Con Law Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Equal protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

A

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;

nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;

nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Rational basis review

A

age, benefits, etc

P has to prove whether the State has a legitimate interest and whether the means used to achieve tis legitimate state interest are reasonably related or rationally related to that state interest.

Under the rational basis test, it is not necessary for the fit between ends and means to be perfect. The fit merely has to be reasonable or rational.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Congress’s powers

A

are limited to those expressed in the Constitution. To enact a law on a particular topic, Congress must rely on some identified grant of legislative authority in the Constitution. Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment is one such grant of authority.

“legislation which deters or remedies constitutional violations can fall within the sweep of Congress enforcement power even if in the process it prohibits conduct which is not itself unconstitutional…” Congress’s power, however, is remedial. It has been given the power “to enforce” not the power to determine what constitutes a constitutional violation.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

City of Boerne v. Flores

in drawing the line btwn measures that remedy or prevent unconstitutional actions and measures that make a substantive change in the governing law

A

the court in Boerne stated that the constitutional question is whether there is a “congruence and proportionality between the constitutional injury to be pre-vented or remedied and the means adopted to that end.” Lacking such a connection, legislation may become substantive in operation and effect.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Proportionality requirement of Flores

A

allows Congress to outlaw conduct that courts likely would hold unconstitutional under existing judicial precedent.

Congress may also outlaw a broader range of conduct to prevent constitutional violations. But Congress cannot rely on its Fourteenth Amendment enforcement power to prohibit a kind of behavior that is unlikely to involve a constitutional violation at all.

Flores held that Congress cannot, under its Fourteenth Amendment power, legislate to prohibit constitutional behavior where there is no constitutional injury to be prevented or remedied.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

state laws that discriminate against out of state commerce in favor of in state commerce

A

either on their face or in practical effect ar subject to strict scrutiny and thus a nearly per se rule of invalidity.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Even is state law is not discriminatory

A

state laws that affect interstate commerce can also be invalidated if the burden on interstate commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative in state benefits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

In Exxon the court decided that under the discriminatory impact test

A

read the Hunt discriminatory impact test to apply to a direct impact on out of state firms in the primary market (apples) regulated by the state. In Exxon, the discriminatory impact was in a market (refining) different from the one regulated by the state (service stations), and so the state law was not found to be discriminatory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

In City of Philadelphia, in regards to an environmental purpose

A

the Court made clear that it does not matter whether the law has a legitimate environmental purpose; the state may not use discriminatory means to accomplish it. Insofar as the law is discriminatory, it is invalid unless it is narrowly tailored to meet a legitimate, nonprotectionist purpose.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

In particular, a law is not narrowly tailored if

A

there are less discriminatory alternative means to accomplish the states purpose.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

State as a market participant

A

the state may discriminate in favor of residents when buying or selling good and services because the state is acting as a “market participant” rather than as a regulator of an economic activity.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Thirteenth Amendment

A

addresses “private” discrimination

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Strict scrutiny also applies to

A

race-based affirmative action plans

must be “necessary” to achieve a “compelling governmental interest.

Minority set-aside programs enacted by city or state will be subjected to strict scrutiny and will usually be found unconstitutional on equal protection grounds.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

A fetus a viable

A

The fetus is not yet viable in many pregnancies that have gone beyond the first trimester. Typically viability occurs late in the second or early in the third trimester

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

There are several limitations on the jurisdiction of federal courts

A
  1. the P myst have standing to press his claim
  2. there must be be some basis for federal court jurisdiction (diversity, federal question),
  3. there must be a “case or controversy” (non political)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

A political question is one the that Constitution commits to another governmental branch, which the judicial process is inherently incapable of resolving and enforcing. There are three criteria for determining political questions:

A
  1. a “textually demonstrable” constitutional commitment of the issue to the political branches;
  2. lack of manageable standards for judicial resolution; and
  3. difficulty or impossibility of devising effective judicial remedies
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Free exercise must yield to a rational and generally applicable law even if that law proscribes conduct required by religion

A

the court held that “the right of free exercise does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability on the ground that the law proscribes conduct that his religion prescribes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

The General Welfare Clause, Article I, S8, states that Congress shall have power to

A

“lay and collect Taxes to pay the Debts and provide for the general Welfare of the United States.” This clause gives Congress the substantive power to tax and spend, limited only by the requirement that the taking and spend be for the general welfare. Congress may delegate its legislative power as Long as the person or body receiving the delegated power is directed to conform to an intelligible principal set forth by Congress.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Police powers may not

