Constitutional Law Flashcards
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The First Amendment provides “Congress shall make no law …
- abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
- or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and - to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
In New York, each citizen has the right to freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, and no law may be passed that restrains or abridges the liberty of speech or the press.
The New York Constitution is construed as providing than the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (e.g., the New York Court of Appeals held that a ban on nude dancing where liquor is sold violates free speech under the New York Constitution, while the U.S. Supreme Court held that such a ban does not violate free speech under the U.S. Constitution.)
FREEDOM OF RESEARCH & RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
The First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Where an individual’s conduct is motivated by his religious beliefs, the state may regulate or prohibit the activity if the regulation is neutral in respect to religion and is of general applicability.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that when a state law of general application (such as a ban on the use of narcotics) imposes a burden on religious activity (such as the use of peyote in the rituals of a particular religion), the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution does not require the state to grant a special exemption for the religious activity.
Most government programs providing direct aid to parochial elementary and high schools have been held to violate the Establishment Clause, because they involve “excessive government entanglement” with religion.
Programs that provide aid to all elementary and secondary students (including parochial school students) have been held to “pass” the threeprong Lemon test.
The New York Constitution provides for the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship. There are limitations, however, in that the liberty of conscience may not be construed so as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the state.
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that the New York Constitution gives a Muslim prisoner the right to an exemption from frisk searches conducted by women guards when such physical contact violates his religious
beliefs.
Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the New York Constitution does not contain a general clause prohibiting the government establishment of religion. It does, however, contain a specific provision barring state aid to religious schools.
Nonetheless, the courts have not interpreted that provision to impose greater constraints on state aid to religious schools than the constraints contained in the U.S. establishment clause. Therefore, the state can provide school transportation, school lunches, and secular textbooks to religious schools, so long as the state also provides such aid to secular schools.
RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE
There is a close “nexus” between the freedoms of speech and association.
The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that “state action which may curtail (or have the effect of curtailing) the freedom to associate is subject to the closest scrutiny.”
The New York Constitution provides that no law shall be passed abridging the rights of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government or any department of the government.
TAKINGS
The Fifth Amendment provides that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
This prohibition applies to the states as well, through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation.
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that the “public use” requirement puts constraints on government appropriation of property. If the government could serve its public purpose by imposing an easement on the private property owner, then the government may not fully appropriate the property.
EQUAL PROTECTION
The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that equal protection also applies to the > under the Due Process Clause of the .
The New York Constitution prohibits the denial of the equal protection of the laws of New York or any subdivision thereof.
It also prohibits discrimination in violation of a person’s civil rights by any other person, firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state, or any agency or subdivision thereof, on the basis of race, color, creed, or religion.
Taken literally, the language of the New York
Constitution appears to make private persons and organizations (as well as the state) liable for violations of equal protection—unlike the equal protection clause of the federal constitution, which applies only to state action. Nonetheless, the New York courts have held that private action violates equal protection only when the private actor has the cooperation, authority, and approval of the state.
In applying the latter test, the New York courts have generally applied the same rules that the U.S. Supreme Court uses to determine whether private action is deemed to constitute state action for purposes of federal equal protection.
When applying the equal protection clause of the New York Constitution, the New York courts use the same three-tier analysis used by the U.S. Supreme Court in enforcing federal equal protection. That is, the New York courts apply strict scrutiny to laws intended to burden protected groups, intermediate scrutiny to laws intended to burden quasi-protected groups, and Rationality review to laws intended to
burden all other groups.
However, the New York courts have > than the U.S. Supreme Court has applied it. For example, the New York courts have stricken zoning laws that exclude less affluent households, even though wealth classifications are subject only to rationality review.
Similarly, the New York courts have stricken tax laws that impose differential burdens on persons who are, in economic terms, similarly situated, even though economic classifications are subject only to rationality review.
