Constitutional Law Flashcards
Nature of Judicial Review
Federal Judicial Power extends to cases involving:
2 points
Interpretation of the constitution, federal law, treaties, and admirality and maritime laws: and
Disputes between states, states and foreign citizins, and citizens of diverse citizinship.
Interpretation of the law and jurisdictional disputes
11th amendment
a jurisdictional bar that prohibits:
1. The citizens of one state of a foreign country from suing another state and federal court for money damages or equitable relief and suits in federal court against state officials for violating state law.
2. Exceptions:
Consent - a state may consent to a suit by waiving its 11th amendment protection
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.
Individual Damages - an action for damages against a state official is not prohibited so long as the official himself will have to pay.
Congressional Authorization - Congress may abrogate state immunity from liability but is clearly an expressly acting to enforce rights created by the 14th amendment.
states enjoy sovereign immunity from being sued in federal court
Justiciability
Standing
If no standing, then a court cannot decide a case. Standing requires an
(1) injury in fact, (2) causation, and (3) redressability.
1. An injury in fact must be concrete, but it does not need to be physical or economic. Threat of injury must be actual and imminent.
2. For causation, the injury must be fairly traceable to the action.
3. Redressability means a court’s decision can remedy an injury suffered by the plaintiff.
Power of Congress
Taxing and Spending Powers
A. Taxing Power: Congress has the power to tax and most taxes will be upheld if:
- they bear some** reasonable relationship to revenue production.**
- or Congress has the power to regulate the activity taxed.
B. 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.
Congress has the power to tax and spend money.
A tax is reasonable if it bears a reasonable relationship to revenue production or Congress simply has the power to regulate the activity.
Spending is reasonable to defend the public and provide for our general welfare.
Commerce Power
A. Congress has the power to regulate all foreign Interstate commerce. To be within Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause a federal law regulating Interstate commerce must either regulate the:
- channels of Interstate commerce;
- instrumentalities of Interstate commerce and person and things and Interstate commerce;
- activities that have a substantial effect on Interstate commerce.
B. When Congress attempts to regulate intrastate activity under the third prong the court will uphold the regulation if:
1. the regulation is of economic or commercial activity and
2. the court can conceive of a **rational basis **on which Congress could conclude that the activity is in aggregate substantially effects Interstate commerce.
C. However if the regulated intrastate activity is non economic or non commercial 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.
If federal law regulates Interstate commerce, then it must either regulate;
1) channels of IC
2) instrumentalities of IC, and
3) activities that have a substantial effect on IC. If regulating Intrastate activities that have a substantial effect, then regulation will be upheld if
1. It is of economic or commercial concern
2. Congress can conceive A rational basis for its implementation.
13th, 14, and 15th Amendments
Each of the 13th (ban on slavery) 14th (due process) and 15th (voting rights) amendments contain a provision that authorizes Congress to pass appropriate legislation to enforce the civil rights guaranteed by those amendments.
Content Neutral versus Content Based
The test for the constitutionality of injunctions in public forums depends on whether the injunction is content-neutral or content-based. If an injunction is content-neutral, then the test is whether it burdens no more speech than is necessary to achieve an important governmental interest. ** On the other hand, if the injunction is content-based, it must be necessary for the government to achieve a compelling governmental interest.**
Presidential Immunity
President has absolute immunity safeguarding liability, expect when complying with a criminal subpoena.
Standards of Review for Respective Classes
Strict Scrutiny
Intermediatte Scrutiny
Rational Basis
Strict Scrutiny
Strict Scrutiny (high standard think suspect class Race, Alienage):
Burden on gov to prove statue is valid
* To pass strict scrutiny, a law must be justified by a
o compelling government interest,
o be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal or interest,
o and be the** least restrictive means **for achieving that interest.
o there has to be purposeful discrimination, not just a discriminatory effect.
* Suspect Class: Fundamental right, Race, Ethnicity, National Origin, Voting. If state law – citizenship status
o Intentional discrimination (must show intent to discriminate)
Facial discrimination – arises where a law by its language creates distinctions between classes of persons
Discrimination when statute applied to law –
Discrimination against Aliens – varying standards
* SS: most alien discrimination is SS – think state welfare, membership to bar – all these are granted equal protection to aliens.
* IS: illegal aliens – think of illegal aliens and education
* RB: States are allowed to discriminate against non-citizens in activities where participation in the functioning of government is involved:
o providing leadership, maintaining order, providing public services, providing national security, providing economic security, and providing economic assistance.
the goverment must prove that the regulation is the least restrictive menas to acieve a compelling goverment interest (very difficult to prove)
Intermediate Scrutiny
Is a standard of review available for due process and substantive review.
The test is whether the law is substantially related to an important government interest.
Intermediate Scrutiny concerns semi suspect classes of people (such as gender and illegititmacy)
Rational Basis
Rational Basis Issues (default standard think other classes Age, Wealth):
Burden on plaintiff to prove statue invalid
RB Rule: the court applies the rational basis test to determine whether a discriminatory statute is rationally related to a legitimate state interest.
Other: Age, illegal Alienage (some) Disability, Wealth, All else
o Social and Economic legislation
Economic regulations are subject to referential rational basis scrutiny, and will be permitted as long as the regulation does not lack a rational connection to a legitimate government interest
the challanger must prove that the regulation is not rationally related to any legitmated goverment interest
A goverment regulation that **infringes upon a fundemental right **is subject to ___ while the goverment regulation that does not infringe upon a fundemental right is subject to ___
Strict Scrutiny Review, Rational Basis Review
What are Fundemental Rights
- Right to Interstate Travel
- Right to Vote
- Right to privacy; marriage, contrception, consensual sex, parental rights, co-habitation.
What are Fundemental Rights
- Right to Interstate Travel
- Right to Vote
- Right to privacy; marriage, contrception, consensual sex, parental rights, co-habitation.
5 amendment taking
Procedural Due Process Analysis
