separation of powers

Examples of separation of powers in the following topics:

• The Division and Separation of Power

  • The Separation of Powers is defined as the division of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.
  • The political doctrine of the separation of powers found in the United States Constitution originated in the writings of Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws, where he urged for a constitutional government with three separate branches of government.
  • This idea was called separation of powers.
  • This United States' form of separation of powers is associated with a system of checks and balances.
  • This procedure is an integral part of the constitutional design for the separation of powers.

• Separation of Powers

  • Separation of powers is a doctrine in which each of the three branches of government have defined powers independent of each other.
  • Separation of powers is a political doctrine originating from the writings of Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws in which he urges for a constitutional government with three separate branches of government .
  • Each of the three branches would have defined powers to check the powers of the other branches.
  • This idea was called separation of powers.
  • This United States form of separation of powers is associated with a system of checks and balances.

• The Power of Judicial Review

  • Judicial review is an example of the separation of powers in a modern governmental system.
  • Judicial review can be understood in the context of two distinct—but parallel—legal systems, civil law and common law, and also by two distinct theories on democracy and how a government should be set up, legislative supremacy and separation of powers.
  • The separation of powers is another theory about how a democratic society's government should be organized.
  • First introduced by French philosopher Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu , separation of powers was later institutionalized in the United States by the Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v.
  • It is based on the idea that no branch of government should be more powerful than any other and that each branch of government should have a check on the powers of the other branches of government, thus creating a balance of power among all branches of government.

• The Branches of Government

  • The United States Constitution set out three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive branch, and judiciary.
  • The political doctrine of the separation of powers found in the Constitution originated in the writings of French intellectual Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws, wherein he urged for a constitutional government comprising three separate branches of government.
  • Each branch would have defined powers to check the powers of the other branches.
  • This idea was called separation of powers, and also came to be known as a system of checks and balances.
  • Congress, however, which has the power to set the jurisdiction of the courts, may limit judicial power to review the constitutionality of laws.

• Checks and Balances

  • To get the three branches of government to cooperate, a system of checks and balances was created to achieve a fair separation of powers.
  • To prevent one branch of government from becoming too powerful, protect the minority from the majority, and induce the branches to cooperate, governments often employ a system of "checks and balances. " Like the concept of separation of powers, this idea is credited to Montesquieu.
  • An example of this is the president's veto power: the president can limit Congress's power by vetoing a bill.
  • The legislative passes bills, has broad taxing and spending power, controls the federal budget, and has power to borrow money on the credit of the United States.
  • Since that time, the federal courts have exercised the power of judicial review.

• The Last Days of the Federal Presidency: The Midnight Judges

  • Marbury sued and demanded that the Supreme Court issue a writ of mandamus (a power given by the Judiciary Act of 1789) that would compel Jefferson to accept these appointments.
  • However, Marshall had established the foundational concept of judicial review—the power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of congressional legislation and presidential acts.
  • According to the Constitution, there is one simple provision that "the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court. " What this judicial power was or how the Court was to wield it is left remarkably blank in the rest of the document.
  • Madison, Justice Marshall defined the Court's judicial power as the authority to judge the actions of the other two federal branches of government—claiming that judicial review was a logical and implicit principle established in the Constitution.
  • Essentially, the decision handed down by Marshall strengthened the power of the federal judiciary and permanently cemented its fundamental role in shaping both state and federal law—expanding the powers of the national government and ensuring a permanent Federalist legacy in the separation of federal powers.

• The Supreme Court as Policy Makers

  • The Constitution does not grant the Supreme Court the power of judicial review but the power to overturn laws and executive actions.
  • The Constitution does not explicitly grant the Supreme Court the power of judicial review but the power of the Court to overturn laws and executive actions it deems unlawful or unconstitutional is well-established.
  • Some argue that the Supreme Court is the most separated and least checked of all branches of government.
  • On the other hand, through its power of judicial review, the Supreme Court has defined the scope and nature of the powers and separation between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government.
  • Discuss the constitutional powers and authority of the Supreme Court and its role in developing policies

• Dictatorship and Totalitarianism

  • Dictatorships govern without consent of the people and in totalitarian dictatorships the power to govern extends to all aspects of life.
  • Dictatorship and totalitarianism are often associated, but they are actually two separate phenomena.
  • Dictatorship is a form of government in which the ruler has the power to govern without consent of those being governed.
  • Totalitarian regimes stay in political power through all-encompassing propaganda campaigns (disseminated through the state-controlled mass media), a single party that is often marked by political repression, personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of terror.
  • In other words, dictatorship concerns the source of the governing power (where the power comes from—the people or a single leader) and totalitarianism concerns the scope of the governing power (what is the government and how extensive is its power).

• Devolution

  • Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from central government to government at a regional, local, or state level.
  • Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from central government to government at a regional, local, or state level.
  • The District is separate from any state and has its own elected government, which operates much like other state with its own laws and court system.
  • However, the broad range of powers reserved for the 50 states cannot be voided by any act of U.S. federal government.
  • The governor of some states may also have power over local government affairs.

• Velocity and Duration of Muscle Contraction

  • Skeletal muscle contractions can be broadly separated into twitch and tetanic contractions.
  • At a maximum velocity no cross-bridges can form so no force is generated, resulting in the production of zero power (right edge of graph).
  • The reverse is true for stretching of muscle; although the force of the muscle is increased, there is no velocity of contraction and zero power is generated (left edge of graph).
  • Maximum power is generated at approximately one-third of maximum shortening velocity.
  • Maximum power is generated at one-third of maximum shortening velocity.