United States: Three Branches

United States: Three Branches

Main article: Separation of powers under the United States Constitution

In the United States Constitution, Article 1 Section I gives Congress only those "legislative powers herein granted" and proceeds to list those permissible actions in Article I Section 8, while Section 9 lists actions that are prohibited for Congress. The vesting clause in Article II places no limits on the Executive branch, simply stating that, "The Executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."^[6] The Supreme Court holds "The judicial Power" according to Article III, and it established the implication of Judicial review in Marbury vs Madison.^[7] The federal government refers to the branches as "branches of government", while some systems use "government" to describe the executive. The Executive branch has attempted to claim power arguing for separation of powers to include being the Commander in Chief of a standing army since the Civil war, executive orders, emergency powers and security classifications since WWII, national security, signing statements, and the scope of the unitary executive.

 Checks and balances

To prevent one branch from becoming supreme, protect the "opulent minority" from the majority, and to induce the branches to cooperate, government systems that employ a separation of powers need a way to balance each of the branches. Typically this was accomplished through a system of "checks and balances", the origin of which, like separation of powers itself, is specifically credited to Montesquieu. Checks and balances allow for a system based regulation that allows one branch to limit another, such as the power of Congress to alter the composition and jurisdiction of the federal courts.

Legislative (Congress)	Executive (President)	Judicial (Supreme Court)
Passes bills; has broad taxing and spending power; controls the federal budget; has power to borrow money on the credit of the United States (may be vetoed by President, but vetoes may be overridden with a two-thirds vote of both houses) Has sole power to declare war. Oversees, investigates, and makes the rules for the government and its officers. Defines by law the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary in cases not specified by the Constitution Ratification of treaties signed by the President and gives advice and consent to presidential appointments to the federal judiciary, federal executive departments, and other posts (Senate only) Has sole power of impeachment (House of Representatives) and trial of impeachments (Senate); can remove federal executive and judicial officers from office for high crimes and misdemeanors	Is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces Executes the instructions of Congress. May veto bills passed by Congress (but the veto may be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both houses) Executes the spending authorized by Congress. Declares states of emergency and publishes regulations and executive orders. Makes executive agreements (does not require ratification) and signs treaties (ratification requiring by two-thirds of the Senate) Makes appointments to the federal judiciary, federal executive departments, and other posts with the advice and consent of the Senate. Has power to make temporary appointment during the recess of the Senate Has the power to grant "reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."	Determines which laws Congress intended to apply to any given case Exercises judicial review, reviewing the constitutionality of laws Determines how Congress meant the law to apply to disputes Determines how a law acts to determine the disposition of prisoners Determines how a law acts to compel testimony and the production of evidence Determines how laws should be interpreted to assure uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question. Federal judges serve for life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers