Evaluate the positives and negatives of this concept in terms of balancing the interests of democracy with the effective operation of the lawmaking process.

PART II: Mini-Essay—Respond, in approximately five paragraphs, to any 1 of the following questions. Please note that you will not receive extra credit points for responding to more than 1 essay question. Your essay is worth a maximum of 40 points.
1. In order to increase the amount of popular control over the public policymaking process, it has been proposed that randomly selected groups of twelve citizens (similar to the jury system used by the courts) be used to analyze and approve Congressional bills before they become law. These “policy juries” would have the power to approve a proposed law, send it back to Congress with proposed changes, or kill it. (Please note that the policy jury process would be an additional step added to the existing Congressional lawmaking process described in our class notes). Evaluate the positives and negatives of this concept in terms of balancing the interests of democracy with the effective operation of the lawmaking process. Based on our class discussions, class notes on Congress and your reading in our Hall and Feldmeier book, do you believe that a Constitutional amendment creating policy juries could be successfully passed in 2022? Explain.
2. Some political scientists assert that the Framers created the American Presidency to be somewhere in between the weak and strong presidency models. Based on our in-class discussions, class notes and your reading in our Hall & Feldmeier book, do you agree with this assertion? Explain. Given our discussions of the current condition of the U.S. Congress and the theory of the unitary executive promoted by the Bush Administration and largely maintained by the Obama and Trump Administrations, is it valid to argue that modern American presidents now fit the strong presidency model, why or why not? In an increasingly globalized world faced with the ongoing threat of terrorism, might strong presidents be better for the long-term survival and prosperity of the US than a less-powerful chief executive? Explain.
3. As stated in our class notes on the Presidency, many political scientists assert that the greatest area of growth in the power of American Presidents since World War II has been in the President’s role as Commander-in-Chief. Based on your reading in our Hall & Feldmeier book, do you agree with this assertion? Explain. If not, which basic function of the Presidency (as listed in our class notes) do you believe has seen the greatest increase since 1945? Explain.
4. Read the opinion piece, “Hate Speech and the Misnomer of ‘The Marketplace of Ideas.” Links to an external site.Briefly describe the concept of the marketplace of ideas, as discussed in class and in our Hall and Feldmeier book, as well as the concept of hate speech. Do you agree with ACLU attorney Lee Rowland, who argues in the article that racist hate speech is more effectively countered when it is allowed to be freely expressed and, then, be rejected by the public within the marketplace of ideas, rather than by having such speech “censored” by others preempting it or shouting over it and denying its place in the marketplace of ideas? Explain.
5. Briefly define the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause in the First Amendment and describe the nature of their relationship. Based on the discussion in chapter 10 of Hall and Feldmeier and in class, which of these two elements of our religious freedoms has experienced a more significant evolution in interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court over time? Explain. Based on the increasing number of conflicts between one person’s religious freedoms and another person’s civil rights, do you believe that we are likely to see additional, significant interpretations of our religious freedoms in the future? Explain.
6. Based on the British colonial experience, the Framers of the U.S. Constitution had very strong opinions, though not always consensus, regarding which civil liberties were most impactful and consequential in post-revolutionary America. Based on your reading in Hall and Feldmeier, as well as our in-class discussions, which civil liberty do you believe was the most important in the eyes of the Framers? Explain. In your opinion, can it be reasonably argued that there is one civil liberty that is most important for the maintenance of the quality of life that we have come to expect in the contemporary United States? Explain. If so, what is this civil liberty and briefly explain why is it so crucial for Americans in 2022? If not, why not?
7. Utilizing any information discussed in class and/or in the reading, create a mini-essay question appropriate for this test and provide what you would consider to be a model answer. Please note that your question must contain a similar level of complexity and depth to the questions listed above.