Con Law MCQ Rules 1 Flashcards
When is a suit “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.
When does a Plaintiff have standing under Art. III?
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.
What power does Congress have through the taxing and spending clause?
The taxing and spending clause gives Congress the broad power to spend for the general welfare—i.e., for any public purpose.
Is Congress allowed to delegate its legislative powers to other branches?
YES.
Congress can delegate its legislative power to other branches if it provides intelligible guidelines for the delegatees to follow.
Is the necessary and proper clause an independent source of power for Congress?
NO.
The necessary and proper clause is not an independent source of power; it merely gives Congress the power to execute specifically granted powers.
What is prohibited by the Article IV Privileges and Immunity Clause?
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).
What constitutes a physical taking under the Fifth Amd.?
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.
What is the Pike Balancing Test?
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.
What are the restrictions to the president’s power to grant reprieves and pardons?
The only restrictions are that the President cannot grant pardons for state crimes, for future acts, or in cases of impeachment.
What are the exclusive executive powers of the President?
- Nominate principal officers
- Veto bills
- Prosecute & pardon federal offenses
- Communicate & negotiate with foreign governments
- Recognize foreign governments
- Enter executive agreements
What is the state action doctrine?
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:
- has a mutually beneficial relationship with the private actor (e.g., joint venture)
- creates a nexus by affirmatively facilitating or authorizing private action (e.g., through a police officer acting under color of law) or
- is pervasively intertwined in the private actor’s management or control.
What is a public employee entitled to under the due Process clause of the 5th amendment?
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.
What is the Free Exercise Clause?
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.
What is the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amd?
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).
When is a statute subject to intermediate scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause?
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.
What is the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amd?
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.
What is protected by the Free Speech clause under the 1st Amd?
The First Amendment free speech clause protects the right to freely communicate and receive information and ideas.
Are content-based restrictions allowed under the Free Speech Clause?
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.
What type of immunity do Judges enjoy?
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.
What is the doctrine of preemption?
Under the Doctrine of Preemption, Article VI’s supremacy clause renders a state law void when a federal law expressly or impliedly preempts it.
What are the different type of preemption?
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).
When is there deprivation of public employments for a govt employee?
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.
What are the limits imposed by the Tenth Amd.?
The Tenth Amendment prohibits Congress from commandeering state or local governments by requiring them to enforce federal laws (or enact state or local laws).
What is protected by the 1st Amd.’s Freedom of Press?
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.
