Government Power and Authorities

#1. (Chapter 2) Define Federalism and Separation of Powers, Identify the Major Sources of State and Federal authorities explicit to the Constitution, and explain why the division of powers architecture was important to the Framers.

Federalism is the division of Governmental powers and authorities between the State and Federal Governments. Separation of Powers is not actually labeled or defined within the constitution. However, the Framers of the constitution found “to avoid tyranny, a separation or division of authority must exist” (Feldmeier & Hall, 2012). They believed if the powers and authorities weren’t separated there would be sheer chaos in the Nation. The U.S. Constitution explains the authorities the State and Federal Governments hold. The U.S. Constitution divides State and Federal powers in Articles I, II, and III. “Article I establishes Congress and sets forth its authorities. Congress is comprised of two chambers: the House of Representatives, and Senate” (Feldmeier & Hall, 2012). Articles II and III continue to establish the president, his powers, and the rules and authorities of the U.S. Supreme Court. It was vital the Framers to apply a separation of powers to the very architecture of the Constitution. The Framers “had experience with a centralized authority, the English Crown, and found it arbitrary and unjust” (Feldmeier & Hall, 2012). To prevent the U.S. from a centralized authority, it was very important to design the U.S. Constitution with a Separation of Powers.

#2. (Chapter 3) Define and explain stare decises and its application by the Supreme Court and Lower Courts.

“Stare decices is the doctrine that judicial decisions stand as precedents for cases arising in the future” (Feldmei...

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...unity by favoring retired state employees over retired federal employees. In this case state of Michigan violated law when it exempted state and local government pensions from taxation but levied taxes on federal government pensions” (Intergovernmental-Immunity Doctrine Law and Legal Definition, 2014). The whole idea of the Intergovernmental Immunity Doctrine was to protect the rights of Intergovernmental agencies from one another.

References

Feldmeier, J. P., & Hall, D. E. (2013). Constitutional Law Second Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.

Intergovernmental-Immunity Doctrine Law and Legal Definition. (2014, May 17). Retrieved from UsLegal.com: http://definitions.uslegal.com/i/intergovernmental-immunity-doctrine/

Understanding Enumerated Powers. (2014, May 17). Retrieved from www.laws.com: http://constitution.laws.com/enumerated-powers