Rachel F.'s AP US Govt. Blog

1. Where do the district court and appellate court fit into the organization of the federal courts?  The district court is the lowest level of the federal courts, and it serves as a trial court. The appellate court is the next level up, and it handles appeals from the district court. 2. What makes the 9th Circuit stand out from the other circuit courts? It tends to have liberal rulings that are often reversed by the Supreme Court if appealed. 3. What historical cause may make this Circuit Court more liberal than others? 15 out of the 23 judges in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals were appointed by Democrat Jimmy Carter. 4. Give two examples of very liberal decisions that have come from judges on this court. Stephen Reinhardt wrote the opinions that ruled the Second Amendment doesn't recognize an individual right to bear arms and participated in the ruling that said the Pledge of Allegiance includes unconstitutional endorsement of religion with the words "und...

1. What are the disadvantages for Scott Pruitt of using rule making? The rule-making process is slow and requires many steps like collecting public input and can be slowed down by lawsuits. 2. How has the enforcement of environmental regulations changed from the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration? The enforcement is much less strict under the Trump administration. For example, the agency has not said anything about counties that failed to meet ozone restrictions by the October 17 deadline. 3. What change has Pruitt made to the process for investigating potential violations of environmental regulations?   The enforcement division is required to get permission from headquarters before carrying out an investigation. 4. How many environmental regulations has Pruitt removed? He has tried to roll back at least 19 environmental regulations 5. Why are some people critical of having so many environmental regulations? They think it is bad for busine...

1. What action (or lack of action) caused the government shut down? Congress did not pass a government funding law before the old one expired. Their failure was due to Democrats insisting on withholding support for funding bills unless there were deportation protections for DREAMers while Republicans refused to include such measures. 2. In a shutdown, which government functions continue? Which ones stop? Many functions like military and law enforcement and social security continue to make sure society does not collapse. Nonessential functions as determined by the government, often jobs like managing parks and memorials, will cease, and workers are furloughed. 3. How were Democrats able to force Republicans to address the DACA issue? Democratic votes are required to pass the government funding, so by refusing their votes until DACA was addressed, Democrats forced Republicans to address the issue.   4. Why were some Democrats eager to end the shut down so...