Constitutional Law Flashcards
Constitution- Justiciability
- Initial requirement
- Federal courts require a case or controversy to hear a claim.
- Federal courts cannot render advisory opinions.
Constitution
- Standing Requirements
- Generalized Grievance
- Injury - Generally must show that plaintiff has been or imminently will be directly and personally injured.
- Causation - There must be a causal link between the conduct in question and the injury.
- Redressability - A decision for plaintiff must be capable of eliminating the grievance.
- Generalized Grievance -A citizen cannot sue solely as a citizen or taxpayer to claim gov. is not following law, or to challenge gov. spending.
Constitution
- Third party standing
- Party can assert claims of others if there is a close relationship such that the plaintiff can be trusted to adequately protect the third party interests.
- Generally - The plaintiff has suffered injury and that injury adversely affects her relationship with third parties, resulting in an indirect violation of their rights. Doctor-patient.
Constitution
- Third party standing
- Organizations
- Organizations - Can assert claims of members if:
1. Members have suffered actual concrete injury.
2. The injury suffered is germane to organization interests.
3. Neither claim nor relief requires member participation.
Constitution
- Standing
- Taxpayer exception
- Taxpayer can challenge spending when the spending pursuant to statutes violates the establishment clause.
- Generally challenging spending is a generalized taxpayer grievance.
Constitution
- Ripeness
- Plaintiff may not bring claim to challenge a rule if injury has not been suffered or no harm is imminent.
- Pre-enforcement review exception
a. A hardship that will be suffered imminently without pre-enforcement review.
b. The fitness of the record for judicial review. - Does the court have all it needs to hand down a decision.
Constitution
- Mootness
If events after filing of a lawsuit end plaintiff’s injury, the case must be dismissed as moot, plaintiff must present a live controversy.
- A non-frivolous money damages claim will keep the case alive.
Constitution
- Mootness
- Exceptions
a. Capable of repetition yet evading review - The wrong is capable of repetition but evading review because of the inherently limited time duration (abortion).
b. Voluntary cessation – Defendant stops, but capable of starting again.
c. Class action suits – So long as anyone in class has ongoing injury, case is not moot.
Constitution
- Abstention
- Enjoining state proceeding
Federal courts should abstain when an unsettled matter of state law should be settled by the highest state court.
Federal courts may not enjoin pending state court proceedings. Will not enjoin criminal proceeding, rather allow state court to decide constitutional issue; unless: Prosecution taken in bad faith or to harass
Constitution
Political Question
Court will not decide issues:
a. Constitutionally committed to another branch of government.
b. Inherently incapable of judicial resolution.
- Guarantee clause cases - Republican form of gov.
- Challenges to President’s conduct of foreign policy.
- Challenges to the impeachment and removal process.
- Challenges to partisan gerrymandering.
Constitution
- Necessary and proper
Congress can adopt all laws necessary and proper to exercise the authority given.
The necessary and proper clause does not stand alone as a grant of power, it must be coupled with an independent express grant.
Constitution
Executive Power
- General
- Foreign Relations
- Congress has broad power to delegate rule making power to the executive and administrative agencies.
- President has power to negotiate and enter treaties. Valid after ratified by Senate.
- President has authority to enter executive agreements with foreign countries.
- President has broad power to use American troops in foreign country.
Constitution
- Executive Power
- Appointment and removal
President appoints, federal judges, ambassadors and federal officers.
The president may fire any executive officer.
- Congress may limit this power, but only if two requirements met:
1. Must be office where independence from president is desireable.
2. So long as the power is not prohibited, limit to showing of good cause.
Constitution
- Impeachment
- Presidential Immunity
President, Vice President, Federal judges, and all officers of the U.S. can be impeached and removed from the office for: high crimes, treason, bribery, and misdemeanors.
President has absolute immunity to civil suits for money damages for any actions while in office, however, the President does not have immunity for actions that occurred before taking office.
Constitution
Tax and Spend Power
- General
- Congress may tax and spend for the general welfare of the public.
- Although Congress generally cannot regulate for the general welfare unless under the limited police power over. (MILD)
- Military
- Indian Reservations
- Federal Lands
- District of Columbia
Constitution
Tax and Spend power
- Relation to Tenth Amendment restriction on power.
- Under the Tenth Amendment, Congress cannot compel state regulatory or legislative action.
- Tax and spend caveat - Congress can induce action by putting strings on grants through spending power.
- Conditions must be
1. expressly stated and
2. relate to the purpose of the spending program and,
3. Must not be unduly coercive .
Constitution
Procedural due process
- When needed
If there has been a deprivation of life, liberty or property; Due process is required, 5th amend.
There must be intentional or reckless action for liability to exist for procedural due process violation.
- Three part balancing test – Is hearing required
1. The importance of the interest to the individual.
2. The ability of additional procedures to increase the accuracy of fact finding decisions.
3. The government’s interest - Usually administrative efficiency and saving money.
Constitution
Commerce Regulatory power
-Review Standard
- If there is a conceivable rational basis for concluding that the activity regulated (in aggregate), substantially affects interstate commerce. Aggregate for economic activity.
- Rational basis type review when congress purports to regulate activity that substantially affects interstate commerce.
- If activity is noncommercial and noneconomic, no - possessing a handgun in school zone
Constitution Federal regulatory power Commerce Regulatory power - Three Categories - Substantial Effect
- Congress may regulate the channels of interstate commerce.
- The places where commerce occurs, highways, waterways, internet. - May regulate the instrumentalities of interstate commerce and persons and things in interstate commerce.
- Congress may regulate economic activities that have a substantial effect (in the aggregate) on interstate commerce.
- Substantial effect of economic activity may be based on a cumulative effect, Wickard v. Filburn .
- Non-economic activity, a substantial effect may not be based on cumulative effect.
Constitution
Federalism
- Dormant commerce clause general
- Categories of Laws for review standard.
- State or local laws are unconstitutional if they place an undue burden on interstate commerce.
- Review to determine if burden is undue depends on whether the law is”
- Discriminatory against out of state commercial interests.
- Non-discriminatory, but affects commerce.
Constitution
Dormant commerce clause
- Discriminatory Law
- Discriminatory - If the law discriminates to protect local interests - Government must show that the law is necessary to further an important non-economic state interest.
- Necessary - Must show no reasonable non-discriminatory alternatives.
Constitution
Dormant commerce clause
-Non-Discriminatory Law
- If the law is facially neutral but affects commerce, the law will be valid unless:
- The burden on commerce outweighs the promotion of a legitimate government interest.
Constitution
- Substantive due process
- Economic Rights affected
Laws affecting economic rights are analyzed under rational basis.
Plaintiff must show law is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest.
- Exception - Taking of property. See other cards.
