Explain the effect of checks and balances on the executive powers of the governor.
Key concepts: Texas has a plural executive — Article IV creates a multi-headed executive branch, so power is fragmented among several independently elected officials the governor does not control. This makes the Texas governor constitutionally weak compared to the U.S. president. Qualifications: at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a Texas resident for the 5 years immediately before election. Term: 4 years, with no term limits in Texas (one of 14 states with none). Appointive power — the governor's single most important power; but most major appointments need two-thirds consent of the senators present ("advice and consent"), and the governor honors senatorial courtesy (clears a nominee with the senator from the nominee's home district first). Removal of appointees is limited — the governor can remove his or her own appointees only with two-thirds Senate consent, not those of prior governors. Removing the governor: the only constitutional method is impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate (e.g., "Pa" Ferguson).
Analyze the shared power of the executive and legislative branches.
Key concepts — legislative powers of the governor: (1) Veto — reject an entire bill; hard to override (needs two-thirds of both chambers, and the session is usually over). After the legislature adjourns, the governor has 20 days to veto pending bills (Texas has no pocket veto — an unsigned bill still becomes law). (2) Line-item veto — the governor's strongest budget weapon: strike individual spending items from the appropriations bill while keeping the rest. (3) Message power — the State of the State address and messages that set the legislative agenda and build a harmonious relationship with legislators. (4) Special session — only the governor can call one; it lasts up to 30 days, there is no limit on the number, and the governor sets the agenda. Budget: the governor's only significant constitutional budget power is the line-item veto; in practice the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), chaired by the lieutenant governor, dominates budget-writing.
Illustrate powers the governor exercises over the judicial branch of state government.
Key concepts: The governor fills vacancies on state (but not county or city) courts caused by death, resignation, or the creation of new courts — those appointees then run in the next election, so most Texas appellate judges first reach the bench by appointment. Executive clemency: acting only on a recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP), the governor may grant a full pardon (restores all civil rights, no strings) or a conditional pardon (restores rights but with a restriction attached — e.g., may never again practice a licensed profession), or a commutation of sentence. Independent power: in a death-penalty case the governor may act alone to grant one 30-day reprieve (a temporary delay of execution) — but cannot commute a death sentence without a BPP recommendation. The BPP can grant parole and (some) clemency without the governor.
Discuss the informal powers of the governor.
Key concepts: Informal powers are influence tools not spelled out in the constitution but flowing from the office's visibility. They include: leadership of the state political party; use of mass media and social media to shape opinion and pressure the legislature (e.g., Gov. Perry's social-media outreach); and pork-barrel politics / bargaining — trading support (e.g., promising not to line-item-veto a senator's pet project in exchange for a vote on a bill the governor favors). Informal power grows or shrinks with the governor's personal popularity, political skill, and relationships, which is how Texas governors partly overcome a constitutionally weak office.
Summarize how the constitution and laws of Texas provide resources, succession, and removal procedures for the governor.
Key concepts: The governor commands a sizable staff and office budget (including the Office of Budget and Policy) and earns a set salary. Succession: if the governorship becomes vacant (death, resignation, removal) or the governor-elect can't serve, the lieutenant governor is first in line and serves the remainder of the 4-year term. If both the governor and lieutenant governor are unavailable, the acting-governor line runs President pro tempore of the Senate, then Speaker of the House, attorney general, and the chief justices of the courts of appeals. (When the governor is merely out of state, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor temporarily.) Removal is only by impeachment (House) + conviction (Senate).
Analyze gubernatorial elections and the impact of campaign funds on the politics of the governorship.
Key concepts: Running for governor is extremely expensive, so candidates depend on large donors. A recurring pattern: donors who give large amounts are often appointed to key policymaking boards and positions — a legal but criticized link between money and appointments (and a reason the appointive power matters so much). Because Texas has no term limits, an incumbent can build a long fundraising and appointment network (e.g., long-serving governors). Elections are partisan, held in non-presidential ("off") even years.
Describe the powers of the elected department heads and the appointed secretary of state.
