political

Constitution and Systems of the State
Your Name
Course/Number
Date
Instructor Name
(Doctoral students must include the following on the title page instead: title, author’s name, and institution name)
Constitution and Systems of the State
While Missouri constitution also has a bill of rights, with important aspects like Unreasonable search and seizure prohibited, freedom of speech, and Religious freedom, Missouri is often known as a "microcosm" of the United States and many of the main components of the government are also set up in Missouri 's constitution. The main components of any government are the branches executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is the most powerful in Missouri. The components of the constitution are the background for our nation, and all roles to give our government organization. The judicial, legislative, and executive branches are all important components that make up our government, allowing for checks and balances structure in order to prevent mismanagement of power (Person Education Inc., 2008). Federalism affects how our government is run, and especially the criminal justice system. Within our criminal justice system the main components are law enforcement, criminal courts, civil courts, and corrections (Person Education Inc., 2008). The main components of a government are the three branches executive, legislative, and judicial. These main components are also set up in Missouri constitution. According to "Missouri Government” (2014), “Missouri state government is called “General Assembly”. The General Assembly is a dual or two-house legislature, just like the United States government legislative branch. The Missouri senate has 34 members and the Missouri house representatives have 163 members. There are term limits on members of the general assembly, Individuals cannot serve more than eight years in one house or 16 years total in both. Democrats and Republicans control the General Assembly just like the U.S. congress. The General Assembly is described as the “law- making” branch of government. Every year several bills are presented to the General Assembly in which they overlook and makes decisions for the state. The General Assembly is accountable for governing the state of Missouri and creating laws ("Missouri Government ", 2014). Majority of bills never become law although they were overlooked by the committee. Bills that support the leaders or have strong interest in the group have the strongest chance of making it to the governor’s desk.
Most Powerful Branch
The executive branch is the part of the government responsible for enforcing the law. Similar to other state governments, Missouri also “plural executive”. The Governor elected is the individual who is head of the executive branch. The Missouri governor is one of the most powerful chief executives amongst the fifty states (Kender, 2013). The Missouri governor is able to appoint state judges. The executive divisions include ten major departments: Revenue, Agriculture, Economic Development, Insurance, Social Services, Mental Health, Natural Resources, Public Safety, Labor and Industrial Relations, and Higher Education. Missouri’s Executive Branch consists of all state elective and appointive employees and is accountable for executing the laws of the state. The Executive Branch consists of sixteen executive departments and six statewide elected officials (Kender, 2013). The Executive branch is considered the most powerful in Missouri. The state Missouri is more built around respect to the powers and duties of executive branch officers ("Missouri Government ", 2014).
The Missouri Judicial system is based on traditional common law and laws written and adopted by the General Assembly. Local laws cannot interfere with states statuses or the state constitution. Missouri has a three – tier court system which includes the circuit courts, the Missouri court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. The lowest tier are the trial courts; circuit, associate circuit, and municipal. The municipal courts usually deal with violators of local laws and ordinances. Associate circuit courts have jurisdiction in all misdemeanor cases and civil cases below 25,000. All counties have at least one associate circuit judge. Circuit courts in Missouri have original jurisdiction in felony cases and civil cases of 25,000. The middle tier of the Missouri court system consist of the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court oversees all the courts.
Missouri Bill of Rights
The Missouri Constitution Includes a “Bill of Rights”, just like the United States Constitution. Bill of Rights are a formal declaration of the legal and civil rights of the citizens of any state, country or federation. The most important features of the “Bill of Rights” to me are: sections (5) Religious Freedom- liberty of conscience and belief – limitations, (15) unreasonable search and seizure, and (32) crime rights (Kender, 2013). Section (5) states individuals can worship God according to their conscience and no human authority can interfere with them. This allows individuals to pray, sing, and declare their freedom of speech regarding their God and will not be persecuted by any means. Section (15) states people will be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures, especially without probable cause. This Bill of Right is very important to me it slows down profiling, discrimination, and protects citizens privacy. Section (32) Crime victims are entitled the right to be present at all trials involving the defendant, the right to be informed of guilty pleas, bail hearings, sentencing , the right to restitution, the right to speedy disposition, the right to reasonable protection from the defendant (Kender, 2013). This Bill of Rights allows a victim to rest assure that justice will be served and they can also be protected at the same time allowing the victim a peace of mind.

Conclusion In conclusion this overview of Missouri Constitution and the three branches of Missouri 's state government allows readers information about state governments and how they work. I have also gathered more knowledge about Missouri’s government that will allow me to compare and contrast other states I plan on moving to. Learning about your state government embraces the potential to support good citizenship on a national and perhaps even global scale. State constitutions have several branches of government as the Federal government does. As far as enlightenment of Ideas I believe that Freedom of Religion is a good example. It is included in every one of the fifty states ' constitutions. For several years it was illegal not to be the same religion as your Lord or King. It was not until the Reformation that one could legally become a different religion than your master, and not until the enlightenment of the renaissance that a person could be a religion not specifically condoned by the ruler. This is the importance of state governments and constitutions.

References
Person Education Inc. (2008). Three Branches of Government. Retrieved from http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774837.html

Missouri Government. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.mo.gov/government/guide-to-missouris-government/

Kender, J. (2013). Missouri Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.sos.mo.gov/pubs/missouri_constitution.pdf

References: Person Education Inc. (2008). Three Branches of Government. Retrieved from http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0774837.html Missouri Government. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.mo.gov/government/guide-to-missouris-government/ Kender, J. (2013). Missouri Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.sos.mo.gov/pubs/missouri_constitution.pdf