Constitutional Law Flashcards
State Sovereign Immunity (11th Amendment)
The 11th Amendment is a jurisdictional bar that prohibits:
(1) The citizens of one state or a foreign country from suing another state in federal court for money damages or equitable relief; AND
(2) Suits in federal court against state officials for violating state law.
11th Amendment Exceptions
The following are exceptions to the application of the 11th Amendment:
(1) Consent. A state may consent to a suit by waiving its 11th Amendment protection.
(2) Injunctive Relief. When a state official, rather than the state itself, is named as the defendant in an action brought in federal court, the state official may be enjoined from enforcing a state law that violates federal law or may be compelled to act in accord with federal law despite state law to the contrary.
(3) Individual Damages. An action for damages against a state official is not prohibited so long as the official himself (not the state) will have to pay.
(4) Congressional Authorization. Congress may abrogate state immunity from liability if it is clearly and expressly acting to enforce rights created by the 14th Amendment.
Standing
A federal court cannot decide a case unless the plaintiff has standing (i.e., a concrete stake in the outcome of the action). To have standing, a plaintiff bears the burden of establishing three elements:
(1) Injury in Fact. The injury must be concrete and particularized (when a harm is concrete, though widely shared, there is standing). However, it does not have to be physical or economic. While the threat of future injury can suffice, it cannot be merely hypothetical or conjectural, it must be actual and imminent.
(2) Causation. The injury must be fairly traceable to the challenged action (i.e., the the defendant’s conduct caused the injury).
(3) Redressability. It must be likely that a favorable court decision will redress an injury suffered by the plaintiff.
Taxpayer Standing
Generally, a taxpayer does NOT have standing to file a federal lawsuit simply because the taxpayer believes that the government has allocated funds in an improper way.
However, a taxpayer does have standing to litigate whether, or how much, she owes on her tax bill. In addition, a taxpayer has standing when the taxpayer challenges governmental expenditures as violating the Establishment Clause.
Third Party Standing
Generally, one cannot assert the constitutional rights of others to obtain standing, but a claimant with standing in her own right may also assert the rights of a 3rd party if:
(1) The 3rd party would experience difficulty or is unable to assert their own rights;
(2) There is a special relationship between the plaintiff and the 3rd party;
OR
(3) The plaintiff’s injury adversely affects the plaintiff’s relationship with the 3rd party.
Organizational Standing
An organization may bring an action when it has suffered an injury. In addition, an organization may bring an action on behalf of its members (even if the organization itself has not suffered an injury) if:
(1) Its members would have standing to sue in their own right; AND
(2) The interests at stake are germane to the organization’s purpose.
Ripeness
A federal court will NOT consider a claim before it has fully developed. For a case to be ripe for litigation, the plaintiff must have experienced a real injury or imminent threat thereof.
Mootness
A case has become moot if further legal proceedings would have no effect (i.e., there is no longer a controversy). A live controversy must exist at each stage of review (not merely when the complaint is filed).
Exceptions to Mootness: Capable of Repetition, Yet Evading Review
A case has become moot if further legal proceedings would have no effect (i.e., there is no longer a controversy). A live controversy must exist at each stage of review (not merely when the complaint is filed).
Exceptions to Mootness: Voluntary Cessation
A case will not be dismissed as moot if the defendant voluntarily ceases the wrongful action once litigation has commenced. The court must be assured that there is no reasonable expectation that the wrong will be repeated.
Exceptions to Mootness: Class Actions
An entire class action will not be dismissed as moot solely because the named party’s claim in the class is resolved and becomes moot.
Advisory Opinions
Federal courts may NOT render advisory opinions on the basis of an abstract or hypothetical dispute. An actual case or controversy must exist. However, courts may issue declaratory judgments (i.e., judgments that determine the legal effect of
proposed conduct without awarding damages or injunctive relief) so long as the action in question poses a real and imminent danger to a party’s interests.
Political Questions
A federal court will NOT rule on a matter in controversy if the matter is a political question to be resolved by one or both of the other two branches of government. A political question not subject to judicial review arises when:
(1) The Constitution has assigned decision making on the matter to a different branch of government;
OR
(2) The matter is inherently not one that the judiciary can decide.
Necessary and Proper Power
Congress can exercise those powers enumerated in the Constitution plus all auxiliary powers necessary and proper to carry out all powers vested in the federal government.