Key concepts — the plural executive: Lieutenant governor — elected separately; presides over the Senate and chairs the LBB; widely considered the single most powerful official in Texas state government. Attorney general — the state's chief civil lawyer (represents the state, issues advisory opinions, enforces child-support). Comptroller of Public Accounts — the state's chief accounting officer and tax collector; certifies revenue for the budget. Commissioner of the General Land Office — manages state lands and awards oil, gas, and sulfur leases on state-owned land. Commissioner of Agriculture and the three-member elected Railroad Commission (which today regulates the oil and gas industry, not railroads) round out the elected executives. The Secretary of State is the one department head appointed by the governor (chief elections officer). 📌 Review pairs to lock in: "single most powerful person in state government" → lieutenant governor; "chief accounting officer and tax collector" → comptroller; "awards oil/gas/sulfur leases" → land commissioner.
Describe the role of the bureaucracy in governing the state of Texas.
Key concepts: Most day-to-day governing is done by appointed boards, commissions, and agencies — a fragmented bureaucracy the governor only partly controls. The Sunset Advisory Commission periodically reviews agencies and recommends to the legislature whether each should be abolished, merged, reorganized, or retained (the "sunset" review; abolishing the Texas Youth Commission led to today's Texas Juvenile Justice Department). Examples: the Texas Education Agency (TEA) oversees statewide school testing; the State Board of Education; the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; the Public Utility Commission. Fragmentation + independent elected heads = a governor who influences more than commands the bureaucracy.
Identify the sources of Texas law.
Key concepts: Texas courts apply four sources of law: (1) constitutional law (state and U.S. constitutions); (2) statutory law — statutes enacted by the legislature and organized into codes (a code is a systematic arrangement of laws by subject; the Texas Legislative Council has been re-codifying Texas law since 1963); (3) administrative law — agency regulations, gathered in the Texas Administrative Code; and (4) common law (also called judge-made law) — legal principles built up from individual court decisions, refined mainly by appellate courts. An ordinance is a law passed by a local government (city/county). Civil law governs disputes between private parties (contracts, divorce/family, personal-injury torts); criminal law covers offenses against the state. Crimes are graded: a misdemeanor is a minor offense (jail/fine); a felony is serious (prison + possible fine).
Compare the functions of all participants in the justice system.
Key concepts — the 8 types of Texas courts (lowest→highest): Municipal courts and Justice of the Peace (JP) courts (local trial courts — traffic, minor misdemeanors, small claims; most are not courts of record, so appeals are trial de novo); Constitutional county courts, county courts-at-law (mostly misdemeanors), and probate courts; District courts (the principal trial courts — try both civil and criminal, exclusive jurisdiction over felonies, divorce, land title); Courts of Appeals (intermediate); and two highest courts — the Supreme Court of Texas (highest civil and juvenile, 9 justices, 6-year terms) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (highest criminal, 9 judges; death-penalty appeals go directly here). 📌 "Court not mentioned in the Texas Constitution" → the legislatively created statutory courts: county courts-at-law, municipal courts, and statutory probate courts. Jurisdiction = a court's authority to hear a case: original (first time / trial), appellate (on appeal), exclusive (only that court may hear it), concurrent (more than one court may hear it). A court of record keeps a full transcript. Almost all Texas judges are elected in partisan elections (municipal judges are usually appointed) — critics say elected judges may rule with an eye on donors and voters. Participants include the State Bar of Texas (mandatory attorney organization), the grand jury (12 citizens; at least 9 must agree to indict), the petit (trial) jury (12 in district court, 6 in lower courts), the venire (the pool of prospective jurors), and voir dire (questioning to select jurors).
Describe the judicial procedure for the adjudication of civil lawsuits.
Key concepts: A civil suit is filed by the plaintiff (the party bringing the case) against the defendant. A tort is a civil wrong (other than breach of contract) — e.g., a personal-injury or product-defect claim — for which the plaintiff seeks a remedy. The most common remedy is monetary damages (financial compensation), not jail. Most civil cases are decided by a bench trial (judge alone). If there is a jury, the jury decides the facts and the judge applies the law. The jury returns a verdict (its finding); the court's final written decision is the judgment. To relieve crowded dockets, counties may use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) — mediation/arbitration outside a full trial. The Supreme Court of Texas writes the rules of civil procedure. A party unhappy with a trial-court result appeals to a court of appeals.
Describe the judicial procedure for the adjudication of criminal cases.
