Rakestraw - AP GOV blogs

1. Where do the district court and appellate court fit into the organization of the federal courts? T he district court is a trial court within the Ninth Circuit; the appellate court is one step higher on the ladder and oversees all individual districts. 2. What makes the 9th Circuit stand out from the other circuit courts? The Ninth Circuit is by far the largest federal appellate court, with 29 judges. (The Fifth Circuit, covering Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, is second, with 17.) The Ninth covers a population of 64.3 million people, according to the latest Census data, or nearly 20 percent of the US. 3. What historical cause may make this Circuit Court more liberal than others? The Court’s reputation arguably derives from its transformation under President Jimmy Carter. While Carter was the only the fourth president to make no appointments to the Supreme Court, he did appoint 15 people to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, out of 23 judges total at the time. 4. Give two ...

1. What are the disadvantages for Scott Pruitt of using rule making? Much of EPA’s work is governed by statute, so dismantling most environmental regulations requires an arduous rule-making process that requires public comments, as well as new rules to comply with the law. The whole endeavor is inevitably beset by lawsuits at every step. 2. How has the enforcement of environmental regulations changed from the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration? During the Obama Administration, environmental policy was far more enforced than it has been during the Trump Administration. Environmental law enforcement has declined. By September, the Trump administration launched 30 percent fewer cases and collected about 60 percent fewer fines than in the same period under President Obama. 3. What change has Pruitt made to the process for investigating potential violations of environmental regulations? The agency’s enforcement division now has to get approval from headquarters befor...

1. What action (or lack of action) caused the government shut down? The most basic reason for the shutdown is that the government gets funded by laws that have to go through Congress — and this time, Congress failed to pass a new government funding law before the old one expired. 2. In a shutdown, which government functions continue? Which ones stop? The entire federal government certainly doesn’t shut down. Military and law enforcement activities continue. Social Security checks still go out. Air traffic controllers still go to work. Activities the government has deemed “nonessential” stop, and employees tasked with those activities are furloughed. 3. How were Democrats able to force Republicans to address the DACA issue? One obvious point of potential leverage over Republicans is that Democratic votes are needed to fund the government. So these activists argued that Democrats shouldn’t vote for any government funding bill without a DACA deal. 4. Why were some Democ...