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Texas Government > Unit 2 > Flashcards

Unit 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Bureaucracy

A

a method of organizing a large public or private organization that includes a hierarchical structure, division of labor, standard operating procedures, and advancement by merit

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2
Q

Patronage System

A

when individuals who supported a candidate for public office are rewarded with jobs and appointments

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3
Q

Merit-Based Civil Service System

A

a system in which people receive government jobs based upon a set of qualifications and formal training; job promotion and pay raises are based upon job performance

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4
Q

Sunshine Laws

A

laws designed to make government transparent and accessible to the people

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5
Q

Sunset Review Process

A

a formal assessment of the effectiveness of all statutory boards, commissions, and state agencies

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6
Q

Appointed Regulatory Commission

A

an agency of the state government whose members oversee a specific department of state government, are appointed by the governor, and are confirmed by the Texas Senate.

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7
Q

Attorney General (TX)

A

Issues advisory opinions to the governor’s office, the legislature, or other state agencies;

Appoints the solicitor general (argues for the attorney on cases/is picked by the attorney)

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8
Q

Elected Board

A

a directly elected board, such as the State Board of Education or Railroad Commission, that oversees a specific department of Texas government

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9
Q

Lieutenant Governor (TX)

A

Dan Patrick

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10
Q

Off-year election

A

an election taking place in a year when no presidential elections are occurring

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11
Q

Permanent School Fund (PSF)

A

fund created in 1854 that provides funds for primary and secondary schools

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12
Q

Plural Executive

A

an executive branch in which the functions have been divided among several, mostly elected, officeholders rather than residing in a single person, like the governor

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13
Q

Political Ambition Ladder

A

the manner in which a political figure has come up through the ranks, working through various levels of state governmental offices and positions on the way to the top position; climbing several levels on the ladder can increase a politician’s contacts, allies, and political savvy

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14
Q

Affirm

A

To declare that a court ruling is valid and must stand.

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15
Q

Appellate Jurisdiction

A

the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts

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16
Q

At-large Election

A

election of an officeholder by the voters of an entire governmental unit rather than by the voters of a district or subdivision which in turn decreases minority representation

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17
Q

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

A

evidence that is almost an absolute certainty that a person did commit a crime

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18
Q

Civil Case

A

a case involving a noncriminal matter such as a contract dispute or a claim of patent infringement

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19
Q

Civil Defendant

A

the party alleged to have committed the wrong at issue in a civil suit.

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20
Q

Compensatory Damages

A

a money award equivalent to the actual value of injuries or damages sustained by the aggrieved party.

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21
Q

Concurrent Jurisdiction

A

authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decide cases

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22
Q

Concurring Opinion

A

a statement written by a justice who votes with the majority, but for different reasons

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23
Q

Criminal Case

A

a case in which a defendant is tried for committing a crime as defined by the law

