| alderman- member of a city council |
writ of Habeas Corpus- writ preventing arbitrary imprisonment by providing for immediate judicial hearing for person under arrest |
| alien- resident non-citizen enjoys most of the civil rights, but none of the political rights |
House of Representatives- lower house of Congress (435 members, 2-year terms) |
| amendment- alteration of a motion, bill, law, constitution (eg. right to bear arms) |
impeachment- removal of a civil official from office for a legal wrong |
| appeal- transfer of a case decided by a lower court to higher tribunal for review |
incumbent- presently occupying office |
| ballot- official paper for use by voters containing names of candidates and their party designation |
judiciary- 1. one of the three branches of government (judicial power), 2. the system of courts of justice, 3. the judges collectively |
| boondoggling- public funds for useless projects |
jury- body of impartial citizens residing within a court's territorial jurisdiction sworn to render a true answer to questions of fact submitted to them |
| by-election- special election to fill unexpired legislative term through incumbent's death |
Justice of the Peace- local magistrate who tries minor civil and criminal cases |
| canvass- soliciting (werben um) of votes, support, opinions etc. (eg. by personally going from house to house) |
'lame duck'- that part of a legislator's term after the date of his failure to be re-elected |
| caucus- meeting of party leaders or legislators to name candidates or convention delegates |
lobbying- the techniques used by interest groups to influence members of law-making bodies |
| census- official counting of the population, taken decennially for the nation since 1790 |
mid-term elections- national elections at midpoint of presidential term (all House of Repr. and one third of Senate) |
| checks and balances- modification of separation of powers by which each branch of government has power to participate in, and to disapprove of, some acts of each of the other two |
nullification- right of a state to reject national law |
| civil disobedience- deliberate and public violation of a law to test its constitutionality or to protest a policy believed wrong |
Prohibition- forbidding, by law, the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors (1919-33) |
| civil rights- individual rights guaranteed against government encroachment |
ratification- confirmation by expressing consent, approval, or sanction, as of a proposed constitutional amendment |
| civil service- body of appointive government employees outside of armed services and judicial posts |
referendum- as type of direct legislation, requires popular approval of legislative acts before they become law |
| common law- basic law of Anglo-Saxon nations derived from customary law and precedents (Präzedenzfälle) |
Senate- U.S. upper house of Congress (100 members, 6-year term) |
| comptroller- an official who examines government expenditure for their conformity to law |
'separate but equal' rule- Supreme Court construction (1896) of equal protection of laws clause, sanctioning racial segregation; rejected 1954 |
| concurrent power- national ans state authority to regulate, independently od each other, the same subject matter: eg. tax power |
sheriff- chief law enforcement officer of a county |
| Congress- bicameral legislature (Houses of Representatives and Senate) |
Speaker of the House- preasiding officer |
| constituency- body of residents in an election district, or the election district itself |
suffrage- vote right (blacks, women) |
| constitution- laws or principles by which a nation is organized and governed |
Supreme Court- highest court in nation, made up of one chief and eight associate justices |
| departments- 12 major subdivisions of national administration, each organized for independent purpose: State (Aussenministerium), Treasury, Defense, Post Office, Interior, Justice (Attorney General), Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation. |
warrant- order of court authorizing an officer to make an arrest, conduct searches or seizures |
| District of Columbia (D.C.)- U.S. capital, governed in detail by Congress |
writ- judicial order directing aperson to do or to refrain from doing some specified act |
| electoral college system- procedure for indirect selection of president and vice-president, involving electoral votes (electors) |
zoning- regulation of land and building use by municipal ordinance, based on state police power |
| filibuster- minority's wilful obstruction of legislative business through time-consuming tactics, to get its way on pending measures |
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| gerrymandering- unfair legislative apportionment whereby district lines are drawn to benefit one set of interests or one party |
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