Con Law Flashcards
ripe for adjudication,
For a suit to be ripe for adjudication, the plaintiff must have suffered actual harm or an immediate threat thereof. Therefore, a claim based on potential future harm is unripe and will be dismissed.
taxpayer has standing
A taxpayer has standing when the taxpayer’s suit (1) challenges legislation enacted under Congress’s taxing and spending power and (2) alleges a violation of a specific constitutional limitation on that power (i.e., the establishment clause).
commerce clause
The commerce clause gives Congress broad authority to regulate interstate commerce—including in-state activities that substantially impact interstate commerce, singly or in the aggregate.
Content-based restrictions
Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively invalid and will only be upheld if they survive strict scrutiny—i.e., if the government proves that the restriction is necessary and narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest.
When a public employee can only be fired for cause, procedural due process generally requires that the employee receive
(1) notice of any alleged misconduct, (2) a pre-termination hearing to respond to the allegation, and (3) a post-termination evidentiary hearing to determine if the dismissal was warranted.
Congress has broad power to regulate interstate commerce. But…
the Tenth Amendment limits this power by prohibiting Congress from requiring state or local governments to (1) enforce a federal law or (2) enact a state or local law.
Press
The First Amendment protects the right to publish lawfully obtained, truthful information about matters of public significance and the right to attend a criminal trial. Government actions that abridge those rights must survive strict scrutiny—i.e., they must be the least restrictive means to achieve a compelling government interest.
regulatory taking
A regulatory taking occurs when the government (1) substantially restricts the use of private property or (2) deprives an owner of all economically beneficial use of the property but the owner retains possession of it.
Laws that retroactively impair an ordinary right
Laws that retroactively impair an ordinary right—e.g., the right to raise the statute of limitations as a defense—can be challenged on substantive due process grounds. Such laws are reviewed under rational basis scrutiny and therefore are generally constitutional.
freedom of association
The government can interfere with the First Amendment freedom of association by punishing persons who (1) are active members of a subversive organization, (2) know of the organization’s illegal objectives, and (3) specifically intend to further those objectives.
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment
Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment permits states to prohibit felons—even those unconditionally released from prison—from voting in elections.
Eleventh Amendment
The Eleventh Amendment bars private parties and foreign governments from suing a state in federal court without the state’s consent. This immunity extends to suits against state officials for a violation of state law, regardless of the type of remedy that is sought.
Younger abstention doctrine
The Younger abstention doctrine requires that a federal court abstain from issuing a declaratory judgment or injunction if doing so would interfere with a pending state criminal, or particular civil, proceeding that (1) involves an important state interest and (2) provides an adequate opportunity to litigate federal issues
recuse
The Fourteenth Amendment due process clause requires that the government provide an opportunity to be heard before a neutral decision-maker. A judge must therefore recuse him/herself from a case when (1) the judge has a direct, personal, substantial, pecuniary interest in it or (2) a serious, objective risk of actual bias exists
certiorari
The U.S. Supreme Court can choose to review final state-court decisions by certiorari unless the decision rests on adequate (state law fully resolves the matter) and independent (no federal precedent used) state grounds.
