The US Constitution is the supreme law of the U.S., designed to protect and preserve the rights of the state citizens. According to the Constitution, the vacancies in the House of Representatives should be filled through a special election. The Constitution has been changed majorly through Amendments, but also through presidential practices and court decisions. Amendments are proposed either by Congress by decision of 2/3 of the members of each of the houses, or by a special convention held by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislatures. The Bill of Rights was called that because it regulated the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.
Additionally, it laid the legal foundation for the practical implementation of the American concept of civil rights and freedoms. The first amendment to the US Constitution states that there should be no laws violating freedom of religion, speech, press or the right to assemble peacefully. Also, it protects the people’s right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. As the consequence of the Civil War, XIII-XV amendments to the US Constitution were adopted. The XII Amendment banned slavery, the XIV established citizenship for all people of the U.S., including slaves, and the XV stated that every citizen has the right to vote regardless of race, color or slavery.
Race, color and sex cannot serve as legal reasons to prohibit a citizen from voting. Naturalization means the process of becoming a U.S. citizen when the person has not been born on the U.S. territory. The Constitution guarantees to each state in the union a republican form of government, where the power is held by people through their chosen representatives. New states are admitted into the union through Congress. However, is it explicitly stated that these new states may not intrude on the territory of existing states. The power that is not delegated or prohibited belongs to the people of the United States, as per X Amendment.
State governments are prohibited from entering into treaties with other countries, printing money, declaring war, granting any noble titles or passing ex-post facto laws. Ex-post facto laws try to make an act illegal or inflict a punishment for it after it has already occurred. They are prohibited by the Constitution of the U.S. The most important function of the executive branch is to enforce laws that facilitate the daily duties of the federal government. The legislative branch is responsible for enacting national laws, and allocating funds for the operation of the federal government. The judicial branch interprets the laws through legal processes.
The U.S. Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and serves as the legislative branch of power. According to the XX Amendment, Congress assembles on the 3rd of January each year. The special sessions of Congress are called by the President of the U.S. A member of the House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, be a US citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state from which they are elected (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 1, sect. 2). A member of the Senate must be at least 30 years of age, be US citizens for at least nine years, and a resident of the state from which they are elected (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 1, sect. 3).
The legislature of each state prescribes the time, place and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 1, sect. 4). Each House judges over the election returns and its members’ qualifications (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 1, sect. 5). The Senate is the representative body of the states. Regardless of the size of the population, each of the states is represented in it by two senators. The House of Representatives’ 435 members are elected for two years. Senators are elected for six years, on the same terms as the House of Representatives. But unlike the latter, the Senate is re-elected by one third every two years.
The President of the Senate is the head of the Senate, while the Speaker of the House of Representatives presides the House of Representatives. The Speaker has the power to assign all of the bills introduced to the respective standing committee. Additionally, they establish control measures and limitation of debate in the House of Representatives. Congress has the power to issue and collect taxes, borrow money on behalf of the U.S., regulate commerce between states and with other countries, and print money. Moreover, it can declare war, and support the army and navy. Another powers consider the fixation of weights and measures standards, establishment of post offices and roads, as well as granting patents and copyrights (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 1, sect. 8). Congress cannot suspend privilege of a writ of habeas corpus, pass any bills of attainder or ex-post facto laws, grant any noble titles, make commercial preference towards any state, and tax the exports of any state (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 1, sect. 9).
The “implied powers clause” gives Congress the authority to pass laws that are not addressed in the Constitution as “necessary and proper” to execute its power and the power of the U.S. The Presidential Cabinet consists of the principal officers for each of the executive departments, whose opinion the president may require. Among The President’s legislative powers is the right to veto Congress’ legislations, to address Congress in a message, and to convene Congress in a special session. When the President does not accept a bill from Congress due to objections, each branch has to review both the bill and the objections.
However, if both Houses vote positively on the vetoed bill by two thirds, the bill will still become a law despite the President’s objections. The Senate is responsible for impeachment trials, for treaties ratification – is the two thirds of senators are present –, and for the approval of government officials presented by the President. Impeachment means that the government official is not fit for their duty and thus needs to be removed from the office. This removal and subsequent disqualification from holding government position again constitute the penalty from the Senate. The Vice-President of the U.S. may only vote of the Senate votes are equally divided. Specific requirements are set by Congress which have to be passed in order to be provided with funding. The head of the executive branch is the President of the U.S. (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 2, sect. 1).
A person who wants to become President must be at least 35 years old, and born in the U.S. Electors from each state who are chosen by the state’s legislature vote for the President. In the Electoral College, there is a number of electors for each state that is equal to the number of this state senators and members of the House of Representatives. Congress counts the votes for both, under the President of the Senate’s direction. The term for both is four years. The President may only serve two terms of presidency. Both the President and the Vice-President take their oaths on 20th of January after their election.
Two years are set as a term for each Congress, with two sessions. The President appoints officials to federal office on the advice and consent from the Senate. The President may fill the vacancies by giving commissions which will expire at the end of the next session. The President is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces (“Constitution of the United States”, art. 2, sect. 2). Once in a year, the President addresses Congress on the state of the country, which includes the necessary legislations and funding issues. The President has the power to reject the bill that was passed by Congress on the basis of their objections for further consideration from the House that proposed the bill.
The President’s emergency legislative power is to call special sessions of Congress. It is in the President’s judicial power to grant pardons and reprieves. Eminent domain refers to the federal government’s right to take private property and give it for public use with financial or other compensation to the owner. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and its subject courts as established by Congress. There are one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices in the Supreme Court. The judicial branch interprets the laws set by the legislative branch. Federal judges usually serve for life, however, they can be removed for a cause.
If there is a legal cause, an impeachment process is held to remove a justice. The six types of cases are: cases under the U.S. Constitution or laws or treaties; cases that involve ambassadors; cases in which the U.S. is a party; cases between the state and citizen of another state; cases between states; cases between citizens of different states. Each state has one vote during the President’s election. To win, the candidate has to have a majority vote of 26 states, and the House of Representatives chooses from 3 candidates with most votes. Original jurisdiction works for the cases which came initially to the court seeking trial. Appellate jurisdiction is used for cases that came through the appeal process from inferior courts.
The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases that affect ambassadors, as well as public ministers and consuls, and in cases for which there are 2 or more states involved in appellate jurisdiction. A law could be declared unconstitutional and thus having no effect if the Supreme Court states that it objects the Constitution. Treason is an act of aggression or even war against the U.S., as well as the act of aiding or comforting an enemy of the state.
If the President is tried for impeachment, the Chief Justice will preside in the meantime. The V Amendment states that: first, no accused can be tried for a major offense except on indictment by a grand jury. Secondly, no person can be tried for the same offense twice, or testify against themselves in the court. Finally, the accuses cannot be refused life, liberty and property without a trial. All criminal cases assure that the accused has the right for public trial by an unbiased jury.
Work Cited
The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription. National Archives, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2020. Web.