Case Study

Running head: GOVERNMENTAL POWERS AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS

Governmental powers and individual freedoms

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1. Class action

A class action refers to the procedural tool that allows one or more plaintiffs to file a lawsuit and prosecute it on behalf of a large group often known as the class. The origin of the class action traces back to the United States and still exists, but a few European countries that practice civil law have made several changes in the recent years. The changes allow for the consumer organizations to bring their claims on behalf of the consumers (Hall & Feldmeier, 2012). In a normal class action, a plaintiff sues the defendant on behalf of a larger group which is often absent in court. This is different from a regular lawsuit where a party sues another party for redress of a wrongful act, and all parties appear in court. Class actions are common where the allegations involve a group of people who have been injured by one defendant in the same way.

2. Witness immunity

The use of immunity to a witness occurs when a prosecutor grants immunity to a witness in exchange for production of more evidence or testimony. A witness can be granted immunity by way of the federal or a state law. The basic types of immunity that can be used by a witness involve the use immunity and the transactional immunity (Hall & Feldmeier, 2012). Use immunity is more common and narrow than the transactional immunity. Thus prevents the prosecution from utilizing the statements of the witnesses or any other evidence that has been derived from those statements against the witness in a criminal prosecution. Transactional immunity also known as the blanket immunity completely protects a witness from future prosecution for crimes that are related the testimony of the witness.

1. Bicameral

The bicameral system involves of the United States Congress which comprises of two chambers; the Senate and the House of Representatives. The chamber is another way of referring to a legislative branch of the government. The bicameral legislature is where the legislators are divided into two assemblies, the chambers or houses (Hall & Feldmeier, 2012). The British parliament is an example of the bicameral legislature since it is made up of House of Lords and then the House of Commons. The United States Congress also involves the Senate and the House of Representatives. In governments where the bicameral legislature exists, both chambers are based on different principles of representation together with possessing separate responsibilities.

1. Pocket veto and the presidential veto

Pocket veto gives the president power to keep a bill pending for an indefinite period without ratifying, rejecting, nor returning the bill. The main goal of giving the veto power to the president is to prevent the ill-considered or hasty legislation by the parliament. Also, this prevents the unconstitutional legislation that can be made by the parliament. Presidential vetos, on the other hand, give the president of the United States power to reject a decision or a proposal by the Congress (Hall & Feldmeier, 2012). Once the president rejects the proposal, it is sent back to the Congress. However, the president has no veto power in respect to a Constitutional Amendment Bill. It is obligatory for the President to give assent to a constitutional amendment bill in the 24th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971.

1. The U.S House of Representatives

The basic requirements to be a member of the United States House of Representatives according to the constitution involve, attainment of the age of twenty-five years, having been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and a citizen who once elected shall not be an inhabitant of the State in which he/she shall be chosen. The founders of the United States Constitution wanted to establish the House as the legislative chamber that is closest to the people hence the least restrictive in citizenship, age and the only office subject to popular election frequently.

Term limits are a dominant political authority as shown by the outcomes of the candidate election results, state legislative outcomes that bring new perspectives to the Congress and mandate the frequent legislative turnover. Term limits are enacted as a legitimate exercise of the power of state to regulate their own elections (Hall & Feldmeier, 2012).

The responsibilities of the United States House of Representatives include the power to initiate the bills to allow collection of taxes and other revenues, the duty to impeach federal officials and also the role to elect a president in case there is a tie in the electoral college. Moreover, the U.S House of Representatives together with the U.S Senate Proposes, evaluates and votes on the legislation that impacts the United States at the federal level.

1. Pseudonym and Roe v. Wade

Pseudonym means a false name and pseudonymity represents a state of a disguised identity. The pseudonym identifies a holder, one or more individuals who possess but avoid disclosing their real names. A majority of the pseudonym holders remain as pseudonyms because they which to remain anonymous. Anonymity is hard to achieve and is most times loaded with legal issues because it often requires unlinking ability, to an extend that the examination of an attacker of the pseudonym holder’s message gives no new information about the real name of the holder. The Roe v. Wade case involved Norma McCorvey who confronted an unwanted pregnancy; the lawyers gave her a pseudonym Jane Roe.

The woman was 21 years old, pregnant for the third time and divorced. The lawyers she met Sarah and Linda were seeking for a class action lawsuit against the State of Texas to make abortion legal. They needed a representative of all women who seek abortions and them, therefore, considered Norma as a legal candidate (Hall & Feldmeier, 2012). Jane Roe referred to Norma the woman in question and Wade was for Henry B the attorney general in Dallas. Jane Roe did not understand the meaning of abortion, and she never appeared in court, and she only knew about the ruling from the newspapers just like anybody else.

Reference

Hall, D. E., & Feldmeier, J. P. (2012). Constitutional law: Governmental powers and individual freedoms (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.