The three branches include the Legislative, Executive and Judicial organizations. Each holding the other accountable so no one branch can gain too much power. These Madisonian checks and balances ensure big government doesn’t infringe on people’s liberties also outlined in the Bill of Rights (The Constitution, 2013). …show more content…
The legislative branch is the nations Congress, that is comprised of the Senate, House of Representatives and other agencies. They have many responsibilities that include: constructing laws, confirming presidential appointments, grant money to the executive and judicial branches and can declare war. Recently, the Senate has decided to hold off on approving the presidential appointment of a Supreme Court nominee, after the recent passing of one of its members in February. The Republican senators believe it should fall on the next elected president to appoint the new member (Liptak, 2016). Another responsibility they hold are keeping the judicial branch in check by: overriding the president’s veto with two-thirds majority vote, directly funding the executive branch, preside over the impeachment of a president and oversee the approval of the presidential appointment in the Senate. They accomplish this with the power to impeach Senate appointed judges. If the branch holds the power to appoint someone, they hold the power to remove them too (Kelly, …show more content…
Their main responsibilities are to interpret the laws Congress passes and ensures they are in accordance with the Constitution. Their job is to hold courts to review all executive actions and laws within their jurisdiction. A recent report of the judicial branch ruling would be updates to a 2014 Court Rule that would shorten the sentences for 26,000 inmates. An independent agency of the federal judicial branch, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, re-assessed the 2014 ruling that changed the drug sentencing guidelines. They retroactively applied the ruling to inmates that where already convicted and sentenced, resulting in shorter prison time for these personnel (2014 Rule Shortens Sentences for 26,000 Inmates, 2016). Lastly, the judicial branch also reviews lower court decisions to also ensure they are meeting the intent of the Constitution (Kelly, 2015).
Since the inception of the Constitution, there have been few instances where the system of separation of powers has been in question. The separation of powers allows each branch to work interdepended but also have overlapping powers between the other branches. These overlapping of powers allow the checks and balances to occur, so no one branch holds all the power and everything the country does is within the bounds of the U.S. Constitution. As time goes on, power swings occur, but the systems in place balance