BackGround Checks and Balances

#*Background Checks and Balances*#

The U.S. Constitution was written with a system of checks-and-balances, meaning that no single branch of power could fully control or manipulate the other branches.

In the past, it may have been a president's wishes that went unchallenged, but in modern day America, there are many government agencies who must sign off on an action before it is carried out. This is similar to how a referee would need to confirm that their team scored before they raise their hands in victory and take the field goal post down.

The most common way this takes place is through the system of checks and balances. The checks are when each branch of government (e.g. the executive, legislative, and judicial branches) check each other to see if they are working within their jurisdiction, and the balances are a system of checks and balances within each branch, so that no single branch can completely take over control of another.

The checks-and-balances system is a critical aspect for all democratic societies; it ensures that no single group or entity can monopolize power over another. Each branch has equal power, and none can be more powerful than any other individual or group in government.

The "checks" are simple; they're ways that each branch can check the power of another, and confirm to themselves that they are within their rights. Checks have been used throughout history to make sure people were not abusing their power, and many effective regimes have failed because of unchecked abuse of power.

Because checks on power take the form of internal control within a government's structure, checks-and-balances is less about what individual citizens can do to affect a government and more about keeping elected officials from abusing the powers afforded to them by the constitution. Checks aren't meant for an individual citizen to hold a legislative body's feet to the fire – rather, these checks exist as protections against corrupt factions in government . . . and today, those factions are the rich.

#*Balances*#

The concept of checks and balances is not limited to governmental institutions. It's also a concept that can be found in the real world, where it has allowed people to maintain their rights against those with too much power.

For example, the judicial department (and it's rules and policies) is one of the many checks on government power in America. The courts ensure that any laws passed are constitutional and within an individual's rights, which is crucial for maintaining our ability to speak truthfully about important issues in public or on TV media. Without judicial oversight, every law passed could be considered null and void. In the real world, this is not daunting to power, since the judicial system is influenced by money.

Since judges are paid by taxpayers (as a whole), when big money is thrown at them, they're often swayed to give into the wishes of those with more money. This is best illustrated in the 2008 election during which Republican Presidential candidate John McCain received over $200 million in contributions ($155 million from just one individual – Sheldon Adelson). [2] So while it may be unnerving to hear that a judge could be bought off by someone who has more money than you do, it's also frightening to realize that any decision that is bought off can have lasting impact on our rights.

This is a real threat when activists try to get controversial issues (e.g. campaign finance reform) into the courts – not only are these cases difficult to win, but even if they're won in the favor of the people, if enough money is thrown at a judge, they may be placed on a Supreme Court that ends up overturning any laws which limit money's rule over our government. In fact, this has happened before: Citizens United v FEC (2010) was overturned by separate Supreme Court decision.

The Balances

The "balances" aspect of checks-and-balances illustrates just how important it is that we have multiple branches of power in our modern society. At first glance, you may assume that the "balances" aspect of checks-and-balances is to ensure that no one branch can ride roughshod over another, but in reality it is actually what enables people to be protected from a government that wouldn't otherwise protect their rights.

Imagine if there was no judicial department, and laws were just passed willy nilly by Congress? If this was the case, we'd have no protection against a democratically elected government making laws that turn into horribly unjust oppressive rules. To prevent this from happening in our modern society, we have two other branchs of power – the executive and the legislative branches.

There are three branches of government in the U.S. Constitution – executive, legislative, and judicial. Together these branches have checks and balances that ensure that no one branch is left unchecked (i.e. they all have the ability to "balance" each other out, and none can take complete control of all four). The executive branch is known as the office of the President of the United States, and has executive powers over both the legislative and judicial branches (and thus controls them, which is what allows checks to exist within these branches).

The legislative branch is known as Congress, which holds both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and is tasked with making laws for the country.

The judicial branch has a few different roles, but its main role is to review laws, and if a law violates the Constitution, it can be ruled unconstitutional (and thus nullified). The judicial branch also makes decisions regarding cases within U.S. courts and oversees other branches of government that are controlled by law in some fashion (e.g. ensuring that states don't violate civil rights or pass too many draconian laws). There are also Supreme Court Justices who serve as a check on other judicial branches in their jurisdictions (e.g. the Supreme Court Justice for Pennsylvania has power over a state's court system).

The Judicial Branch Is the Key to Balancing Power

Each of the three branches has its own role in checks-and-balances, but if you're wondering why it's important that the judiciary branch exists, it's because they are the only branch with the ability to nullify laws and thus protect rights. The legislative branch can pass laws, but only if they're constitutional. The executive branch can enforce those laws (so long as they're constitutional), and interpret them as needed. But the judiciary branch can actually change the law if it's determined to be unconstitutional – and this is why they're so important.

Since the executive branch has executive power over all other branches, and because of the way our government is set up (executive power going through the legislative branch), it means that the judiciary branch can nullify laws – which means that they're by far our best bet for safeguarding against a corrupt legislature. If you want to guarantee your rights, then you want a judiciary branch that protects those rights.

Conclusion

With all of this in mind, it's easy to see why it's crucial that you're familiar with and know how the different branches function. You don't want a corrupt judiciary or corrupt executive, or a judiciary that lacks the ability to review laws and change them if they're found to be unconstitutional – because then you could be screwed in that case.