con law

Question 1

11A JDX bar

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Exceptions to 11A

Answer 2

• consent
• injunctive relief
• individual damages
• congressional authorization

Question 3

Consent as 11A exception

Answer 3

A state may consent to suit by waiving its 11A protections

Question 4

Injunctive relief as 11A exception

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Individual damages as a 11A exception

Answer 5

An action for damages against a state offiical is not prohibited so long as the individual himself (not the state) will have to pay

Question 6

Congressional authorization as 11A exception

Answer 6

Congress may abrogate state immunity from liability if it is clearly and expressly acting to enforce rights created by the 14A

Question 7

Standing

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Taxpayer standing

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

3rd party standing

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Taxing power

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Spending power

Answer 11

• Congress may spend to provide for the common defense and general welfare
• spending may be for any public purpose

Question 12

Commerce power

Answer 12

Congress has the power to regulate all foreign and interstate commerce

Question 13

What can congress regulate for interstate commerce

Answer 13

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

Question 14

When may congress regulate intrastate activity

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Congress regulating intrastate activities that are noneconomic and noncommcercial

Answer 15

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

Question 16

13, 14, 15A enforcement power

Answer 16

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

Question 17

delegation of legislative power

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Reserved powers

Answer 18

The 10A provides that all powers not assigned by the constitution to the fed gov are reserved to the states or the people

Question 19

fed regulation of states

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

Dormant commerce clause

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Unduly burdening interestate commerce

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

DCC exceptions

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

State action requirement

Answer 23

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

Question 24

State action by private parties

Answer 24

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)

Question 25

EPC

Answer 25

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

Question 26

affirmative action

Answer 26

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