con law Flashcards
11A JDX bar
11A is a jurisdictional bar that prohibits
- the citizens of one state or foreign country from suing another state in federal court for money damages or equitable relief; and
- suits in federal court against state officials for violating state law
Exceptions to 11A
- consent
- injunctive relief
- individual damages
- congressional authorization
Consent as 11A exception
A state may consent to suit by waiving its 11A protections
Injunctive relief as 11A exception
When a state official, rather than the state itself is named as the defendant in an action brought in federal court, the state official may be enjoined from enforcing a state law that violates federal law or may be compelled to act in accord with federal law despite state law to the contrary
Individual damages as a 11A exception
An action for damages against a state offiical is not prohibited so long as the individual himself (not the state) will have to pay
Congressional authorization as 11A exception
Congress may abrogate state immunity from liability if it is clearly and expressly acting to enforce rights created by the 14A
Standing
A federal court cannot decide a case unless the plaintiff has standing. To have standing the plaintiff bears the burden of proving they have suffered an injury in fact, that the defendant’s conduct caused the injury, and that a favorable court decision will redress the injury
Taxpayer standing
- generally, a taxpayer does not have standing to file a federal lawsuit simply because they believe the government has allocated funds in an improper way
- however, a taxpayer does have standing to litigate how much they owe on their tax bill
- taxpayers also have standing to challenge government expenditures as violating the establishment clause
3rd party standing
A claimant with standing in her own right may be able to assert the rights of a 3rd party if
- the 3rd party would experience difficulty or is unable to assert their own rights
- there is a special relationship between the plaintiff and 3rd party; or
- the plaintiff’s injury adversely affects the plaintiff’s relationship with the 3rd party
Taxing power
Congress has the power to tax, and most taxes will be upheld if
- they bear some reasonable relationship to revenue production; or
- congress has the power to regulate the activity taxed
Spending power
- Congress may spend to provide for the common defense and general welfare
- spending may be for any public purpose
Commerce power
Congress has the power to regulate all foreign and interstate commerce
What can congress regulate for interstate commerce
To be within congress’s power under the commerce clause, a federal law regulating interstate commerce must regulate either
- channels of interstate commerce
- instrumentalities of interstate commerce
- activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce
When may congress regulate intrastate activity
An intrastate activity can be regulated by congress when
- the regulation is of economic of commercial activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce
- the court can conceive of a rational basis on which congress could conclude that the activity, in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce
Congress regulating intrastate activities that are noneconomic and noncommcercial
If a regulated intrastate activity is noneconomic and noncommercial, the court generally will not aggregate the effects and the regulation will only be upheld if congress can show a direct substantial effect on interstate commerce, which it generally is not able to do
13, 14, 15A enforcement power
Each of the 13, 14, and 15 amendmnets contain a provision that authorizes congress to pass appropriate legislation to enforce the civil rights guaranteed by those amendments
delegation of legislative power
legislative power may generally be delegated to the executive or judicial branch provided that
- intelligible standards are set to guide the delegation; and
- the power is not uniquely confined to congress
Reserved powers
The 10A provides that all powers not assigned by the constitution to the fed gov are reserved to the states or the people
fed regulation of states
- the fed gov has virtually unlimited power to regulate the states.
- generally, congress may regulate the states so long as it is exercising an enumerated power
- while congress cannot command state legislatures to enact specific legislation or administer federal regulatory programs, it may encourage state action through the use of its taxing and spending powers
Dormant commerce clause
the dormant commerce clause is a constitutional principal that is inferred from the commerce clause. If congress has not enacted legislation in a particular area of interestate commerce, then the states are free to regulate, so long as the action does not discriminate against out of state commerce, unduly burden interstate commerce, or regulate wholly out of state activity
Unduly burdening interestate commerce
- a state law that acts as a tariff or trade barrier between states is subject to strict scrutiny
- a nondiscriminatory state law that imposes an incidental burden on interstate commerce will be unconstitutional if the burden it imposes is cleraly excessive inrelatino to the putative local benefits
DCC exceptions
- the state is acting as market participant, rather than market regulator
- the legislation favors local entities that are performing a traditional government function, or
- congress expressly permits the regulation
State action requirement
Generally, the constitution protects against wrongful conduct by the government, not private parties. Thus, state action is required to trigger an individual’s constitutional protection
State action by private parties
State action may exist in cases of private parties when
- a private person carries on activities that are trditionally performed exclusively by the state; or
- there are sufficient mutual contacts between the conduct of a private party and the government (entanglement)
EPC
The EPC of the 14A prohibits the government from denying citizens equal protection of the laws. When the government makes laws that classify people into groups, the constitutionality of the law will be evaluated according to the type of classification made
affirmative action
a state may implement regulations to remedy past discrimination if the class has suffered persistent and readily identifiable past discrimination. A race based plan cannot be used to remedy general past societal discrimination
