Con Law Flashcards
A state statute interfering with the right to marry/marriage triggers:
STRICT SCRUTINY
[because right to marry = fundamental right]
Article 1, §10 of the Constitution prohibits states from passing a/an _________, which is _________:
EX POST FACTO LAW
A LAW THAT IMPOSES PUNISHMENT FOR AN ACT THAT, AT THE TIME IT OCCURRED, WAS NOT PUNISHABLE
A Bill of Attainder is a legislative act that applies:
either to NAMED INDIVIDUALS or to EASILY-ASCERTAINABLE MEMBERS OF A GROUP (in such a way to inflict punishment on them without a judicial trial)
Where the government restricts speech but does so in a content-neutral way, the restriction will be valid if:
it is NARROWLY TAILORED to further a SIGNIFICANT GOVERNMENT INTEREST
A “Content-neutral” restriction on conduct means:
the restriction does NOT depend on the particular message, if any, being communicated by a particular type of conduct
SCOTUS has appellate jurisdiction over:
State court decisions that determine the constitutionality of federal laws AND state court decisions that construe the meaning of federal statutes
SCOTUS does NOT have jurisdiction to review a state court decision that…
has a result that can be fully supported by state-law considerations alone
If a state court decision is based on 2 grounds (where 1 is an “independent and adequate” state law ground), SCOTUS…
must treat the case as if the state-law ground were the sole one present.
THEREFORE, SCOTUS is deprived of jurisdiction to hear the federal-law portion of the state opinion.
Under the Appointments Clause, the President may nominate ___________, subject to ____________.
ANYONE HE/SHE WISHES AS AN AMBASSADOR OR OTHER PRINCIPAL FEDERAL OFFICER;
SUBJECT TO SENATE CONFIRMATION (AKA affirmative approval by a vote of the Senate)
Regulations that significantly restrict ________ advertising (Commercial speech) are subjected to __________.
TRUTHFUL
MID-LEVEL REVIEW [restriction must directly advance substantial government interest in a narrowly tailored way]
Government may restrict ____________ commercial speech, which is not constitutionally protected.
FALSE OR MISLEADING
A state is permitted to prefer local economic interests over out-of-state interests when __________.
ACTING AS A MARKET PARTICIPANT
[when the state acts as market participant rather than pure regulator, the state may give preference to in-staters without violating the dormant commerce clause]
Under 14th Amendment SDP analysis, any governmental action that is found to substantially impair a “fundamental liberty interest” must be subjected to:
STRICT SCRUTINY
[A parent has a fundamental liberty interest in controlling his or her child’s education for due process purposes; a state req. that the parent use the public schools violates that liberty interest]
SDP: Governmental regulation of a matter that does not involve a fundamental right needs to be …
RATIONALLY RELATED to the achievement of a LEGITIMATE STATE OBJECTIVE
When the government restricts speech on the basis of its content, the restriction will be ________, and will be struck down unless __________.
STRICTLY SCRUTINIZED
GOV. CAN PROVE RESTRICTION IS NECESSARY MEANS of achieving a COMPELLING GOVERNMENT OBJECTIVE
1st Amendment: PICKETING is _______.
An ordinance allowing one type of picketing, but forbidding other types based on the message being expressed is ________.
an EXPRESSIVE ACTIVITY
a CONTENT-BASED restriction on speech
[which is subject to SS - see card 15]
A STATE regulation that significantly affects interstate commerce may be found to violate Congress’s power to regulate commerce if …
a court believes that the regulation DISCRIMINATES AGAINST (or UNDULY BURDENS) out-of-state economic interests IN FAVOR OF IN-STATE INTERESTS
Where a STATE takes action that would ordinarily violate the DORMANT COMMERCE CLAUSE, Congress’s _________ or __________ to ____________ may nullify any DCC claim.
AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT or EXPRESS PERMISSION to discriminate against out-of-staters.
The test used for claimed DORMANT COMMERCE CLAUSE VIOLATIONS is [3 parts]:
- the STATE REGULATION must merely pursue
a LEGITIMATE [NOT compelling] STATE OBJECTIVE - the MEANS chosen must be RATIONALLY RELATED to that LEGITIMATE OBJECTIVE; and
- there must not have been AVAILABLE MEANS that were MATERIALLY LESS BURDENSOME TO, or discriminatory against, INTERSTATE COMMERCE
___________ ____________ to a state statute that has been attacked on the grounds that the statute intentionally discriminates against, and unduly burdens, interstate commerce & thereby violates the DORMANT COMMERCE CLAUSE may INSULATE the state statute from DCC attack.
CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT
[see cards 18/19]
The 10th Amendment prevents Congress from commanding _________ to ________ or ________ federal policies. It can NEVER validate a state law that violates some ________ _________ _________.
STATES
ENACT or ENFORCE
FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION
Article III, §2 of the Constitution says that in all cases falling within the FEDERAL JUDICIAL POWER [and not falling w/i SCOTUS’ original jurisdiction] SCOTUS shall have ________ jurisdiction, with such ______ and under such regulations as Congress shall make.
This means Congress may…
APPELLATE jurisdiction
EXCEPTIONS
… remove an entire subject area from SCOTUS’ appellate jurisdiction, as long as Congress is acting in a substantively neutral way.
[i.e. CONGRESS MAY LIMIT SCOTUS’ APPELLATE JURISDICTION]
