CJUS290-1304-01
Criminal Law
Phase Individual Project
Instructor: Christine Lee
October 12, 2013

The roles of the Legislative, Judiciary, Executive Branches of the Government

What are the three branches of the U.S. Government? The three branches of the U.S. Government are Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. They carry out governmental power and functions.

Legislative Branch The legislative branch is made up of the two houses of Congress the Senate and the House of Representatives. The most important duty of the legislative branch is to make laws. Laws are written, discussed and voted on in Congress. The Legislative Branch consists of the Senate. The
House of Representatives, also known as Congress. Congress is made of 100 Senators each state have two. Each state has a different number of Representatives with that number being determined by the state’s population. The Legislative branch job is passing the nations laws and allocating them to the 50 U.S. States.

Executive Branch The President is the head of the executive branch, which makes the laws official. The
President is elected by the entire country and serves a four-year term. The President approves and put the laws in placed that were passed by the legislative branch. He appoints or removes cabinet members and officials. He negotiates treaties, and acts as head of state and he is the
Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces. The executive branch also includes the Vice
President and other officials, such as members of the cabinet. The cabinet is made up of the heads of the 15 major Departments of the government. The cabinet gives advice to the President about important matters. The main function of the executive branch is to ensure that laws are carried out and enforced, and also to facilitate day to day responsibilities of the Federal
Government such as collecting taxes, safeguarding the homeland and representing the United
States political and economic interests around the world.

Judicial Branch The judicial branch oversees the court system of the U.S. Through court cases, the judicial branch explains the meaning of the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. The Supreme
Court is the head of the judicial branch. Unlike a criminal court, the Supreme Court rules whether something is constitutional or unconstitutional and whether or not it is permitted under the Constitution. On the Supreme Court there are nine justices, or judges: eight associate justices and one chief justice. The judges are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate.
They have no term limits. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. Its decisions are final, and no other court can overrule those decisions. Decisions of the Supreme Court set precedents and new ways of interpreting the law.

Separation of Powers The reason we have separation of powers within the government is if one organization has a large amount of power they will become dangerous to the citizens because they will have to much control. The separation of powers is to make sure that one organization does not abuse their powers. That is why we have three separate entities in the federal government. They are distinguished. If one group has all the power they would have unlimited power to specify laws, and arrest privileges they would decide when criminals are guilty without due process through separation of power no organization can have more power over the other three organizations they must all work together?

What is Federalism? Federalism is a relationship between states and the federal government. The Governance in the United States takes place at various levels and branches of the government, they all take place in the decision making process. From the U.S. Supreme Court to the local government, the distribution of power allows the