A

improperly burden a persons constitutional rights, and it must not unduly burden interstate commerce

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Suspect classifications

A

are race and alienage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Fundamental rights are

A

interstate travel, voting, and privacy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

To be valid a state law must meet a three-part test

A
  1. it must be enacted within the state’s police powers
  2. it must not violate any person’s constitutional rights; and
  3. it must not improperly burden interstate commerce
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Distribution of free text books by a state to a private racially-segregated school

A

would constitute state encouragement of racial discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Under procedural due process there need only be fair process if:

A

the right being deprived is a property right (or life or liberty.)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Ordinance neutral on its face but has a disparate effect

A

Absent evidence that the (city) intended to discriminate against a class (eg women) , the scheme will not be subject to any heightened level or review. Accordingly, a court will assess the ordinance under rationality review and uphold it unless it is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

For a congressional statute to be constitutional, it must be

A

enacted pursuant two one of Congress’s enumerated powers under Article I of the Constitution.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

The Tenth Amendment effect is to prohibit the federal government from commandeering the lawmaking power of the states or local legislatures. However when the statute is applicable to both private and governmental entities

A

and it’s a direct regulation that is generally applicable, and does not commandeer the legislative function of the local government, it does not violate the Tenth Amendment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Eleventh amendment

A

only bars federal court suits against a state brought by private citizens, not federal suits Brought against the state by the federal government

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Obscene material

A

material cannot be obscene unless the work is “patently offensive,” something that requires portrayal of “hard core sexual conduct”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Work is obscene when:

A
  1. the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that “the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
  2. the work must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct “of a sort that is specifically defined by the obscenity law in question; and
  3. the work “taken as a whole” must “lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Restrictions on commercial speech

A

must satisfy intermediate level scrutinyy, and a close fit between means and end is one of the requirements for that level of review

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Two types of speech that are unprotected

A

a. speech that is deceptive (false advertising); and

b. speech that relates to illegal activity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Three part test that amounts to mid-level scrutiny

A

a. the interest the government is trying to further by speech restriction must be “substantialy” important
b. the restriction must “directly advance” the governmental interest; and
c. the restriction myst be no more extensive than is necessary to serve the governmental interest. In other words, there must be a cute close “means end til”between government objective and the restriction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Tenth Amendment

A

state sovereignty. The federal government may not compel the states to enact or administer a federal regulatory program. Cannot commandeer the states.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Right to interstate travel

A

insures new residents the same right to vital government benefits and privileges in the states to which they migrate as one enjoyed by other residents.

It is a fundamental right!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Dormant Commerce Clause

A

does not apply to the conduct of a state that is acting as a market participant rather than as a regulator. if the state is acting as a regulator and favoring in-state economic interest over out of state interests, this sort of discrimination is virtually per se a violation of the DCC.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

substantive Due process fundamental rights:

A

childbearing, child rearing, right to Mary, and right to sexual expression

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Equal protection fundamental rights:

A

marriage, sexual relations,, voting, court access, and the right to travel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Vagueness

A

a statue will be void for vagueness if the conduct forbidden by it is so unclearly defined that persons of common intelligence would have to guess at its meaning and would differ as to its application

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Overbreath

A

a statue is overbroad if in addition to proscribing activities that may be constitutionally forbidden, it also sweeps within its coverage a substantial amount of speech or conduct that is protected by the guarantees of free speech

41
Q

Takings 5th Amendment

A

the 5th amendment to the constitution prohibits the government from taking private property without just compensation.

when the regulation deprives the owner of all economically viable use of his land

42
Q

Standing of an organization

A

the organization must demonstrate

  1. that there is an injury in fact to some members of the organization that would give there individual members a right to sue on their own behalf;
  2. the injury to the members is related to the organization purpose; and
  3. that neither the nature of the claim nor the relief requested requires participation of the individual members in the lawsuit.
43
Q

Justiciability requirements

A

the P must have standing and the case must:

  1. not call for an advisory opinion,
  2. be ripe for adjudication,
  3. not be moot, and
  4. not call for the courts to decide a non-justiciable political question
44
Q

Lemon v. Kurtzman

A
  1. the statute must have a secular purpose
  2. it must have as its principal or primary effect neither the advancement nor inhibition of religion; and
  3. it must not foster excessive government entanglement with religion
45
Q

Standing by a private citizen will be considered standing by a government actor if

A

the state has become so involved with the private action that the two become symbiotic, which is to say there is a mutually beneficial relation between the state and the private discriminator

