Constitutional Law Flashcards
Ex Post Facto Laws
The ex post facto clauses prohibit federal and state governments from enacting criminal laws that have a retroactive punitive effect (i.e., ex post facto laws). As a result, this clause generally does not apply to civil laws because their purpose is nonpunitive. However, a civil law will be deemed to be an ex post facto law when its retroactive effect is so punitive that it clearly overrides its nonpunitive purpose.
Courts weigh several factors to determine whether the punitive effect of a retroactive civil law clearly overrides its nonpunitive purpose. These include whether the law:
imposes an affirmative disability or restraint (e.g., imprisonment)
has historically been regarded as punishment (e.g., public shaming)
promotes the traditional aims of punishment (e.g., retribution)
is rationally related to its nonpunitive purpose*
Right to Associate
The First Amendment protects against government interference with a person’s right to associate with any group or organization. But since this right is not absolute, the government can punish (i.e., deny public employment to or criminally prosecute) persons who:
are active members of a subversive organization
know of the organization’s illegal objectives and
specifically intend to further those objectives.
Younger Doctrine
The Younger abstention doctrine requires that a federal court abstain from issuing a declaratory judgment or injunction if doing so would interfere with a pending state criminal, or particular civil, proceeding that (1) involves an important state interest and (2) provides an adequate opportunity to litigate federal issues.
Enclave Clause
Congressional legislation must stem from Congress’s enumerated powers. The enclave clause gives Congress plenary (i.e., exclusive) legislative power over the District of Columbia.
Export Clause
The taxing and spending clause gives Congress broad power to tax and spend for the general welfare (i.e., any public purpose). However, this power is not unlimited and must be exercised in compliance with other constitutional provisions—including the export clause. The export clause prohibits federal taxation of:
exported goods, which are goods leaving the U.S. and shipped to foreign countries and
services and activities closely related to the export process.
Civil Forfeiture - Personal Property
In civil forfeiture actions, the government deprives an individual of his/her property interest by seizing property allegedly used in criminal activity. As a result, procedural due process generally requires that the government provide reasonable notice of the seizure and a meaningful opportunity to be heard before a neutral decision-maker. However, personal property may be seized prior to providing notice and a hearing when:
the seizure serves a significant government interest
that interest would be frustrated by advance notice of the seizure and
the seizure is performed by the government.
Civil Forfeiture - Real Property
To determine whether real property may be seized by the government prior to providing notice and a hearing, the court must balance three factors (see image above):
the private interest affected by the deprivation
the risk of erroneous deprivation of that interest through current procedures and the probable value of additional or substitute procedural safeguards and
the government’s interest, including the fiscal and administrative burdens that other safeguards would entail.
Taxing and Spending Clause
The taxing and spending clause gives Congress broad discretion to spend for the general welfare (i.e., any public purpose), such as public education. Congress can use its spending power to incentivize states to adopt federal policies by placing appropriate conditions on the receipt of federal funds. A condition is appropriate when it:
is clear and unambiguous
is reasonably related to the purpose for which the funds will be expended
does not require recipients to engage in unconstitutional activity and
is not unduly coercive.
*A condition is unduly coercive if it amounts to a “gun to the head” of a state—e.g., a condition that withholds 10% of a state’s overall budget.
First Amendment - Media
The First Amendment shields the media from criminal and civil liability for publishing lawfully obtained private facts (e.g., crime victim’s identity) and other truthful information involving matters of public concern (i.e., newsworthy events). This amendment also shields the media from liability for publishing truthful information that was unlawfully obtained by a third party if:
the information involves a matter of public concern and
the publisher neither obtained it unlawfully nor knows who did.
Nondelegation Doctrine
The nondelegation doctrine prohibits Congress from delegating its exclusive legislative powers (e.g., making or repealing laws). But Congress can delegate its incidental powers (e.g., rule-making authority) to agencies in the executive branch if it provides an intelligible principle to guide the agency—i.e., a clear statement defining:
the policy Congress seeks to advance
the agency to carry out that policy and
the scope of that agency’s authority
Twenty First Amendment
The Twenty-first Amendment grants states broad authority to regulate alcohol within their borders. This authority includes the ability to prohibit the importation, transportation, or sale of alcohol within the state and to delegate such authority to local governments (e.g., municipalities).
Elections Clause
The Article I, section 4 elections clause grants state legislatures the power to enact laws that regulate the time, place, and manner of congressional elections (e.g., by establishing voting sites). But the clause also grants Congress the power to override those state laws by supplanting them with federal law.
Right to Bear Arms
The Second Amendment—applicable to states and municipalities through the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause*—generally prohibits government interference with an individual’s right to possess and use firearms for a traditionally lawful purpose (e.g., self-defense in one’s home). However, this right is not absolute. SCOTUS has stated that certain government restrictions on firearms are permissible, including:
banning unusually dangerous firearms (e.g., grenades)
imposing conditions and qualifications on commercial sales of firearms
forbidding the possession of firearms by felons and mentally ill individuals and
prohibiting the open carry of firearms in certain areas (e.g., schools) or concealed carry of firearms in public.
Suspension Clause
Under the Article I suspension clause, persons in federal custody can challenge their detention by filing a writ of habeas corpus in federal courts unless Congress has suspended the writ. This clause applies to noncitizens classified and detained as enemy combatants in territories over which the United States has sovereign control.
Exaction
An exaction occurs when a local government conditions the issuance of a building or construction permit on a landowner’s promise to dedicate part of the property for public use. This amounts to a Fifth Amendment taking requiring just compensation unless the government establishes:
an essential nexus – the imposed condition substantially advances a legitimate government interest and
rough proportionality – the proposed development’s impact on the community is roughly proportional to the imposed condition’s burden on the landowner.