Thus, Congress has the power to make all laws necessary and proper for executing any power granted to any branch of the federal government.
The Necessary and Proper Clause standing alone cannot support federal law – it MUST work in conjunction with another federal power.
NOTE. If a fact pattern creates a scenario where Congress passes a new law; you MUST discuss which enumerated power(s) gives them the ability to make that law (e.g., taxing power, spending power, commerce power, etc.).
Taxing Power
Congress has the power to tax, and most taxes will be upheld if:
(1) They bear some reasonable relationship to revenue production;
OR
(2) Congress has the power to regulate the activity taxed.
Spending Power
Congress may spend to “provide for the common defense and general welfare.” Spending may be for any public purpose (do not confuse this with a
general police power – Congress has NO general police power).
Commerce Power
Congress has the power to regulate all foreign and interstate commerce. To be within Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause, a federal law regulating interstate commerce must either regulate the:
(1) Channels of interstate commerce;
(2) Instrumentalities of interstate commerce and persons and things in interstate commerce;
OR
(3) Activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
Commerce Power: Intrastate Activity
When Congress attempts to regulate intrastate activity under the third prong (substantial effect), the Court will uphold the regulation if:
(1) The regulation is of economic or commercial activity (e.g., growing wheat or medicinal marijuana even for personal consumption);
AND
(2) The court can conceive of a rational basis on which Congress could conclude that the activity in aggregate substantially affects interstate commerce.
However, if the regulated intrastate activity is noneconomic and noncommercial (e.g., possessing a gun in a school zone or gender-motivated violence), the Court generally will not aggregate the effects and the regulation will be upheld only if Congress can show a direct substantial economic effect on interstate commerce, which it generally will not be able to do.
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment Enforcement Power
Each of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments (ban on slavery, equal protection and due process, and voting rights) contain a provision that authorizes Congress to pass “appropriate legislation” to enforce the civil rights guaranteed by those Amendments.
Delegation of Legislative Power
Legislative power may generally be delegated to the executive or judicial branch provided that:
(1) Intelligible standards are set to guide the delegation;
AND
(2) The power is NOT uniquely confined to Congress (e.g., power to declare war).
President’s Domestic Powers
The President has the power to:
(1) Reprieve or pardon federal offenses, except in cases of impeachment;
(2) Appoint all officers of the United States (e.g., ambassadors, Supreme Court Justices, etc.) with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(3) Remove any executive appointee without cause and without Senate approval, except in cases of federal judges (federal judges may only be removed by impeachment);
AND
(4) Veto any bill presented to her by Congress.
Veto Procedure
Upon presentment of a bill, the President has 10 days to act. If the president signs the bill, it becomes law. If the President does nothing, the bill becomes law without the President’s signature so long as Congress is still in session at the end of the 10-day period. If the President vetoes the bill by sending it back with objections, Congress may override the veto and enact the bill into law by a two-thirds vote in each house.
Line Item Veto
The President may NOT exercise a line item veto
refusing part of a bill and approving the rest
Scope of Presidential Power in relation to Congress
In order to determine whether the President’s actions are within the scope of his constitutional power, the court must consider the degree of congressional authorization the President is acting with:
(1) When the president is acting with the express or implied authorization of Congress, presidential authority is at its highest, and the action is strongly presumed to be valid.
(2) When Congress has not spoken, presidential authority is diminished, and the action is invalid if it interferes with the operations or power of another branch of government.
(3) When Congress has spoken to the contrary, presidential authority is at its lowest, and the action is likely invalid.
Foreign Powers
Commander in Chief. Although the President is commander in chief of the military, only Congress may declare war. However, the President may take military action without a declaration of war in the case of actual hostilities against the United States.
Treaties. The President has the exclusive power to negotiate treaties, although a treaty may only be ratified with the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate.
Executive Agreements. The President has the power to enter into executive agreements (e.g., trade agreements) with foreign nations without approval of the Senate.
Executive Privilege
The President has a privilege to keep certain communications secret. National security secrets are given the greatest deference by the courts. In criminal proceedings, presidential communications will be available to the prosecution where a need for such information is demonstrated.
Executive Immunity
The President has absolute immunity from civil damages based on any action he took within his official responsibilities as President; however, there is no immunity for acts that allegedly occurred before taking office.