46
Q

Under the Dormant Commerce Clause a state regulation that substantially affects interstate commerce must meet each of the following requirements to be upheld:

A
  1. the regulation must pursue a legitimate end;
  2. the regulation must be rationally related to that legitimate end; and
  3. the regulatory burden imposed by the state on interstate commerce, and any discrimination on interstate commerce must be outweighed by the states interest in enforcing the regulation.
47
Q

Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution)

A

gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states and, by negative implication, restricts the regulatory power of the states with respect to interstate commerce. Any state law that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce must not be protectionist or otherwise impose an undue burden on interstate commerce. A protectionist law benefits in state interests at the expense of out-of-state interests. A state law that discriminates against interstate commerce is protectionist unless it serves a legitimate local interest that cannot be served by nondiscriminatory legislation.

48
Q

The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution

A

reaches only state actions that discriminate against citizens of other states.

The clause invalidates any state action that is contrary to federal law.

49
Q

Bill of attainder

A

is a law that provides for punishment of a particular person without trial. A bill of attainder is unconstitutional.

50
Q

The standard of review for 14th Amendment equal protection issues are:

A
  1. Suspect classification or fundamental rights
    • burden on government
    • strict scrutiny
    • necessary to vindicate a compelling state interest
  2. Quasi-suspect classification
    • burden on the government
    • intermediate scrutiny
      substantially related to an important government interest
  3. Other classification
    • burden on challenger
    • rationally related to any legitimate government interest
51
Q
  1. other classifications
A

age, welfare benefits, everything else not under suspect or quasi-suspect classification

52
Q

Prior restraint

A

is defines as the prohibition of speech before it can be communicated.

Prior restraints on speech and publication are the most serious and the last tolerable infringement of First Amendment rights, and the government bears a very high burden.

53
Q

How to raise lack of personal jurisdiction argument

A

Rule 12(b)(2) specifically authorizes the defendant to raise the lack of personal jurisdiction by pretrial motion, which would be the quickest and least expensive means to obtain a ruling on the issue.

54
Q

Judgement of the State Supreme Court rests upon an adequate and independent state law ground

A

A state can grant greater rights than the federal constitution, and the United States Supreme Court will not disturb a judgment that is resolved on independent state grounds. The United States Supreme Court would not decide the federal issue because its resolution of the issue would not alter the outcome of the case. Given that, resolution of the federal question would be equivalent to an advisory opinion.

55
Q

Neutral laws of general applicability

A

do not usually violate the Free Exercise Clause unless the law was designed to
discriminate against religion

56
Q

Even when a state law is not expressly preempted by a federal law, the federal law may nonetheless be supreme and can preempt the state law when:

A

i. if there is a conflict between the state and federal law and it is impossible to comply with both
ii. the state law prevents achievement of a federal objective, or
iii. Congress has passed such extensive regulation in an area that it means to occupy the field and have no room for state regulation in that field.

57
Q

Article III of the US Constitution only grants the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in:

A

cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party. Outside of that, the Supreme Court’s appellate jx is subject to any “exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.”

58
Q

In order for Congress to exercise its legislative power, it must have
approval of both houses (bicameralism) and the President (presentment)

A

The test for determining whether actions taken by a legislative body are an exercise of legislative power depends not on the form of the action, but upon “whether they contain matter which is properly to be regarded as legislative in its character and effect.”

59
Q

Commercial speech will be subject to the four-part test in Central Hudson test

A

i. advertisements must concern lawful activity and not be misleading
ii. the statute must serve a substantial governmental interest
iii. the statute must directly advance the governmental interest, and
iv. the statute must be narrowly tailored to achieve the governmental interest

60
Q

Executive authority is granted by Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution. “The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” The President may not use the power of the pen to create laws that are in conflict with the laws enacted by Congress Where Congress has not legislated, the President may act. The applicable test was delineated in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer:

A

i. where the President acts with Congressional approval, his power is at its higher;
ii. where the President acts without Congressional approval or disapproval (e.g., Congress is silent), the Court will analyzes closely, on a case by case basis; and
iii. where the President acts with Congressional disapproval, his power is at its lowest, and the Court will generally invalidate the President’s action.

61
Q

A valid treaty

A

A valid treaty prevails over an earlier federal law and always prevails over state law. But a treaty, even an otherwise valid one, cannot prevail over the United States Constitution If the treaty conflicts with the United States Constitution, the treaty is invalid.

62
Q

State courts are authorized to hear cases involving state or federal law and

A

may not discriminate against cases which arise out of federal law.

