Con, Civ Pro, Evid Flashcards
AIS
The Supreme Court can review a state court judgment only if it turned on federal grounds. The court has no jurisdiction if the judgment below rested on adequate and independent state grounds.
“Third-party standing”
A person cannot generally raise the rights of someone else.
Exception: Parties to an exchange or transaction can raise the rights of other parties to that exchange or transaction.
Examples of Non-Justiciable Political Questions
- Guarantee Clause (protecting the republican form of government)
- Foreign Affairs
- Impeachment Procedures
- Political gerrymandering
Commerce Clause
Congress can regulate:
- The channels of interstate commerce
- The instrumentalities of interstate commerce
- Intrastate and interstate activity (economic or commercial) that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce
Taxing Power
Must be rationally related to raising revenue
Congress and the Thirteenth
Congress has broad power to legislate against racial discrimination, whether public or private
- includes purely private racial discrimination
Congress and the Fourteenth
Power to remedy violations of individual rights by the government, but only as those rights have been defined by the courts
- legislation must have “congruence” and “proportionality.” That is, there must be a reasonable fit between the remedial law enacted by Congress and the constitutional right as declared by the Supreme Court
Congress and the Fifteenth
Power to ensure no racial discrimination in voting
Presidential Veto Power
10 days to veto
any reason or no reason
Overriding a veto requires a 2/3 majority of each house
Treaties
Negotiated by President
Require approval by 2/3 of the Senate. Once ratified, same authority as statute.
Delegation of Powers
Congress can delegate its power to administrative agencies, so long as there are intelligible standards governing the exercise of that delegated power.
Comity Clause
Privileges and Immunities of State Citizenship under Article IV
There can be no requirement of residency for private employment.
Dormant Commerce Clause
In the absence of federal regulation, state regulation of commerce is valid so long as:
1) No discrimination against out-of-state interests;
2) Regulation does not unduly burden interstate commerce; and
3) Regulation does not apply to wholly extraterritorial activity
Exceptions to No Discrimination Against Out-of-State Interests
- State as Market Participant
- Subsidies
- Federal Approval
State Taxation of Interstate Commerce
Discriminatory: Struck down unless Congress consents
Non-Discriminatory: Upheld unless unduly burdensome
1) Substantial nexus between the taxing state and the property or activity to be taxed
2) Fair apportionment of tax liability among the states
Interstate Compacts
Agreements among states
States can make interstate compacts, but if the compact affects federal rights, Congress must approve
Full Faith and Credit Clause
States don’t have to follow other states’ laws, but they do have to give full faith and credit to judgments rendered by other states’ courts, so long as the rendering court had jurisdiction to render a final judgment on the merits
PDP: State Action
Government action.
Cannot:
- Facilitate private discrimination
- Profit from private discrimination
- Enforce a private agreement to discriminate
Not required to prevent private discrimination
PDP: Deciding what kind of process is due
Balance:
1) Individual interest at stake (life, liberty, or property);
2) The value of the procedure in protecting that interest; and
3) The government interest in efficiency and cost.
Federal Alienange
- Congress has plenary power over citizenship and naturalization
- Federal classifications based on US citizenship do not require strict scrutiny
Federal classification valid unless ARBITRARY and UNREASONABLE
State and Local Alienage
States and localities cannot require US citizenship for access to private employment or for government benefits
- can bar non-US citizens from jobs that have a particular relevance to the role of government
- can require US citizenship for participation in government functions (voting, serving on jury, working in any kind of government)
Vote Dilution
Racial gerrymandering
Unconstitutional if done with a discriminatory purpose
Bill of Attainder
Legislative punishment imposed without judicial trial
Unconstitutional
Ex Post Facto
Unconstitutional to expand criminal liability retroactively, either by creating a new crime that applies retroactively or by increasing the penalty for past conduct
Contract Clause
Bars states from legislative impairment of existing contracts, unless there is an overriding need
Lemon Test
Establishment Clause
- Secular purpose
- Primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion
- avoids excessive entanglement with religion
Laws Regulating Expressive Conduct
Upheld if:
- Further an important interest;
- Interest is unrelated to the suppression of expression; and
- Burden on expression is no greater than necessary
TPM
Principally in a public forum
1) Content-neutral (on face and as applied)
2) Alternative channels for communication left open
3) Narrowly tailored to serve a significant state interest
Nonpublic: any reasonable regulation
Obscenity
- Sexy: appeal to prurient interest
- Society Risk: Patently offensive to average person in society
- Standards: must be defined by proper standards for what is obscene, not vague and/or overbroad
- Serious value: lack artistic, scientific, educational, or political value
Regulation of Commercial Speech
Most regs struck down, so long as advertising is truthful and informational it must be allowed.
Regulation must directly advance a substantial government interest and be narrowly tailored to that interest
Regulatory Taking
Generally, a governmental regulation that adversely affects a person’s property interest is not a taking, but when a regulation so substantially hinders a person’s property interest as to make it virtually useless, the law may be considered a “regulatory taking.”
1) Economic impact of the regulation on the property owner;
2) Extent to which the regulation interferes with the owner’s reasonable, investment-backed expectations regarding the use of the property;
3) the character f the regulation (benefit to society, burden/benefit to property owners, owner’s rights)
DJ Exceptsion
Probate and domestic relations actions cannot be brought in federal court under diversity jurisdiction.
Minimal Diversity Circumstances
- Federal Interpleader Act
- Class Actions with claims more than $500
- Interstate Mass Torts
Agreggation
One v One: can aggregate
One v Multiple: Yes if jointly liable, otherwise each D must meet AIC
Multiple Ps: Each P must meet AIC
- Supplemental: one P exceeds AIC then add’l Ps can be heard if 1) same tx/occur AND 2) diversity maintained
AIC Counterclaims
Does not need to exceed $75k if compulsory. Does if permissive.
Supplemental Cross-Claims
Supplemental Applies
- common nucleus of op fact with main claim
- does not matter if not diverse from co-P/D or amount
Multiple Ps/Permissive Joinder/Class Action
If claim of one diverse P against D1 satisfies amt, otherwise divers Ps who have related claim against D1 sharing common nucleus of op fact can also be heard even if their claims do not satisfy jx min.
SuppJ Not Permitted
- Claims against impleaded Ds under Rule 14
- Claims against Ds joined as necessary under Rules 19 and 20
- Claims by plaintiff intervenors under Rule 24
- Claims by Ps joined involuntary under Rule 19
Diversity Removal
AIC and Diversity met PLUS action brought in state of which no D is a citizen
must remove within 1 yr of commencement unless P acted in bad faith to make case non-removable
PJ Due Process
requires min contacts, such that consistent with fair play and substantial justice
- purposeful availment
- foreseeability
PJ Federal Exceptions
Federal Interpleader Act: nationwide Service
Bulge Provision
- impleading third-party Ds under Rule 14
- joining necessary parties under Rule 19
