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Judicial Branch: Importance Of Checks And Balances

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Judicial Branch Function: Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws and how they are applied. The Judicial Branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws violate the Constitution. It's comprised of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. The Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and must be approved by the Senate. o The court is comprised of 9 members, a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. A minimum or quorum of 6 justices is required to decide a case. o If there is an even number of Justices and a case results in a tie, the lower court's decision stands. o There is no fixed term for Justices. …show more content…

However, the only way a regular citizen is involved in the Federal judicial system is as jurors. This can take the form of either a grand jury or a trial (or petit) jury. On a grand jury, a panel of citizens hears evidence presented by a prosecutor and decides whether or not to indict a person accused of one or more crimes Importance of Checks & Balances: The Judicial Review decide if laws violate the Constitution, and it is how federal courts provide checks and balances on the legislative and executive branches. Legislative Branch Function: The function of the Legislative Branch is to veto bills, call special sessions of congress, control patronage. The main function of the legislative branch is to make laws. In the United States, Congress also has the ability to levy taxes, to declare war, to borrow money for the nation, to regulate interstate and international trade, to coin and regulate the supply of money, and to raise an army and navy. Citizen Involvement: We get to vote the legislators into office. We can contact the representatives by phone, fax, email or mail to let them know what we

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