Political science - Admission/Application Essay Example

Application Essay, Political Science Chapter Nine In what ways does the structure of the court systemin the United States reflect the principles of federalism? In the US courts the principle is applied by giving the individual states the mandate to form and operate their judicial structures in their jurisdictions (Primo & Clarke 126). This gives the states the power to enforce their laws and enforce punishments to the offenders. However, there was a mutual coexistence between the state courts and the federal courts whereby some cases were tried in the state courts and also at the federal courts.

Despite the states having the jurisdiction to enforce laws, they could create a monarchy (Whitten & Kellstedt 74).Explain the idea and importance of precedent in the American judicial system The idea of precedent is the situation in which the lower courts in the federal system must hold and respect the decisions and findings made by the higher courts concerning similar cases. It gives the courts the authority of deciding the subsequent cases having similar issues. It is important because it tends to bring uniformity in the laws and assist the judges in the interpretation of the laws thereby bringing consistency (Whitten & Kellstedt 133).

What powers does the Constitution give the executive and legislative branches over the judiciary? The executive have the power to enact bills, make treaties and appoint judges and to ensure that the laws are adhered to. The legislation passes laws for the federal courts and can override the president’s veto. The judiciary however has only the power to interpret the laws enacted by the executive and the legislation (Primo & Clarke 28). Chapter FourAssess the scope and limits of the freedom of the press.

Under the first Amendment of the US Constitution, the press has absolute freedom to the access of any information for the media; they have libel and invasion of privacy suits, fines and imprisonment. The press is prohibited from involving in the acts of defamation that will injure an individual’s reputation in the society (Whitten & Kellstedt 139).Who was Clarence Earl Gideon and why is his story important? Clarence Earl Gideon was a poor drifter who was accused in a Florida court of felony theft that resulted in the US milestone supreme decision Gideon v Wainwright.

In the conviction, he held that being that he was poor, does not prevent him from hiring a lawyer like the other convicts (Whitten & Kellstedt 153).On what basis might a right to privacy be said to exist in the United States? In the US Constitution, the right of privacy is limited to privacy of beliefs, privacy of a person and his possessions against unreasonable searches and the privacy of an individual’s home against demands used by house soldiers. Another limit of privacy is against self-incrimination thereby protection personal information (Primo & Clarke 185).

Chapter FiveCompare and contrast equality of opportunity with equality of outcome. Equality of opportunity deals with the situation in which every individual has equal right of seeking public positions in which their talents and abilities enables them achieve while equality of outcome views that each individual has an equal outcome of their activities despite when they started. They contradict because, despite the fact that people have equal opportunity, it is not necessarily that they all have the same conditions at the end (Whitten & Kellstedt 214).

Identify and explain the importance of three key pieces of twentieth-century civil rights legislation Civil Rights Act of 1964; this postulated that there should be equal rights to everyone and the blacks were not to be discriminated against (Primo & Clarke 168). Civil Rights of 1968; this ensured that every individual in the United States had the right to good housing without discrimination. Citizens could also buy and sell whatever they wished at any time (Primo & Clarke 157). Pregnancy Discrimination Act 1978; this gave the women protection against being fired from a job or being denied any job opportunity because they are pregnant (Whitten & Kellstedt 172).

Explain the role of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The U.S Civil Rights Commission and EEOC ensure that there are equal employment opportunities without discrimination on race, religion, origin or sex. It also ensures equal pay for employees and age discrimination based on age during employment (Whitten & Kellstedt 194).All ChaptersDefine incorporation and explain why the process of incorporation has been uneven Incorporation is applied in the Bill of Rights and applies to the states through the due process clause of the United States Fourteenth Amendment making the first ten amendments binding to states.

It is uneven because it propagates discrimination among the citizens (Primo & Clarke 207).Works CitedPrimo, David. & Clarke, Kevin, “A Model Discipline: Political Science and the Logic of Representations,” (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012): 1-220.Whitten, Guy & Kellstedt, Paul, “The Fundamentals of Political Science Research,” (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013): 1-291.