Diversity of Citizenship Jurisdiction
Article III, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution provides that the judicial power of the United States shall extend to controversies “between citizen of…
Direct Election of Senators
See Seventeenth Amendment
Munn vs. Illinois
Munn v. State of Illinois was the leading late nineteenth century precedent discussing the scope of state police powers under the federal constitution. State…
Pass through Requirements
A “pass through requirement” transfers money through a recipient government to a public or private third party. Funds for a pass through program may…
USA PATRIOT Act of 2001
The full name of the act is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. On September 11, 2001, the United States was the…
National Security
The notion of national security has taken on different meanings throughout the course of U.S. history. Simply put, national security can be defined as…
Marijuana
In the twenty-first century, marijuana policy has been one of the primary arenas for determining the appropriate balance of power between the federal government…
State Courts
To understand the relationship and role of the various court systems in the United States, it is necessary to understand the relationship between state…
Craig v. Boren (1976)
See Equal Protection of the Laws; Equal Rights Amendment; Gender and Federalism
Gender and Federalism
A federal system of government is defined as a system in which power is shared by national and constituent governments. Because the Constitution of…
County Government
There are over 3,000 county governmental units in the United States employing over 2.5 million employees. Traditionally counties have overseen such functions as road…
International City/County Management Association
The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) was founded in 1914, and its primary goal is “to create excellence in local government by developing and…
Intergovernmental Management
Federal programs administered through the states and local governments and state programs carried out by local governments must be managed cooperatively. The process of…
