Constitutional Scenarios- Key

Constitutional Scenarios- KEY Use the KEY to check your answers. Make any additions/corrections needed on your sheet. 1. The House of Representatives passed their version of a tax bill; the Senate will vote on a slightly different version in the next few days. Once both houses of Congress have passed tax bills, what must happen for the new tax plan(s) to become law? The versions must match before being sent to the President, so a committee with members from both houses meets to work out differences. The bill then is voted on again, then sent to the President once it passes both houses. If the President signs the bill (or lets it sit for 10 days without signing it), it becomes law. If the President vetoes the bill, it goes back to Congress, where it can be altered (and then voted on again) or Congress can override the veto with 2/3 vote of each house. 2. In July of 1974, a committee in the House of Representatives reported three articles of impeachment against President Nixon, for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. If Nixon hadn’t resigned shortly thereafter, what additional steps would have been needed to remove him from office? First, the House would vote to impeach (or formally accuse the President of a crime). If 2/3 of the members vote to impeach, the Senate then holds a trial, where the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides. If 2/3 of the Senate votes to find the President guilty of the crime, he/she is removed from office. 3. A small community in southern Indiana wants to pass an amendment that would ban “flag burning” in the United States. W hat steps would be required for the amendment to be added to the Constitution? Why might such an amendment be controversial? There are two paths to amending the Constitution. All 27 amendments have followed this path: Congress proposes an amendment with a 2/3 vote in both houses. The amendment must them be passed by ¾ of the state legislatures to become part of the Constitution. The other path is for a national convention to be called. 2/3 of state legislatures must vote to call the convention, which would then hear and vote on the amendment. This path has never been taken. 4. The Senate and the House of Representatives have passed a bill requiring all members of a given religion to register with the local police. In what ways could the bill be stopped from becoming a law? (Describe several ways.) The President could veto the bill. If Congress was able to override the veto with 2/3 vote in each chamber, and the bill became law, someone could sue in Federal court, which hears cases involving the Constitution. If the law was initially found to be Constitutional, the ruling could be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, whose decision would be final. 5. The oldest current serving justice on the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, decides to retire. Describe the qualifications for the job and the process that would take place to replace her. The President is the one who nominates someone to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. There are no stated qualifications for the job, but because candidates must be approved by the Senate, Presidents tend to appoint people who will be deemed acceptable. After being interviewed by the Senate, a vote is taken. 2/3 of the Senate must vote to confirm the new justice. 6. In 1893, the state of Virginia sued the state of Tennessee because it believed the border between the two states had been incorrectly drawn in 1803. Describe the process that Virginia would go through to have its case heard. All cases involving disputes between states are heard by the Supreme Court. (It has “original jurisdiction” in those cases, so they are heard there first and do not have to start in other, lower courts.) 6., Continued: In all cases heard by the Supreme Court, both sides file a written argument, which is reviewed by the Justices before the hearing. At the hearing, both sides get just 30 minutes to argue their case, during which the justices may ask questions. After time to think it over (and perhaps do research), the justices meet to vote on the case. A justice on the winning side writes an “opinion” that explains the decision. (Other justices may also write a formal opinion describing their legal thoughts on the matter, too.) 7. Following a terrorist attack, Congress passes a law that allows the government to arrest suspected terrorists and place them in jail for an unlimited amount of time without filing charges or holding a trial. Is the law Constitutional? Why/Why not. What could be done to stop the government from taking such actions? It depends. If the country is at war, some of the protections found in the Bill or Rights (such as Habeas Corpus, which demands a person be allowed to appear before a judge) can be suspended, making the actions legal. Also, if the suspects were involved in military action against the US, military law may apply (which could allow the described actions). Finally, if the suspects are not US citizens, civil rights may not apply. Otherwise, in order to stop such a law, the President could veto it. If 2/3 of both houses of Congress vote to override the veto, then and the bill became law, someone could sue in Federal court, which hears cases involving the Constitution. If the law was initially found to be Constitutional, the ruling could be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, whose decision would be final. 8. Due to heavy drug trafficking along the US border with Mexico, the President of the United States wants to immediately send troops to that country for 45 days, after which he plans to declare war. Are those actions legal? Why/why not? In some cases, the President can send armed forces into action for up to 60 days. There must be a “national emergency” (usually this means an attack upon the US in some way). The President must inform Congress within 48 hours. Presidents may not declare war- Congress must do that. 9. Alexis Castro was brought to the United States by her parents when she was fifteen years old. When she was 25, she became a naturalized US citizen. Later, when she turned 40, she decided to run for federal office. Could Alexis try to become a federal Senator, Representative, or the US President? (Tell why she would/would not be eligible for each position.) Alexis could become a member of Congress in either house because she meets those requirements. (House = 25 years old, citizen for 7 years, live in the district; Senate = 30 years old, citizen for 9 years, live in the state.) She could not be President because, even though she has been a resident of the US for more than the required 14 years and is over the age of 35, she is not a “natural born citizen” (someone who was a U.S. citizen at birth with no need to later be “naturalized”. Someone born to a U.S. citizen parent is considered a “natural born citizen”.) 10. The President of the United States worked with the leader of a foreign country… faced objections from the opposite political party at home as well as from other countries…(and) held a news conference to assure the American people and the world that the deal was a good one. Which Presidential roles were being played by the President during and after the development of the treaty? Chief Diplomat- while negotiating the treaty (guiding the US relationship with other countries) Chief of State- when addressing the country and the world (expressing values/goals of Americans) Party Leader- when facing the objections of the opposing political party (You could argue that Commander in Chief (of the military) is implied because the military might be called on to enforce the treaty, or Legislative Leader (setting plans for dealing with national problems), because the treaty may have implications at home and because Congress will have to approve the treaty.)