Magruder's American Government: 13. State and Local Governments, Sections 1–4

Because the first State constitutions came out of the same revolutionary ferment, they shared many basic features. Each proclaimed the principles of popular sovereignty and limited government.

Because the first State constitutions came out of the same revolutionary ferment, they shared many basic features. Each proclaimed the principles of popular sovereignty and limited government.

Constitutions are fundamental laws—laws of such basic and lasting importance they cannot be changed as ordinary law can be.

In 18 States, the voters themselves can propose constitutional amendments through the initiative, a process by which a certain number of qualified voters sign petitions in favor of a proposal.

When, for example, it proposes an amendment to the State’s constitution, it is not making law. It is, instead, exercising a nonlegislative power: the constituent power.

A referendum is a process in which the legislature refers a measure to the voters for final approval or rejection.

In 19 States, the governor may be recalled by the voters. The recall is a petition procedure by which voters may remove an elected official from office before the completion of his or her regular term.

Forty-four States give the governor the item veto—the power to eliminate one or more items from a bill without rejecting the entire measure.

Principally, the governor has various powers of executive clemency: powers of mercy that may be shown to persons convicted of crime.

With the power of pardon, the governor may relieve someone of the legal consequences of a crime.

The power of commutation may be used to commute a sentence imposed by a court. Thus, a death sentence might be commuted to life in prison, or a sentence might be commuted to “time served,” which leads to the release of a prisoner from custody.

The power to reprieve can be used to postpone the execution of a sentence.

The power of parole permits the release of a prisoner short of the completion of a sentence.

The highest form of law in this country is constitutional law. It is based on the United States Constitution, the State constitutions, and judicial interpretations of those documents.

There has been a marked failure in every State to distinguish fundamental law, that which is basic and of lasting importance and should be in the constitution, from statutory law, that which should be enacted as ordinary law by the legislature.

Administrative law is composed of the rules, orders, and regulations issued by federal, State, or local executive officers, acting under proper constitutional and/or statutory authority.

Common law is unwritten, judge-made law that has developed over centuries from those generally accepted ideas of right and wrong that have gained judicial recognition.

A decision, once made, becomes a precedent, a guide to be followed in all later, similar cases, unless compelling reasons call for either an exception or its abandonment and the setting of a new precedent.

The equity branch of the law supplements common law. It developed in England to provide equity—“fairness, justice, and right”—when remedies under the common law fell short of that goal.

Criminal law is that branch of the law that regulates human conduct. It identifies and defines those actions that are crimes and provides for their punishment.

A felony is the greater offense, punishable by a heavy fine, imprisonment, or even death—for example, murder, robbery, assault, or kidnapping.

A misdemeanor is a lesser wrong and may be punished by a lighter fine and/or a shorter jail term—for example, a traffic violation, underage drinking, or disorderly conduct.

The area of law related to human conduct that is not criminal in nature is known as civil law. Civil law relates to those disputes between private persons and between private persons and government that are not covered by criminal law.

A tort is a wrongful act that involves injury to one’s person, property, or reputation in a situation not covered by the terms of a contract—for example, an automobile accident, product liability, or libel.

A contract is a legally binding agreement in which one party agrees to do something with or for another party—for example, an agreement covering the sale of property or the terms of employment.

A jury is a body of persons selected according to law to hear evidence and decide questions of fact in a court case.

The petit jury, or trial jury, hears the evidence in a case and decides the disputed facts.

A warrant is a court order authorizing, or making legal, some official action.

A preliminary hearing is generally the first step in a major criminal prosecution.

For the most part, magistrates handle those minor civil complaints and misdemeanor cases that arise in an urban setting. They preside over what often are called magistrates’ courts or police courts.

The appellate courts have different names among the States, but they are most often called the court of appeals. Most of their work involves the review of cases decided in the trial courts.

That is, these appeals courts exercise mostly appellate jurisdiction. Their original jurisdiction, where it exists, is limited to a few specific kinds of cases—election disputes, for example.