In: Economics
Which branch of the U.S. Government is the most powerful? Discuss the powers and limitations of power of each branch
The United Starts government's most powerful branch is the Judicial Branch. For a couple of different reasons the Judicial Branch is the most powerful branch. First, the Judicial Branch has the power to declare congressional acts unconstitutional, and can declare executive branch acts unconstitutional. A well-known example of that is the Marbury v. Maddison court case. William Marbury who was appointed by President John Adams as Justice of Peace in The District of Columbia. Marbury needed to deliver some documents to James Madison, who was Secretary of State at the time.
James Madison did not want such papers to be given to William Marbury because he did not feel that Marbury deserved to be the Justice of Peace. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to order the records to be delivered to James Madison. The Supreme Court, with John Marshall as Chief Justice, found first that Madison 's refusal to deliver the commission was both illegal and rectifiable Nonetheless, the Court stopped short of ordering Madison (by letter of mandamus) to hand over Marbury 's commission, arguing instead that the provision of the 1789 Judiciary Act that allowed Marbury to bring his claim to the Supreme Court was itsel.
The Judicial Branch was often framed in such a way that the judges of the Supreme Court received lifetime terms. That is somewhat different from the other two branches, as the elected members have term limits in the other two branches of government. Those are some of the reasons why the U.S. government's most powerful branch is the Judicial Branch.
Legislative Branch- In a bicameral Legislature, Article I of the Constitution vests the legislative authority of the Untied States. The Congress consists of the House of Representatives, whose members are elected for two-year terms and represent districts of equal numbers, and the Senate which consists of two senators from each state serving for six-year terms. Senators were initially elected by the state legislature but are now elected directly. The House and Senate makeup represented a compromise between the larger states, which wanted a population-based legislature and the smaller states that wanted equal representation for each state.
Executive Branch- The President retains the control of the executive branch. The President is chosen by the electoral college for a four-year term, not by direct voting. Under this system every state has a number of election college members equal to the number of House and Senate members. The candidate who gets the most votes in a state gets all of that state's electoral votes. The candidate with an electoral college majority becomes the President. The winner is chosen by the House of Representatives if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes
The Judicial Branch- The Constitution grants U.S. judicial power to one Supreme Court and other lower courts which Congress may establish. The President nominates federal judges for life and must be confirmed by the Senate. Under the Constitution, all federal courts are Courts with restricted jurisdiction. They will only hear "cases or disputes" which means they can not conduct non-judicial duties or advise the president or congress on the constitutionality of the proposed action. They can not hear all sorts of cases, but only those listed under the jurisdiction of the United States, as provided for in Article III.