The three branches of the Virginia
state government.
(As presented by Ms. Hughitt)
“Ummmm…”
“Isn’t that like the President or something?”
Not quite…

So guys, what are the three branches of
Virginia’s state government?
◦ What can you tell me about each of them?

Oh, and just where does the President fit
into all of this?
Oh that’s right…

The President is at the National level of our
government, isn’t he?

What branch of government is President Obama
the head of? (This means in charge of.)

Who is the head of this branch at the state level?
The Governor of course!

The Governor is the head of the
executive branch at the state level of
government.

Each state has it’s own Governor.

So does that mean that we,Virginia, have
our own Governor too?
Like a boss!

Yeah, we sure do!

So who is Virginia’s Governor?
◦ Anybody know?
Governor Bob McDonnell

No, not McDonald…
◦ McDonnell

Okay… so?

So now we know the who of the
Executive branch of Virginia’s government
… let’s talk about the what!

What is so special about the Executive
branch of government?

What does it do?
The purpose of the Executive
branch…

Well, just like in the national level of our
government, the purpose of the Executive
branch is to make sure that laws are
carried out.
◦ What’s the difference?
◦ Well the Governor enforces the state laws
and the President enforces the national laws.
The purpose of the Judicial
branch…

So what’s the deal with the Judicial branch
of Virginia’s government?
◦ What does it do?
◦ What purpose does it have?
The judicial branch does two main things:
◦ It decides cases about people accused of
breaking the law.
◦ It also decides whether or not a law agrees
with Virginia’s Constitution.
So what’s the deal with the Judicial
branch?
The national level of the Judicial branch or
system is headed by the United States
Supreme Court.
 The state level of the Judicial branch or
system is headed by the Virginia
Supreme Court.

◦ There are other courts in Virginia, but the
Virginia Supreme Court is the “highest” and
has the most authority of any court in Virginia.
The Court System
• Virginia’s court system
functions kind of like a
pyramid. Most of the
power is at the top and
the least amount of
power is at the bottom.
• The Virginia Supreme
Court is the “highest”
court in Virginia.
• The Supreme Court
can overturn the ruling
of a lower court.
Virginia
Supreme
Court
Court of Appeals
Of Virginia
The Circuit Court
General District
Court
Juvenile and Domestic
Relations District Courts
So who makes these laws?

Legislative branch of Virginia’s state
government is in charge of making state
laws.
So who is in the Legislative branch?

George Allen