Mount Vernon News
 
 
  • Part Two: Separation of powers

  • August 19, 2010 11:25 am EDT

MOUNT VERNON — Local Attorney John Aebi spoke during the second half of the constitution lecture series on Wednesday night at the Memorial Theater.

Aebi’s speech focused on the separation of constitutional powers of the legislative, the executive and the judicial branches.

During the time of the Constitutional Convention, kings ruled who made laws, enforced laws and interpreted the laws, said Aebi. With this understanding, the constitutional framers wanted to prevent one person, or one group, from gaining too much power. To prevent this, the powers were separated.

The separation consisted of three distinctive branches, all with different duties that worked together in a series of checks and balances. The legislative branch is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which together, make up the Congress. The executive branch is comprised of the president, and the judicial branch has a court system.

“Initially, there were no set number of representatives and we currently have 435 representatives,” said Aebi.

kenesha.beheler@mountvernonnews.com

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