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24
Q

Criminal Defendant

A

a person charged with committing a crime

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25
De Novo
latin, meaning "anew." A trial de novo is a completely new trial; appellate review de novo implies no deference to the trial judge's ruling.
26
Dissenting Opinion
a statement written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion, presenting his or her opinion
27
En Banc
a procedure in which all the members of a U.S. court of appeals hear and decide a case.
28
Enhanced Penalties
penal code provision that specifies conditions under which the accused can be charged with a higher-degree offense
29
Exclusive Jurisdiction
jurisdiction held by only one court.
30
Grand Jury
a group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime.
31
Incumbency Advantage
institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election
32
Indictment
a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime
33
Judicial Federalism
a system in which judicial authority is shared between levels of government
34
Jurisdiction
the official power to make legal decisions and judgments
35
Magistrate Functions
conduct the preliminary procedures in criminal cases; conducting preliminary hearings
36
Majority Opinion
a statement that presents the views of the majority of supreme court justices regarding a case
37
Name Recognition
incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them, and incumbents are more recognizable.
38
Original Jurisdiction
the jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts of a case.
39
Petit Jury
a jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.
40
Plaintiff
a person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
41
Preponderance of Evidence
usually the standard of proof used in a civil suit; the burden of proof that a party must meet in order to win the lawsuit. To win, a party must provide evidence that is more convincing than the other side's evidence.
42
Prosecutor
the state or federal government attorney in a criminal case.
43
Punitive Damages
monetary damages that may be awarded to a plaintiff to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct in the future.
44
Reverse
to annul or make void a court ruling on account of some error or irregularity.
45
Capital Punishment/Death Penalty
refers to when the state puts an individual to death for certain crimes
46
Castle Doctrine
texas law that allows the use of deadly force to defend your home or "castle"
47
Incapacitation
an approach to criminal justice that emphasizes removing the guilty from society to prevent new or additional crime
48
Incarceration Rate
the number of persons held in jail or prison for every 100,000 persons in a particular population group.
49
Indigent Defense
a calculation of how many prisoners a state has per 100,000 people, which controls for population size
50
Just Deserts
an approach to criminal justice in which the purpose of the criminal justice system is to enact punishment fitting for the crime
51
Loser Pay Law
texas law requires litigants to pay those they sued if they lose their lawsuits (used for only certain cases)
52
Private Prison
a private, for-profit prison corporation that staffs and runs prison facilities in a state
53
Probable Cause
reasonable cause for issuing a search warrant or making an arrest; more than mere suspicion
54
Recidivism
former inmate's resumption of criminal activity after his or her release from prison
55
Rehabilitation
an approach to criminal justice that focuses on therapy or education to reform criminal behavior, including efforts addressing why the behavior was wrong and how to prevent recidivism
56
Restorative Justice
an approach to criminal justice that sees crime as a break in society between the community, the perpetrator, and the victim and focuses on healing this break
57
Retribution
an approach to criminal justice that emphasizes punishment because the guilty violated societal rules
58
Tort
a wrongful act by a person that results in injury to another person or property in civil law
59
Early Voting
the option in some states to cast a vote at a polling place or by mail before the election
60
Wide-open/Blanket Primary
a primary in which voters do not register party affiliations and receive ballot papers containing the names of all candidates from all political parties running for office; usually voters may choose only one candidate per office rather than one candidate per political party
61
Casework
the work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with a problem
62
Closed Primary
an electoral contest restricted to party loyalists that exclude supporters of other political parties and independent voters
63
Credit Claiming
the efforts by members of Congress to get their constituents to believe they are responsible for positive government actions.
64
Cross-Filing
a system that allows a candidate to run simultaneously as a Democratic and a Republican candidate, essentially competing in both parties' primaries.
65
Direct Primary
a primary election in which the winning candidate directly receives the party nomination
66
Disclosure
an act of identifying the name of the producer, representative or firm, limited insurance representative, or temporary insurance producer on any policy solicitation.
67
Equal Protection Clause
constitutional guarantee that everyone be treated equally as stated in the 14th amendment
68
General Election
an election held to choose which candidate will hold office
69
Grandfather Clause
a clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.
70
Incumbent
an officeholder who is seeking reelection.
71
Independent Candidate
a candidate who is not associated with any political party
72
Literacy Test
a test given to persons to prove they can read and write before being allowed to register to vote
73
Majority Election
the winning candidate must get more than 50% of the vote
74
Motor Voter Act
a 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.
75
Open Primary
an electoral contest in which voters are not required to declare apart affiliation to participate but must request a specific party's ballot at the primary; voters are subsequently barred from participating in the other party's primary
76
Party-line Voting
process in which voters select candidates by their party affiliation
77
Party Primary
an election in which party candidates are nominated by registered party members rather than party bosses
78
Plurality Election
the winning candidate is the person who receives more votes than anyone else, but less than half the total.
79
Poll Tax
a requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote
80
Position Taking
when members of congress take positions on certain issues and things so that they have a better chance of being re-elected.
81
Preference Primary
a primary election in which voters indicate their choice to hold office, but the actual selection is left to the political party elites
82
Primary Election
essentially in party elections, where candidates compete to represent a particular political party in a general election
83
Private Financing
a system of campaign financing in which citizens, interest groups, labor unions, and corporations donate funds to cover the cost of elections for political parties or candidates
84
Public Financing
a system of campaign financing in which the government covers the cost of elections for political parties or candidates.
85
Roll-off
process in which voters mark off only the "more important" offices on a lengthy ballot—usually national or statewide offices—and leave the county or local office choices blank.
86
Runoff Election
a "second round" election in which voters choose between the top two candidates from the first round
87
Second-Order Elections
elections at which the stakes are lower, such as local or mid-term elections, and which are used by many voters to express a judgement on the national government
88
Suffrage
the legal right to vote
89
Voter Turnout
the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election the percentage of votes who voted out of registered voters
90
Voting Rights Act of 1965
a policy designed to reduce the barriers to voting for those suffering discrimination.
91
White Primary
the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through the arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation

Texas Government (3 decks)

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