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| God's or nature's law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law. |
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| Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law,and the judiciary interpreting the law. |
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| A constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensures that no branch can dominate. |
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| A type of government in which one person with unlimited power rules. |
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| Governance divided between the parties, especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses Congress. |
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| Strong allegiance to one's own political party, often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of opposing party. |
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| The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or a government regulation that in the U.S. Constitution or, in a state court, the state constitution. |
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| A court order directing an official to perform an official duty. |
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| Congressional Elaboration |
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| Congressional legislation that gives further meaning to the constitution based on sometimes vague constitutional authority, such as the necessary and proper clause. |
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| A formal accusation by the lower house of a legislature against a public official; the first step in removal from office. |
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| A directive issued by a president or governor that has force of law. |
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| The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security. |
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| Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that congress authorized and appropriated. |
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| An Approach to constitutional interpretation that envisions the document as having a fixed meaning that might be determined by a strict reading of the text or the framers' intent. |
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| A method used to interpret the Constitution that understands the document to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the times. |
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