate |
| Article 2 | Executive Branch – creates a preident to carry out and uphold laws |
| Article 3 | Judicial branch – creates a system of courts and a Supreme Court to hear cases an detirmine if laws are in agreement with the Constitution, creates lower level courts |
| Article 4 | states seperation of Church and State |
| Separation of Powers | the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government. |
| Checks and Balances | a system of constitutional government which guards against absolute power by providing for separate executive, judicial, and legislative bodies who share powers and thereby check and balance one another |
| Executive Branch | lead by the president and has the power to put laws into action |
| Legislative Branch | creates a congress made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives and has the power to make and change laws |
| Judicial Branch | lead by the Supreme Court and has the power to make judgments on laws |
| Congress | the national legislative body of the U.S., consisting of the Senate, or upper house, and the House of Representatives, or lower house, as a continuous institution; must meet once a year, and has the right to collect taxes, borrow money, regulate trade, control naturalization, laws on bankruptcies, coin money, punish counterfeiters, declare war, raise an army and navy and national guard, buy property it needs, and makes laws necessary to carry out work; any laws on money passes through this branch |
| Impeachment | to charge the president or high official with improper conduct |
| Treason | levying war on the USA or giving aid or information to an enemy |
| Extradition | returning the accused to the state of the crime |
| Double Jeopardy | If found not guilty you can’t be tried again |
| Due Process of Law | no citizen may be denied his or her legal rights and all laws must conform to fundamental, accepted legal principles, as the right of the accused to confront his or her accusers |
| Probable Cause | reasonable ground for a belief, as, in a criminal case, that the accused was guilty of the crime |
| Indictment | a formal statement from the Grand Jury charging a person, or persons, with a crime based on evidence presented by the prosecutor |
| Arraignment | he appearance of a prisoner before a court to be charged with a crime. The charge is read and the person is asked to plead guilty or not guilty. |
| Bail | a security, usually money, put up by an accused person to gain release from jail until a case is completed. The person agrees to show up in court at a set time. Failure to do so would mean the loss of the bail money and a warrant for the person’s arrest. |
| Grand Jury | a panel of 12 to 23 people sworn to hear evidence in private and decide whether there is sufficient reason to indict an accused person for a particular crime. |
| Petit Jury | a trial jury usually of no more than 12 people, who try to reach a unanimous verdict based on the facts of a criminal or civil case |
| Habeas Corpus | “you have the body”, intended to prevent unjust imprisonment |
| Warrant | authorization from a court for a certain action, such as an arrest or a search |
| Unreasonable Search/Seizure | any searches of people, places, or property without a warrant or a reasonable cause to suspect that evidence of a specific crime is being concealed |
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