Legal.iss.presentation


	Speaking Points

	•Before we further explore the 5 Fundamental Components of Public Health Law in greater depth, it is first important to understand the roles of the three branches of government

	•The framers of the Constitution wanted to form a strong, decentralized government that did not allow one person to have too much authority or control. With this in mind the framers wrote the Constitution to provide for a separation of powers, or three separate branches of government. Each has its own responsibilities and at the same time they work together to assure that the rights of individuals are not ignored or disallowed. This is done through checks and balances. A branch may use its powers to check the powers of the other two in order to maintain a balance of power among the three branches of government. The three branches of the U.S. Government are the legislative, executive, and judicial.

	•The legislative branch of government is made up of the Congress, or the House of Representatives and the Senate at the federal level, and the legislature of each state. The legislative branch enacts laws that are referred to as “statutes.”

	•The executive branch of Government is responsible for implementing and enforcing the law. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch at the federal level, and the Governors of each state head the Executive Branch of state government. This branch also includes federal and state agencies.

	•The judicial branch of government is made up of the court system. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. There is a federal court system consisting of district (or trial) courts and appellate (or circuit) courts throughout the country. Each state has trial and appellate courts too. Maine, with Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, is part of the 1^st Circuit Court of Appeals of the U.S., and the highest state court in Maine is called the Supreme Judicial Court. Each court has a jurisdiction in which its decision is binding.