Question

regulations

1. congress has the power to pass laws, but not to carry them out. the executive branch has the power to execute, or carry out, laws—but not to pass them! this means the two branches must work together. the executive branch is full of agencies that carry out laws. there are departments of agriculture, transportation, treasury, veterans affairs, and many more... including the postal service! congress does not have time to pass laws about every little detail of how all these agencies should run. instead, congress gives each agency the power to create its own rules. the rules that an agency within the executive branch makes are called regulations. state agencies also have regulations, and they are only used in that state.

how does congress and the executive branch work together?
what are regulations?
case law: judicial precedent & interpretation

1. statutes and regulations aren’t always clear. very often, people will argue about the meaning of a law and how a particular law should work. when people argue about how a statute or regulation should work, it often leads to a lawsuit. in the lawsuit, one side complains that it has suffered because the other side has not followed the law properly. the lawsuit will go through the court system. the court’s job is to interpret the law and decide how it should be applied to a specific case. an example of a lawsuit is someone suing somebody else over an injury

what is a lawsuit? examples?
describe the job of the court in a lawsuit

1. the lawsuit will begin in the trial court and might be appealed all the way to the supreme court. once the supreme court has decided how the law should be interpreted, that interpretation must be followed in the future. this is called a precedent. a precedent is a decision that people can point to and say, “here is how you handled this situation before.” in this way, the court’s interpretation acts as a law (known as case law). only the court can change a precedent. it does this by interpreting the law differently, which creates a new precedent. at the state level, a state’s court of appeals and supreme court set precedents for how the state’s laws should be interpreted.

what is precedent? how can it be changed?
describe how precedent works at the state level.

Explanation:

• How does Congress and the executive branch work together?

Congress passes laws, the executive branch (with agencies like Treasury, Veterans Affairs) executes them. Congress lacks time to detail agency operations, so gives agencies power to create rules (regulations).

• What are regulations?

Rules made by an agency within the executive branch. State agencies also have regulations (state - specific).

• What is a lawsuit? examples?

A lawsuit occurs when people argue about a law's meaning/application. One side claims harm from the other's non - compliance. Example: someone suing over an injury.

• Describe the job of the court in a lawsuit

The court interprets the law and decides its application to a specific case.

• What is precedent? How can it be changed?

A precedent is a Supreme Court - decided law interpretation (case law). Only the court can change it by re - interpreting the law.

• Describe how precedent works at the state level

At the state level, a state's court of appeals and supreme court set precedents for state law interpretation.

Answer:

• How does Congress and the executive branch work together? Congress passes laws, executive branch executes. Congress gives agencies rule - making power.
• What are regulations? Rules by executive - branch agencies (state - specific for state agencies).
• What is a lawsuit? examples? Argument over law meaning/application (e.g., injury - related suit).
• Describe the job of the court in a lawsuit: Interpret law and decide its case - application.
• What is precedent? How can it be changed? Supreme - Court - set case law. Court changes via re - interpretation.
• Describe how precedent works at the state level: State appeals and supreme courts set state - law precedents.