Con Law Flashcards
Justiciability Doctrines (RAMPS)
Ripeness
Advisory Opinions
Mootness
Political question doctrine
Standing
Ripeness
Fit & Substantial Hardship
-P must show that review is not premature, the P must demonstrate that a harm has occurred or imminently will occur
- Whether issue fit for judicial review
Is P challenging an actual law Whether the law being actually enforced Whether P suffering direct/immediate harm hardship to parties of withholding ct review
Advisory Opinions
Cannot give
Must be an actual dispute b/n adverse litigants
Must be a substantial likelihood that a federal ct decision in favor of a claimant will bring about some change or have some effect
Mootness ( what is it, exception)
Live controversy + Ongoing Injury
Exceptions
- capable of repetition, but evading review
- voluntary cessation, but free to resume
promise in and of itself is not enough
-for class action suits
just bc named P has been resolved doesn’t
mean case is moot case is viable if there is still
a member of class
Political question doctrine
- constitutionally committed to other branch of gov’t or inherently incapable of judicial resolution
- Exception: ct sees a commitment in the language
but disagree on meaning, interpretation of
language needed
Standing
Injury, Causation, Redressability
Standing is the determination of whether a
specific person is the proper party to bring a
matter to the ct for adjudication
Injury:allege that he/she has suffered or
imminently will suffer an actual concrete
and particularized injury
Causation: allege that the injury is fairly traceable
to the defendant’s conduct
Redressability : the ct provide the P relief that will
alleviate the injury
Standing Exceptions
3rd Party Standing: A party generally may assert
only his/her own rights and cannot raise the
claims of 3rd parties not before the court
Person who can bring suit on behalf of other ppl
must have standing themselves
Look at closeness of the relationship b/n P and
injured 3rd party
look at difficulty of 3rd party to assert own rights
Taxpayer: P may not sue as taxpayer who shares a
grievance in common with all other taxpayers
(prohibition of generalized grievances)
A taxpayer can’t sue unless (taxing and spending
power violating 1st amendment)
Challenged act relates to Taxing&Spending power
Must est link b/n taxpayer money & gov’t
expenditure, AND
Taxpayer must prove spending power being
challenged violates the Constitution
(specifically the first amendments freedom of
religion )
Sovereign Immunity
Government cannot be sued without consent
Local gov’ts and entities can be sued
States can sue each other
States can be sued in relation to Bankruptcy
State officials can be sued
Congress removed immunity as to actions created
under 14th amendment power to prevent
discrimination
Necessary and Proper Power
grants Congress the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution ANY power granted to ANY branch of the Federal government. As long as that law doesn’t violate another provision of the constitution
Commerce Power
empowers Congress to “regulate commerce with
foreign nations and among the several states,
and with the Indian tribes.”
Congress can regulate commerce in 3 ways
Channels (taken to get goods from one place
to another)
Instrumentalities ( transportation used to get
goods there)
Economic activities that have a substantial
effect on interstate commerce
Congress can regulate activites that themselves
have little effect on interstate commerce but if
take singular act and add it cumulatively and it
has a substantial effect on commerce then
congress can regulate it (singular act taken in
the aggregate)
Only Beyond congress reach= those which are
completely within a particular state, which do
not affect other states, and with which it is not
necessary to interfere for the purpose of
executing some of the general powers of the
govt
Congress may prohibit private discrimination in
activities that might have substantial effect on
intetrstate commerce
10th Amendment
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Congress violates the 10th amendment when it interferes with traditional state and local government functions (can’t regulate NONECONOMIC intrastate activity in areas traditionally reg by stat/ local gov)
Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative process of the states by directly compelling them to enact and enforce a federal regulatory program( can hold out incentives)
Tax constitutional when?
Congress may tax and spend to promote general welfare
constitutional when: generating revenue, used to achieve valid regulatory goal
Congress may place strings on grants as long as
the conditions are expressly stated and as long as they have some relationship to the purpose of the spending program: pursuit of general welfare, clearly stated, related to purpose, constitutional, not unduly coercive
Privileges or Immunities Clause (under 14 amendment prohibits
states from denying their citizens the rights of national citizenship, which includes the right to interstate travel, right to petition Congress for redress of grievances, the right to vote for federal officers, and the right to enter public lands
Privileges and immunities Clause of Article IV
limits states from discriminating against nonresidents regarding fundamental rights
those involving important commercial activities (right to earn a living) or civil liberties absent a substntial justification
Congress delegating powers
- can’t transfer ability to create law
has the power to delegate its broad legislative powers to administrative agencies that fall under the executive branch
must provide intelligible principles when delegating power to the executive branch.
need for bicameralism & presentment
no line item veto
no legislative veto
implied Presidential powers
Max power: pres acts pursuant to an express or implied consent of congress
Medium power: pres acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, rely on his own independent power , congress may have concurrent authority (some authority to enforce laws some authority to pass laws)
Min power (prob unconstitutional): pres acts in a way incompatible/ contridiction with expressed or implied will of congress
Treaties process
Negotiated by pres
Approved by ⅔ senate
Constitution > fed law (treaties)> state law
Conflicts with fed law = last in time rule
Executive agreements effect
No senate approval
constitution> federal law> executive agreements> state laws
Preemption
If Congress has lawfully passed a law with their own power, that law can trump state law or any local ordinance.
Express preemption: Expressly says we do not want state to do “x”
Implied Preemption: arises when there is a federal statute, but Congress has not explicitly prohibited regulating by the state in a statute (3 types):
Implied Preemption (3 types)
Conflicts preemption (implied): if a fed and state law are mutually exclusive so that a person cannot comply with both the state law is preempted
Field preemption (implied): federal gov’t should control entire field
Where the scheme of federal law and regulation is so pervasive as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it
Frustration of Federal purpose (implied):the state legislation is frustrating the purpose of the federal legislation and creates an obstacle contrary to Congress’ intent.
If purpose of state statute is different form purpose of federal regulation then there is no frustration of purpose
Dormant Commerce Clause (negligent clause)
If Congress has not enacted legislation in a particular area of interstate commerce, then the states are free to regulate, so long as the state or local action does not:
Discriminate against out-of-state commerce;
Unduly burden interstate commerce; or
Regulate extraterritorial (wholly out of state) activity
NOndiscriminatory law ( state)
states can impose nondiscriminatory restrictions, so long as they apply the same to all people/states:
Discriminatory Law (state)
ct concludes that a state is discriminating against out-of-staters, then there is a strong presumption against the law and it will be upheld only if it is necessary to achieve an important purpose
Facially Discriminatory: laws that clearly favor in state residents over out of state people.= presumptively invalid BUT valid if
Necessary to achieve purpose unrelated to protectionism
No non-discriminatory alternatives
Economic Protectionism: States trying to isolate themselves from national economy is unconstitutional.
Nondiscriminatory state law-= presumptively valid
But invalid if burden outweighs benefit ( law is essentially irrational)
Facially Non-Discriminatory w/ Discriminatory impact= Unconstitutional
State law shown to discriminate against US Commerce (what happens next)
burden on state to demonstrate
They have sufficient interest in the law in question, and
The law is the least discriminatory way to advance the states interest
Exception to state law discriminate against US Commerce
congressional approval
Market participant: State or local gov may prefer own citizens in receiving benefits from gov programs or in ealing w/ gov-owned business.
law favors gov action: Involves performance of traditional gov function (waste disposal)
