Discussion Board 1

One of the powers of the president is known as the “executive order.” An executive order is when the president instructs civilian or military members of the executive branch on how to do their job. This includes orders on how to implement and enforce current federal law, orders on how agencies should spend their current budgets, and orders on how executive employees will be treated (such as determining their pay, benefits, and discrimination policies), etc.

With that in mind, for this discussion board I want you to pick a presidential executive order, explain what the executive order does, if you think this is a good or bad policy, and explain why you hold the position that you do. If possible, try and provide evidence to justify your reasoning.

Here is a website that lists all executive orders passed by all the presidents of the United States: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/executive_orders.php?year=2017&Submit=DISPLAY

Discussion Board 2

The Federal Judiciary has the power of judicial review, which is the power to review the constitutionality of government laws, regulations, and procedures. Not only this, but the Supreme Court has the final say over what the constitution means and allows for.

In the past 2016-2017 term, the Supreme Court had to deal with some very controversial issues, including the following:

• Criminal Justice – Los Angeles County v. Mendez
• Death Penalty – Moore v. Davis
• Education – Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District
• Free Speech – Lee v. Tam
• Gerrymandering – McCrory v. Harris
• Immigration – Hernandez v. Mesa
• LGBT Rights – Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.
• Racial Bias – Buck v. Davis
• Wall of Separation – Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley

For this discussion board, pick a court case from the 2016-2017 session that you find appealing and in your response, explain in your own words the facts of the case, what the constitutional issue at stake was, how both sides argued this issue, what the Supreme Court ultimately decided, if you agree or disagree with this decision, and explain why.

Here is a link that provides a complete list of all the cases heard in the 2016-2017 session including the facts, arguments, and Supreme Court ruling: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The above cases are likely the most interesting to choose from, however, feel free to choose whichever case you want.

INSTRUCTIONS

Each discussion should have no less than 12 sentences and no more than 20 sentences! Cite at least 1 source for each discussion.