Case or Controversies Flashcards
Which of the following is not a factor a court will consider in determining the type of procedural due process that is required?
The opportunity for the individual to be represented by counsel is not something the courts consider in determining what type of procedure is required.
There is no across-the-board right to counsel under the Constitution in any event.
The level of due process that is required depends on the circumstances surrounding the deprivation of the interest.
What factors will a court consider when determining the type of procedural DP that is required?
(i) The importance of the individual’s interest that is involved,
(ii) The value of specific procedural safeguards of the individual’s interest, and
(iii) The government’s interest in fiscal and administrative efficiency.
* Normally, the person whose interest is being deprived should also receive notice of the government’s action and have an opportunity to respond before termination of the interest. However, the court may allow a post-termination hearing in situations where a pre-termination hearing is highly impracticable.
What are some examples of valid property rights under the 14th A?
- A business license is a valid property right, and procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before the government may deprive a person of property.
“entitlement”
Under DPC of the 14th A, a public employee subject to removal for “cause” only under statute has a property interest in continued employment that cannot be taken away without the following:
The Court has held that such an employee generally must be given
notice of the charges and a pretermination opportunity to respond to those charges.
The employee must also be given a subsequent evidentiary hearing regarding the termination (with reinstatement if the employee prevails).
Continued public employment may be a protected property interest if :
there is a clear practice or mutual understanding that an employee can be terminated only for “cause.”
Which of the following situations is most likely to raise a procedural due process concern?
If a judge has an interest in a case before her that causes a serious risk of bias, or actual bias, a procedural due process concern arises. The Due Process Clauses of the Fifth Amendment (applicable to the federal government) and the Fourteenth Amendment (applicable to the states) provide that the government shall not take a person’s life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Due process contemplates fair process/procedure, which requires at least an opportunity to present objections to the proposed action to a fair, neutral decisionmaker (not necessarily a judge). If a judge has an interest in a case that causes a severe risk of bias, or actual bias, the procedure is not fair and the Due Process Clause is violated.
Under the Due Process Clause, the following government acts are considered deprivations of liberty except:
Defamation without a tangible loss
Damage to one’s reputation generally does not involve a loss of significant freedom of action or of a freedom provided by law. Therefore, it generally does not constitute a deprivation of liberty. (However, it can, if the damage is so severe that employment or associational opportunities are lost.)
For due process purposes, a person will be deemed to have a property interest in continuation of a government benefit if the person has __________.
a legitimate claim or entitlement to the benefit
What is required to trigger strict or intermediate scrutiny on a claim that government action discriminates on the basis of a suspect or quasi-suspect classification?
- Discriminatory effect AND
2. Discriminatory Intent
_________ is not a suspect classification for equal protection purposes.
Gender is not considered a suspect classification for equal protection purposes.
Gender is a quasi-suspect classification, triggering an intermediate standard of scrutiny in determining whether a government action or law violates equal protection.
What are the three suspect classifications designated by the Supreme Court as requiring a strict standard of review (strict scrutiny) for a challenge to a government action or law on the basis of equal protection.
Race, national origin, and alienage
Under current Supreme Court precedent, which of the following is a sufficient justification for a government program differentiating on the basis of a person’s race?
A program of minority hiring to correct the effects of past discrimination in hiring by a government agency is permissible. Under the Equal Protection Clause, a government classification based on race is constitutional only if the government can show that the discrimination is necessary to achieve a compelling interest. The Supreme Court has held that remedying past discrimination is a compelling interest and that the type of hiring program described in this choice was necessary to achieve that interest.
A _____ law denies government benefits to an individual based on alienage what level of scrutiny of government action would be applied to determine whether the action violates equal protection?
A STATE LAW that denies government benefits to an individual based on alienage is subject to strict scrutiny and will be upheld only if the state proves the discrimination is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest.
May the state deny a permanent resident alien employment as an instructor in the public high school?
Yes, because citizenship bears some rational relationship to the interest that is being protected.
