CMRJ302

150 WORDS ADREE OR DISAGREE

In the United States we have three branches of government that are designed to keep one branch from being the end all be all. These three branches include the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. Each have their own unique jobs and positions but the overall missions of these three is to ensure the United States is successful. The Legislative branch includes Senate and the House of Representatives, which draft purposed laws along with approving or rejecting presidential nominees for jobs vital to national success. The Executive branch consists of the President, Vice President, the Cabinet, and other agencies. This branch carries out and enforces laws that are signed by the Legislative branch. The Judicial branch interprets laws and is constructed of the Supreme court and other federal courts. Each branch has the capability to change acts of others to ensure the system of checks and balances is upheld. Constitutional democracy ensures that the whole of the people is a superior authority to the government which ensures the individuals in the government are held responsible. The idea behind federalism is to ensure that power is spread between the federal government and state or local governments. This gives states the right to enact their own laws despite federal laws, an example would be marijuana legalization in certain states.
The principles of federalism can be broken down into the three levels previously stated; federal, state, and local. The Federal level of policing include organizations like the FBI or DEA. They can conduct policing throughout the United States. An example of this would be an individual committing a federal crime, this would be investigated and fall under the FBIs jurisdiction. State level would be the individuals State police, which are able to operate anywhere with in the state. The confines of jurisdiction for state police would be neighboring states. If a person drives across a state line fleeing from the police, the jurisdiction would change when passing over that demarcation. The Local level includes town police or county police. The jurisdiction at the local level will be limited to the county or city demarcation points, the same applies to crossing jurisdiction as the state level.
The bill of rights protects certain rights that are afforded to every American citizen. During the initial ratification of the document there were ten amendments drafted. The first is the freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and right to petition the government. This ensures individuals can say, publish, practice religion, and ensure the government does not harm the people of the united states. The Second amendment is the right to bear arms, this is limited by individuals who have been convicted of a federal crime. The Third is the protection against housing of soldiers, this is less applicable today due to the military taking care of their people. The fourth through eighth amendments protect from unreasonable search and seizure, prevent self-incrimination, right to a speedy trial with a jury that prevent unusual punishment. The ninth and tenth include that the Constitution will not infringe on other rights and the power belongs to the states and people.
References
Branches of the U.S. Government. (2019, April). Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government
Federalism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/3.asp
The Bill of Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/us/18a.asp