Con Law 101 Flashcards
Preamble
“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty too ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Article 1
Legislative Powers of Congress
House (sec 2); Senate (sec 3); elections (sec 4); internal rules (sec 5); rights and disabilities of members (sec 6); legislative process (sec 7)
Section 7 – Presentment Clause (bill passes both houses must be presented to the president before becoming law); Clinton v. NY (line item veto unconstitutional)
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
* Spending Clause (Power of the Purse): gives Congress the power to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay debts and provide for the common defence and the general welfare of the US”
* Borrow Money on the credit of US
* Regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, states, Indian tribes
* Establish uniform Rule of Naturalization and bankruptcy laws
* Coin Money, Regulate Value
* Provide punishment for counterfeiting
* Establish post offices and post roads
* Promote progress of science and useful arts
* Constitute tribunals inferior to SCT
* Define and punish piracies and felonies on high seas
* Declare war
* Raise and support armies, navy
* Also the Necessary and Proper Clause (power to make laws n/p for carrying into execution powers)
Section 9 – Powers Denied Congress (not powers, but duties)
* Privilege of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless rebellion/invasion
* Appropriations Clause – requirement of legislative appropriation before public funds are spent is at the foundation of our constitutional order – check on Executive power
* Statement and Accounts Clause (statement of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time) – complements the requirement of appropriations and interpreted to require an annual budget
Section 10 – Powers Denied to the States
* Prohibitions on what State can do with respect to foreign relations, exports, war, etc.
McCullough v. Maryland (1819)
Defined scope of congress’s legislative power and delineated the relationship between the federal government and the states – two main principles: (1) Constitution grants to Congress implied powers to implement the Constitution’s express powers to create a functional national government; and (2) state action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the federal government.
Article 2
Executive Power
Section 1 – Vesting Clause – establishes an executive office to be occupied by an individual - unitary executive in the sense that it creates a single executive President
* Other sections cover eligibility to become President (natural born citizen, 35 yo, 14 years a resident of the US); what happens if removed; requirement to take an oath to faithfully execute the office of the president and to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution
Section 2 - Commander in Chief Clause
* Ensures civilian superintendence over the military - subordination of the military to civilian and democratically accountable control
* Places that superintendence in the hands of a single person
* As Chief Justice Chase explained in his concurring opinion in Ex parte Milligan (1866), the Commander in Chief Clause enshrines the President’s authority not just over “the command of the forces,” but also over “the conduct of campaigns.” And as Barron and Lederman explain, “more than 200 years of usage and court precedents reflect the view that the Commander in Chief Clause does confer broad substantive war powers on the President.”
* Steel Seizure case – rejected President’s argument that clause empowered president to seize steel mills in the US to support the Korean War - independent authority conveyed to the President generally does not extend to interference with the rights and duties of US civilians, at least outside the battlefield
* In sum, the Commander in Chief Clause gives the President the exclusive power to command the military in operations approved by Congress; it probably gives the President substantial independent power to direct military operations so long has the President does not infringe exclusive powers of Congress or other provisions of the Constitution; and it may (but may not) limit Congress’ power to pass statutes directing or prohibiting particular military activities.
Section 3 – Grants of Power and Limitations
* President has discretion to convene Congress on “extraordinary occasions” (used to consider nominations, war, and emergency legislation)
* President must provide state of the union from time to time
* President shall receive all foreign ambassadors
* President must commission all officers of the US
* Faithful Execution Clause/Take Care Clause – duty to faithfully execute the laws of Congress and not disregard them
Section 4 – Impeachment and Conviction of Pres/VP/civil officers for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors
Article 3
Vests Judicial Power in one Supreme Court and in inferior Courts established by Congress
Sec. 1 – judicial power vested in one supreme court and in such inferior courts as the Congress may ordain or establish (see Art 1, sec. 8)
Sec. 2 – judicial power extends to all cases arising under this Constitution, the laws of the US, and treaties, controversies between US and states, different states, etc.;
Requires trial of all crimes by jury
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Established that fed courts possess power of judicial review – they may review the constitutionality of actions taken by the legislative and executive branches of the national government. Found that Sec 13 of the Judiciary Act (which gave SCt original jux in mandamus cases) violated Art 3 because Congress can’t decide original jux
Article 3 Standing
Article 3 standing requires the presence of an actual dispute between adverse parties that is capable of judicial resolution (not hypothetical): (1) injury in fact (“personal stake” in the outcome); (2) causation; and (3) redressability.