63
Q

Principles of federalism

Tenth Amendment

A

Under the principles of federalism, the powers of the federal government and states are divided. The Tenth Amendment provides, “The 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.” the federal government cannot “commandeer” states.

64
Q

The Fourteenth Amendment Privileges or Immunities Clause protects a citizen’s fundamental right to

A

travel and, if the citizen decides to relocate to another state, enjoy the same rights that other citizens enjoy. The Supreme Court has held that conditioning the receipt of benefits on living in a state for a specific amount of time is an infringement on the fundamental right to travel.

65
Q

The First Amendment also

protects the freedom of association

A

The court in United States v. Lemon held that, “the
government cannot punish an individual for mere membership in a religious or political organization that embraces both illegal and legal aims unless the individual specifically
intends to further the group’s illegal aims.

66
Q

A city’s exercise of eminent domain

A

In Kelo v. City of New London the Supreme Court held that the city could exercise its eminent domain power to transfer property from one private owner to another for the purpose of furthering economic development.

A taking is permissible for public use.

67
Q

The Commerce Clause vests Congress with the power to regulate interstate commerce

A
This means Congress can regulate the channels and instrumentalities of
interstate commerce (railroads, mail, phone, internet, buses, trucks), persons and things in  interstate commerce, or anything that has a “substantial effect” on interstate commerce
68
Q

To pass constitutional muster, any regulation of a public forum must be

A

content neutral, narrowly tailored to serve an important or substantial government interest, and leave open alternative channels of communication.

69
Q

Article I, Section 6, states

-members of Congress liability

A

“They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the
session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.”

70
Q

Congress may delegate rule-making authority to federal agencies through

A

statutes that provide an intelligible principle governing the exercise of that authority

71
Q

Judicial bypass

A

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that parental notification requirements violate a minor’s right to an abortion unless there is a satisfactory judicial bypass procedure. Such a procedure must allow a court to approve an abortion for a minor without parental notification if the court finds that either (1) the minor is sufficiently mature and informed to make an independent decision to obtain an abortion or (2) the abortion would be in the minor’s best interest.

72
Q

The due process clause of the Fifth Amendment

A

In Bolling v. Sharpe the US Supreme Court held that the equal protection principles of the Fourteenth Amendment apply to actions of the federal government through the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.

73
Q

Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that Congressional legislation is appropriate within the meaning of Section 5 if:

A

(1) it seeks to prevent or remedy actions by state or local governments that violate provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, and (2) its requirements are congruent with and proportional to the Fourteenth Amendment violations it addresses.

74
Q

The Tenth Amendment confirms that

A

the powers of the federal government are subject, in some case, to limits necessary to protect “state sovereignty” from federal intrusion.

One of those limits is that Congress may not “require the States to govern according to Congress’s instructions.”

75
Q

In Printz, v. United States, Congress ordered state law enforcement officials to conduct background checks of persons purchasing firearms.

A

By legislating to force the law enforcement officers to take certain actions “in their official capacities as state officers,” the Court said, Congress was acting to control their actions “as agents of the State.” Such an effort by the federal government “to direct the functioning of the state executive, and hence to compromise the structural framework of dual sovereignty” is unconstitutional.

76
Q

Congress may use a threat to withhold federal money to induce a state to

A

excercise its sovereign authority (by passing certain laws) to achieve congressional goals.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that such threats are cznsitutianl exercises of Congress’s power to spend money for the “general welfare of the Untied States” unless they are unduly coercive.

77
Q

Congress may use a threat to withhold federal money to induce a state. When using its spending power this way, Congress must satisfy certain requirements:

A

(1) The spending must be for the general welfare, although a “court should defer substantially tot he judgment of Congress’ in this regard (2) The condition imposed by Congress must be imposed unambiguously (3) The condition imposed must be related “to the federal interest in particular national project programs, (4) the condition imposed must not “be used to induce the States to engage in activities that would themselves be unconstitutional.” (5) a condition will be deemed improper it is is “so coercive as to pass the point at which ‘pressure turns into compulsion.’”

78
Q

Dormant commerce clause

A

the Supreme Court of the United States has long held that the Constitution’s grant to Congress of the power to regulate interstate commerce also limits, by implication, the right of state or local governments to adopt laws that regulate interstate commerce.

79
Q

A state law that discriminates against interstate commerce

A

in any way that operates as . . . a tariff or trade barrier against out-of-state interests” is subject to strict review and is virtually per se unconstitutional.

80
Q

An “incidental” burden on interstate commerce

A

will nonetheless be unconstitutional if the burden it imposes is “clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits.”

81
Q

The Eleventh Amendment provides that “the judicial power of the Unites States” does not

A

extend to “any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United Starts by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.” States are immune from suit unless it agrees to be sued.

While this immunity of States from suits has been described as an “anachronistic survival of monarchial privilege,” it is nonetheless firmly established.

82
Q

Under the Eleventh Amendment “Official-capacity” actions for prospective relief are

A

not treated as actions against the state. A suit against public officials in their official capacity may be maintained.

83
Q

Public forum

A

although the united States Supreme Court once granted local governments broad powers to regulate speech in streets and parks, for the better part of a century. The Court has treated a public street or sidewalk as a First Amendment “public forum.”

84
Q

In a public forum, government may regulate speech only if certain conditions are met.

A

If the regulation is content-neutral, it must meet the requirements of intermediate scrutiny; to pass muster under this standard, the regulation must impose only reasonable restrictions on the time, place, or manner of speech that are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and it must leave open ample alternative opportunities to engage in speech.

85
Q

Content neutral

A

the ordinance forbids the means of communication, without regard to the content of the speech

86
Q

A “limited public forum” (also known as a designated public forum)

A

is created when a governmental entity could close a location to speech but instead opens it to speech.

All the rules applicable to a traditional public forum apply to a limited public forum.

Under the First Amendment, as applied to the states and local governments through incorporation in the Fourteenth Amendment, the government may not discriminate among speakers based upon the content of their speech.

87
Q

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that, in a public forum, religious speech

A

stand on equal footing with nonreligious speech, and content-neutral access rules do not violate the Establishment Clause.

88
Q

A state can regulate conduct in a nonpublic forum if

A

the state’s interest is important or substantial, and is unrelated to the suppression of expression, and if the regulation is no greater than necessary to serve the state’s interest.

89
Q

Conduct that is not communicative value

A

the government can regulate conduct that is not imbued with communicative value.

90
Q

The key to satisfying the substantial effects requirement of the commerce clause is

A

the threshold determination of whether the regulated activity is economic or commercial in nature.

91
Q

when Congress regulates an economic or commercial activity, the Court will uphold the regulation if

A

Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the class of activities subject to regulation, in the aggregate, has a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

Aggregation on a national scale typically makes this an easy standard to meet. On the other hand, if the regulated activity is not economic or commercial in nature, the Court will not aggregate to find a substantial effect, and the standard becomes extremely difficult to meet.

92
Q

The Morrison court held that acts of violence are not economic or commercial in nature, and thus

A

in applying the substantial effects test, the court may only measure the effect of the particular act of violence at issue in the suit and not the aggregate effect of all acts of violence in the workplace.

93
Q

In Unites states v, Lopez, the Supreme Court of the US clarified that Congress may enact three types of regulations under the Commerce Clause

A

First, Congress may regulate the channels of interstate commerce. Second, Congress may regulate the people and instrumentalities that work and travel in the channels of interstate commerce. This, Congress may regulate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.

94
Q

In Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Authority, the SC held that Congress may regulate the states on the same terms as private actors

A

the act requires both public and private employee to obey the same federal requirements.

95
Q

A federal statute abrogates the Eleventh Amendment immunity if:

A

first, the statute unambiguously asserts that it does so, and second, Congress enacted the statute under a power that may abrogate Eleventh Amendment state immunity.

96
Q

In Seminole Tribe, the Court held that Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution

A

does not grant Congress power to abrogate state sovereign immunity

97
Q

Actions of private parties can constitute state action in certain exceptional cases. For instance, private parties have been held to be state actors where:

A

(1) they have performed a traditional public function, (2) there is the enforcement of certain private contracts, (3) there is joint action or “entanglement” between a state and private actor, or (4) there is state encouragement of private discrimination.

98
Q

In United States v. Virginia, the US Supreme Court held that state laws that make classifications on the basis of gender are unconstitutional unless the state can establish

A

an exceedingly persuasive justification” for the classification.

An “exceedingly persuasive justification” is one that serves “important governmental objectives” and which does not rely upon outdated or over broad generalizations and stereotypes about differences between men and women.

99
Q

In certain cases, a state may treat men and women differently consistent with the equal protection guarantee and provide separate facilities for each gender (sport teams, dormitories, bathroom facilities). In such cases, moreover, the state must bear the burden of

A

(1) demonstrating the “exceedingly persuasive justification” for the separate treatment, and (2) demonstrating that the separate facilities are substantially equivalent.