con law shorts Flashcards
Establishment clause
PEG a violation of the Establishment Clause
(peg like pegged jesus on the cross– establishment clause)
Lemon test
P – The state statute or activity must have a primarily secular PURPOSE as opposed to
the purpose of advancing or inhibiting religion
E – The law’s primary or inevitable EFFECT must neither disapprove of nor endorse
religion AND
G – The law or conduct can’t foster excessive GOVERNMENTAL religious entanglemen
Content neutral regulation
A content-neutral regulation must be a reasonable SON of the First Amendment:
S – The restriction must be justified by a SIGNIFICANT governmental interest
O – The regulation must leave OPEN ample alternative channels of communication
AND
N – The regulation must be NARROWLY tailored to further the government’s goal, but
doesn’t have to be least restrictive means of doing so
Intermediate
Commercial speech reastrictions
All commercial speech restrictions with STAN are valid:
S – Government must have a SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST to restrict the speech
T – Advertisements must be TRUTHFUL and concern lawful products and services
A – Governmental restrictions must directly and materially ADVANCE the
government’s “substantial interest” in enacting the law (and there must be
“reasonable fit” between the state’s goal and means used to achieve that goal)
N – The regulation must be NARROWLY-DRAWN and must not be more extensive than
necessary to achieve the government’s substantial interest
Obsene
SLAP POP’S PAW is simply obscene, and is not constitutionally protected:
SLAP – Lacks SCIENTIFIC, LITERARY, ARTISTIC, or POLITICAL value (determined by
a national standard, not local)
POP’S – PATENTLY OFFENSIVE PORTRAYAL of SEX
PAW – PRURIENT interest appeal, in which the material tends to excite lewd, lascivious, and
lustful thoughts in a person of AVERAGE sensitivity; here, the WHOLE material must
be weighed by the court
Suspect class for equal protection
A suspect class RAN for equal protection:
R – RACE
I – Alienage
O – National Origin
strict scruitiny
Equal Protection Fundamental rights.
Fundamental rights drink from the Equal Protection VAT:
V – VOTING rights- states can’t diminish your right py malapportionment
A – ACCESS to courts
T – The right to TRAVEL throughout the U.S
Privileges and Immunities claims cannot be asserted by who?
Privileges and Immunities claims cannot be asserted by RAG CAP:
R – A RESIDENT of the state who’s law is being challenged (i.e., the P here must be a
non-resident or a newly arrived resident)
A – ALIENS
G – The U.S. GOVENMENT
C – CORPORATIONS
A – ASSOCIATIONS (partnerships, LLCs, etc.)
P – PARTNERSHIPS
Intermediate scrutiny
Intermediate scrutiny arises whenever you drink GIN:
G – GENDER
I – ILLEGAL school age IMMIGRANTS
N – NONMARITAL children
and then your drunk and For an intermediate level of judicial scrutiny, use “IS” four times…
IS – INTERMEDIATE level of judicial SCRUTINY
IS – There must be an IMPORTANT governmental interest, and the method chosen must
SUBSTANTIALLY relate to achieving that interest
IS – ILLEGITIMACY and SEXES (genders)
IS – ILLEGAL SCHOOL-AGE children
Note that “IS” does NOT apply to a MAP person:
M – MENTALLY disabled
A – AGE discrimination victim
P – POVERTY-STRICKEN person
Presidential powers
The President always wears his VETS’ CAPS:
V – VETO power over Congressional acts
E – EXECUTIVE power to “take care” that laws of the U.S. are faithfully executed
T – TREATY Power
S – STATE of the Union recommendation to Congress for proposed legislation
C – COMMANDER in Chief of the armed forces
A – APPOINTMENT power over ambassadors, judges of the Supreme Court, and other
“superior officers” of the U.S.
P – PARDON power over federal crimes
S – Power to call a SPECIAL Session of Congress
when you need 2/3rds. of congress
Congress requires a 2/3 vote only when drinking a TEA I.V.:
T – For the Senate to ratify a TREATY
E – To EXPEL a member from either House of Congress
A – To propose an AMENDMENT to the Constitution (2/3 vote in each House)
I – For the Senate to convict an IMPEACHED official (2/3 of those present)
V – For both Houses to override a Presidential VETO
Express Powers of Congress
PIEPER FIT WABCD in Congress (express powers of Congress, enumerated in Article I of the
U.S. Constitution):
P – POST office
I – INVESTIGATORY power to find facts in order to pass legislation
E – ENFORCEMENT of federal civil rights under the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
P – PROPERTY power
E – Federal ELECTIONS
R – RAISING revenues by taxing
F – FISCAL power
I – The power to regulate INFERIOR federal courts and their procedures
T – TREATY power
W – The power to declare WAR
A – Power over ALIENS and their naturalization to become citizens
B – BANKRUPTCY
C – International and interstate COMMERCE
D – DISTRICT of Columbia police power
13th amendment and slavery
The 13th Amendment confronts the VIBS of slavery:
V – VESTIGES
I – INCIDENTS and
BS – BADGES of the SLAVERY system
Fundamental privacy issues
MAD2 COPS protect fundamental privacy interests:
M – Right of heterosexual couples to MARRY
A – Right to an ABORTION (“undue burden” standard)
D – Spouse’s right to DISSOLVE a marriage
D – Right of a terminally ill person to DIE
C – Right to buy, sell, or use CONTRACEPTIVES
O – Right to privately possess OBSCENE material (but not if it depicts minors)
P – PARENTING rights (right to control the upbringing and education of child)
S – Right to private, consensual SEXUAL activity
Parental fundamental rights
A parent has 3-C fundamental rights to raise children:
C – CUSTODY
C – CARE
C – CONTROL
