Con Law MCQ Rules 1

Question 1

When is a suit “ripe” for adjudication?

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

When does a Plaintiff have standing under Art. III?

Answer 2

Plaintiff must prove:
1. Injury-in-fact – concrete & particularized harm (actual or imminent)
2. Causation – harm traceable to defendant’s conduct AND
3. Redressability – favorable judicial decision can remedy harm

*Note: A generalized grievance shared by many or all citizens will not suffice.

Question 3

What power does Congress have through the taxing and spending clause?

Answer 3

The taxing and spending clause gives Congress the broad power to spend for the general welfare—i.e., for any public purpose.

Question 4

Is Congress allowed to delegate its legislative powers to other branches?

Answer 4

YES.

Congress can delegate its legislative power to other branches if it provides intelligible guidelines for the delegatees to follow.

Question 5

Is the necessary and proper clause an independent source of power for Congress?

Answer 5

NO.

The necessary and proper clause is not an independent source of power; it merely gives Congress the power to execute specifically granted powers.

Question 6

What is prohibited by the Article IV Privileges and Immunity Clause?

Answer 6

The Article IV privileges and immunities clause, also known as the comity clause, prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of other states with respect to fundamental rights and essential activities (e.g., pursuit of employment, transfer of property, access to state courts).

Question 7

What constitutes a physical taking under the Fifth Amd.?

Answer 7

A physical taking occurs when the government (or a third party authorized by the government) permanently and physically occupies private property—regardless of the public interest it may serve.

Question 8

What is the Pike Balancing Test?

Answer 8

Under the Pike balancing test for the Dormant Commerce Clause, a nondiscriminatory law will be upheld unless the challenger shows that the law’s burden on interstate commerce clearly exceeds its local benefits.

Question 9

What are the restrictions to the president’s power to grant reprieves and pardons?

Answer 9

The only restrictions are that the President cannot grant pardons for state crimes, for future acts, or in cases of impeachment.

Question 10

What are the exclusive executive powers of the President?

Answer 10

1. Nominate principal officers
2. Veto bills
3. Prosecute & pardon federal offenses
4. Communicate & negotiate with foreign governments
5. Recognize foreign governments
6. Enter executive agreements

Question 11

What is the state action doctrine?

Answer 11

Under the state-action doctrine, a private actor qualifies as a government actor when (1) the private actor performs a traditional government function or (2) the government is significantly involved in the private actor’s activities.

*Significant involvement exists when the government:

1. has a mutually beneficial relationship with the private actor (e.g., joint venture)
2. creates a nexus by affirmatively facilitating or authorizing private action (e.g., through a police officer acting under color of law) or
3. is pervasively intertwined in the private actor’s management or control.

Question 12

What is a public employee entitled to under the due Process clause of the 5th amendment?

Answer 12

Public employees have a protected property right in their employment if they have an ongoing employment contract, can only be fired for cause, or receive assurances of continued employment. Employees are then entitled to due process—i.e., notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard—if the government seeks to discharge them.

Question 13

What is the Free Exercise Clause?

Answer 13

The free exercise clause of the First Amendment, applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, guarantees the freedom to believe in any religion or no religion at all.
This clause prohibits government interference with or discrimination against sincere religious beliefs or conduct. As a result, the government may determine whether a professed religious belief is sincere—but not whether that belief is reasonable or true.

Question 14

What is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amd?

Answer 14

The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a constitutional safeguard that individuals or groups can use to challenge laws that treat similarly situated people differently (i.e., discriminate).

Question 15

When is a statute subject to intermediate scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause?

Answer 15

Under the equal protection clause, a statute is subject to intermediate scrutiny if it discriminates against a quasi-suspect class (i.e., sex/gender, legitimacy). Intermediate scrutiny requires that the government prove that the statute is substantially related to an important government interest.

Question 16

What is the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amd?

Answer 16

The establishment clause of the First Amendment, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits the government from expressing a preference for a particular religion (or for religion over nonreligion) by participating in or aiding religious affairs.

The government can provide indirect funding to religious institutions if the funding program comports with historical practices and understandings of the establishment clause—i.e., when funding flows to religious schools through individual, not government, choice.

Question 17

What is protected by the Free Speech clause under the 1st Amd?

Answer 17

The First Amendment free speech clause protects the right to freely communicate and receive information and ideas.

Question 18

Are content-based restrictions allowed under the Free Speech Clause?

Answer 18

NO.
Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional and subject to strict scrutiny.
This means that the government can restrict speech based on what is being said (i.e., its messages or ideas) only if it can prove that the restriction is necessary and narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest—a nearly impossible task.

Question 19

What type of immunity do Judges enjoy?

Answer 19

Judges possess absolute immunity from civil liability for official judicial actions—including rulings that are grave procedural errors—unless the court clearly lacked subject-matter jurisdiction at the time the action was taken.

Question 20

What is the doctrine of preemption?

Answer 20

Under the Doctrine of Preemption, Article VI’s supremacy clause renders a state law void when a federal law expressly or impliedly preempts it.

Question 21

What are the different type of preemption?

Answer 21

Express preemption occurs when the Constitution or federal law explicitly bars state regulation.

Implied preemption occurs when there is no room for state regulation (field), it is nearly impossible to comply with both laws (direct conflict), OR the state law frustrates the federal law’s purpose (indirect conflict).

Question 22

When is there deprivation of public employments for a govt employee?

Answer 22

A public employee who can only be dismissed for cause is said to have a property interest in his employment under the 14th Amd.
SO, 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.

Question 23

What are the limits imposed by the Tenth Amd.?

Answer 23

The Tenth Amendment prohibits Congress from commandeering state or local governments by requiring them to enforce federal laws (or enact state or local laws).

Question 24

What is protected by the 1st Amd.’s Freedom of Press?

Answer 24

The First Amendment freedom of the press generally prohibits the government from restricting the right to publish lawfully obtained, truthful information about matters of public significance.
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.

Question 25

Can retroactive laws that impair an ordinary right be challenged on substantive due process grounds?

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

When can the govt interfere with a person’s freedom of association as part of a subversive organization?

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

What is the ministerial exception under the Free Exercise Clause?

Answer 27

The First Amendment free exercise clause prohibits government interference with a religious organization’s right to shape its faith and mission.
As a result, the ministerial exception protects religious organizations from civil liability for employment discrimination when they hire or fire employees who serve in ministerial roles.

Question 28

What is allowed by Section 2 of the 14th Amd.?

Answer 28

Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment permits states to prohibit felons—even those unconditionally released from prison—from voting in elections.

Question 29

What is barred by the 11th Amendment?

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

Can Congress regulate foreign commerce?

Answer 30

The commerce clause gives Congress plenary (i.e., exclusive) authority to regulate foreign commerce—including the power to impose tariffs (i.e., taxes) on imported goods.

Question 31

What is the enclave clause?

Answer 31

Any legislation enacted by Congress must stem from its enumerated powers. For example, the enclave clause gives Congress plenary (i.e., exclusive) legislative power to govern the District of Columbia.

Question 32

Can Congress tax exported goods?

Answer 32

NO.
Congress has broad power to tax and spend for the general welfare. However, Congress can NEVER impose taxes on exported goods or services or on services and activities closely related to the export process.