Key concepts: A felony charge requires an indictment — a formal accusation returned by a grand jury (12 members; ≥9 to indict) that sends the accused to trial. Texas constitutional guarantees for the accused: to be advised of their rights (right to remain silent, right to an attorney) after arrest and before questioning; the right to appointed counsel if indigent; and the right to trial by jury. A criminal verdict must be unanimous; if jurors are hopelessly split the result is a hung jury and the judge declares a mistrial. Indigent defense is paid mostly by county governments (counties fund ~90% of the ~$300M cost; overseen by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission under the Fair Defense Act). The legislature makes the rules of criminal procedure (contrast: the Supreme Court makes civil procedure rules). Appeals in death-penalty cases go directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals. ⚠️ Review Ch.13 asks which amendment "guarantees legal representation to the poor in civil cases." There is no U.S. constitutional right to counsel in civil cases — the Sixth Amendment (via Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963) guarantees appointed counsel in criminal cases. Treat the intended exam answer as the Sixth Amendment, but know the "civil" wording is imprecise (this is why Texas funds civil legal aid separately, e.g., the Access to Justice Commission). Sourced externally / logic-checked; the chapters cover indigent criminal defense.
Describe the different classifications of criminal offenses.
Key concepts: The Texas Penal Code is the codified body of law defining crimes and punishments. It uses graded penalties: offenses are ranked by seriousness — misdemeanors (Classes C, B, A, least→most serious; fines and/or county-jail time) and felonies (state-jail, then third-, second-, first-degree, up to capital felony). Enhanced punishment means an offender is punished as if they had committed the next-higher degree of felony — triggered by organized criminal activity, being a repeat offender, or committing a hate crime. In Texas the top two motivations for reported hate crimes are race and sexual orientation. Punishment level is based on the classification/grade of the offense (and enhancements), not the judge's mood.
Analyze issues of the death penalty in Texas.
Key concepts: Murder becomes a capital felony under specific aggravating circumstances — e.g., killing a police officer or firefighter on duty, murder during another felony (robbery, etc.), or a victim younger than 10. The minimum sentence for a capital felony is life imprisonment without parole; the maximum is death. In the penalty phase, all 12 jurors must unanimously agree before a death sentence can be imposed (and must find future dangerousness). Texas executes by lethal injection and leads the nation in executions. When FDA-approved injection drugs run short, Texas may obtain drugs from another state and repay in kind. Despite the American Bar Association urging a moratorium, Texas legislators have consistently rejected it. Death-row inmates are held in administrative segregation (long-term solitary confinement), which critics say violates international human-rights standards and the U.S. Constitution.
Explain the role of Texas's jail and prison system in handling corrections and community supervision.
Key concepts: The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) runs state prisons. County jails are run day-to-day by the county sheriff, but the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has oversight responsibility for them. Texas has more privately operated incarceration facilities than any other state; about 10% of Texas inmates are housed in private prisons (current-edition figure). Community supervision (serving all or part of a sentence outside prison) is handled by two TDCJ units: the Community Justice Assistance Division (probation/community supervision) and the Parole Division (parole and mandatory supervision). Recidivism = relapse into crime that returns a released offender to prison (Gregory released in June, re-arrested for robbery in December = recidivism). Common prison problems: overcrowding (a driver of inmate-on-inmate violence and use of force by officers), staff shortages, lack of air conditioning, and contraband — the most common contraband today is the cell phone.
Compare the juvenile justice system to the adult correctional system.
Key concepts: In Texas the age of adulthood for criminal matters is 17. Juveniles are handled in juvenile courts, which are civil, not criminal — a trial there is called an adjudication hearing, and appeals go to a court with civil jurisdiction (ultimately the Texas Supreme Court, not the Court of Criminal Appeals). The system emphasizes rehabilitation over punishment. Status offenders are juveniles cited for acts that are only illegal because of age — running away, truancy (skipping school), curfew violations — as opposed to delinquent children who commit acts that would be crimes for an adult. In 2011 the legislature abolished the Texas Youth Commission and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (via sunset review) and created the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD).
Evaluate the fairness of Texas's justice system.
Key concepts: DNA testing is the scientific development that has exonerated people convicted of serious crimes (including murder), revealing wrongful convictions. Ironically, eyewitness testimony — the evidence juries trust most — is among the least reliable and a leading cause of the errors DNA later exposes. Texas compensates the wrongfully incarcerated $80,000 for each year imprisoned. The Texas Forensic Science Commission investigates negligence and misconduct in DNA/forensic evidence. Racial profiling — targeting members of historically marginalized groups for stops and searches — is a central fairness concern, along with disparities in drug enforcement, indigent-defense quality, and death-penalty application. The Innocence Project works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted.