Merit System and Checks on Bureaucracy and Judicial Branch

1. AP Gov FRQ Focus for Bureaucracy / Federal Courts (Judicial Branch) Exam Exam: Thursday, March 28th

2. Characteristics of Merit System • Hiring or promotion based on qualifications / experience • Hiring based on testing

3. Factors Contributing to Bureaucratic Independence • public policy problems are complex so bureaucrats have: • Specialized units / expertise • Delegated authority-because Congress and the president cannot handle everything, they must delegate authority to the bureaucracy • Discretionary authority-because legislation lacks details, the bureaucracy can fill in the gaps / has flexibility to implement laws how they see fit

4. Constitutional Provisions that can Check Bureaucracy • Congress: • Appropriations-can reward or punish agency with $ (funding) = power of the purse • Legislation-can pass legislation affecting the bureaucracy • Rejection of presidential appointments to the bureaucracy

5. Constitutional Provisions that can Check Bureaucracy • Courts: • Court rulings that limit bureaucratic practices (ex. injunctions against bureaucratic agencies) • Judicial review-can declare bureaucratic actions unconstitutional

6. President’s Powers that can Check Bureaucracy • President is the Chief Administrator / Bureaucrat so: • Can appoint senior agency heads • Issue executive orders • Prioritize agency activities / use White House staff to control bureaucrats

7. The Judicial Branch: Separate from Politics? • serve life terms / have the authority to interpret the Constitution; the “law of the land” (protected from politics) • BUT:

8. Political Factors Involved in Judiciary • Political factors affecting confirmation of federal / SC judges: Ideology / interest group input / scandal / race / religion / gender / etc. • Ideology = if majority of Senate has different ideology than president (ex. when Obama nominated Merrick Garland), will be less likely to confirm a candidate they perceive as having president’s ideology

9. The Judicial Branch: Separate from Politics? • Interest group input can affect confirmation of nominee • ex. if NRA felt that a nominee wanted stricter gun control, would try to influence Senators to reject the candidate; if pro-choice interest groups felt that a nominee wanted to overturn a woman’s right to an abortion, would try to influence Senators to reject

10. Scandal in past ex. anything done politically / in personal life is thoroughly investigated if a questionable incident is revealed Senate may be less likely to confirm the candidate

11. Race / religion / gender • ex. president may try to please his / her constituents by taking any of these factors into consideration, and Senators have different constituents (based on state rather than nationally) so may prefer a different option ex. senators from more diversely populated states may be more open to a nominee who is an ethnic minority

12. Legislative Checks on Court Decisions • Confirmation of federal judge nominees (including Supreme Court nominees) • Constitutional amendment

13. Executive Checks on Court Decisions • Power of appointment / nomination • Enforcing the law ex. Brown v. Board of Education decision desegregating public schools Eisenhower sent in the U.S. army to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce the court’s decision