Political Question Doctrine
Under PQ doctrine, certain constitutional issues are deemed off limits to the federal judiciary. Typically, the Court has tended to focus on two questions, both of which must be answered in the affirmative: (1) Does the issue implicate the separation of powers? (2) Does the Constitution commit resolution of this issue to either the President or Congress? Which branch has final constitutional authority over the matter presented? Does resolution require an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial discretion? Will judicial resolution express a lack of respect for a coordinate branch? Is there an unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political decision already made? Will multifarious pronouncements by various departments cause embarrassments to the government?
Siler Doctrine
Judge-made rule that requires federal courts, where possible, to resolve a case on state law grounds rather than on the basis of the federal Constitution (helps avoid unnecessary resolution of federal constitutional questions, furthers goals of comity and federalism by minimizing impact on the states)
Pullman Doctrine
Mainly applies to new state laws that have not been interpreted
Also based on principles of comity and federalism – if in a case raising a federal constitutional issue a federal court is confronted with a state law whose meaning is unclear and the state’s own courts have not had an opportunity to resolve the ambiguity, the federal judge may stay the action until the state courts have had a chance to clarify the meaning of the state law – however, only if there is a realistic chance the state courts will construe law to either make federal review unnecessary or to reduce likelihood the state law will be held unconstitutional
Younger Doctrine
Judge-made rule that prohibits a federal court from ruling on the constitutionality of a state law in a narrow range of cases where there is a pending state proceeding in which the federal plaintiff could raise that constitutional challenge – requires dismissal unlike Pullman where court retains jux
Eerie Doctrine
Binding principle based on Supreme Court precedent where federal courts exercising diversity jurisdiction apply federal procedural law of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but most also apply state substantive law.
Rooker-Feldman Doctrine
Narrow doctrine that prevents the lower federal courts from exercising jux over cases brought by “state-court losers” challenging “state court judgments rendered before the district court proceedings commenced”
Article 4
Contains the privileges and immunities clause and requires that
Section 1: full faith and credit to public acts of other states
Section 2: each state’s citizens entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states (includes a person charged in one state shall be delivered up; person held to service or labor in one state can’t escape to another)
Section 3: new states can be admitted but not within existing states or by combining states; Congress has power to make all rules re territory/property of US
Also provides that the federal government shall guarantee every state has a republican form of government and protect against invasion and domestic violence
Article 5
Pertains to the constitutional amendment process
Whenever 2/3 of both Houses shall deem it necessary to propose amendments or 2/3 of state legislatures – then convention called – ratification cannot affect Article I, Section 9 or deprive State of equal suffrage in the Senate
Article 6
Contains various provisions - main one is the Supremacy Clause:
Constitution, laws, treaties = Supreme law of the land
Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, notwithstanding State Constitution or laws
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States
All Senators, Reps, Members of state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers = shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution
All debts before constitution adopted still valid
Article 7
Concerns ratification process - provides that the ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be sufficient to establish the constitution between the states
Levels of Scrutiny
Different levels of scrutiny apply for reviewing a statute’s constitutionality
SCT has designated race, alienage, national origin, and religion as suspect classes requiring strict scrutiny
- SS = compelling government interest - narrowly tailored
- IS = important government interest – by means substantially related to that interest
- RB = rational connection between the ends and the means
First Amendment
Freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. No law respecting the establishment of religion = separation of church and state