DUE PROCESS
Both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments protect against the deprivation of “life, liberty or property without the due process of the law.” Where there is a deprivation of one’s “life,” “liberty,” or “property” interests, the individual is entitled to fundamentally fair procedural safeguards (e.g., some form of notice and a meaningful hearing within a reasonable time).
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
The substantive due process doctrine is now used to evaluate governmental regulations that affect fundamental rights of personhood, rather than rights of property. Strict scrutiny review, or other forms of heightened scrutiny, apply to laws that burden the exercise of fundamental rights, including the right to vote, the right to travel, the right to privacy, First Amendment rights, family rights, and other rights referred to as fundamental rights.
Under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution, states and cities may not prohibit extended families from living together in single-family dwellings, but they may prohibit unrelated persons from living together in single-family dwellings.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
In some instances, “substantive due process” under the New York Constitution provides greater rights than “substantive due process” under the U.S. Constitution.
Under the Due Process Clause of the New York Constitution, even unrelated persons have a right to live together in single-family dwellings.
RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES & FRANCHISE SECURED
Members of New York may not be disenfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured to citizens of New York, unless by the law of the land or judgment of peers.
However, the New York courts have ruled that the “law of the land” provision provides no rights beyond those included in the due process clause of the New York Constitution.
The Due Process Clause, therefore, effectively supersedes the “law of the land” clause.
DIVORCE
No divorce may be granted except by
a judicial proceeding.
GAMBLING
All types of gambling are prohibited, except lotteries operated by the state in aid or support of education and pari-mutuel betting on horse races from which the state will derive a reasonable revenue for the support of government.
Games of chance, such as bingo or lotto authorized by any city, town, or village in New York, may only be conducted by bona fide religious organizations, charitable or non-profit organizations of veterans, volunteer firefighters, or similar non-profit organizations. In order to authorize such gambling, the municipality must conduct a ballot proposition—a direct majority vote by the municipal electorate. Municipalities are not permitted to enact other types of laws (e.g., legislation or executive orders) related to gambling unless authorized by the state legislature. The state legislature may pass gambling laws that are more restrictive than the constitutional rules summarized above.
DAMAGES FOR INJURIES CAUSING DEATH
The New York Constitution protects the right of action to recover damages for injuries resulting in death and «_space;prohibits any statutory limitation on the amount recoverable». Courts have
held that the legislature may nonetheless enact a statute of limitations on the filing of such actions, and may limit recoverable damages to pecuniary injuries, so long as judges and juries
remain the arbiters of the amount of
damages.
LABOR
The New York Constitution states that human labor is not a commodity or article of commerce.
The New York Constitution also stipulates that employees have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.
This provision is currently nullified by the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, as long-standing federal labor legislation preempts all state regulation of union organizing and collective bargaining.
The legislature may enact laws to protect the lives, health, or safety of employees, or for payment through a system of compensation for the injury or death of an employee resulting from those injuries without regard to cause, except where the injury is a result of the willful intention or intoxication of the injured or dead employee while on duty. The legislature may also enact laws for adjustment, determination, and settlement of issues arising under such legislation or to provide that the right of compensation and any remedies are exclusive of other rights and remedies for the injury or death of an employee.
In other words, the legislature may enact a “workers’ compensation” system that sets the benefits payable to injured workers and that displaces normal tort remedies for employee injuries.
The New York Constitution also sets maximum work hours and minimum wages for those engaged in the performance of any public work.
A private contractor that builds public buildings and other public works must pay its employees the “prevailing wage” earned by workers in the same occupation in the locality in question.
EDUCATION
The state must provide all primary and secondary students with a “sound basic education” and must ensure that schools have sufficient resources to meet that standard.
The courts, however, will defer to the state’s determination of the amount of resources that are necessary to meet the constitutional standard, so long as the state’s determination is reasonable.
RIGHT TO VOTE
The fundamental right of U.S. citizens over age 18 to vote extends to all federal, state, and local elections, as well as to primaries. Strict scrutiny review is used to adjudicate restrictions on the right to vote. However, government regulations of ballot access by candidates—based upon age, duration of residency, or payment of filing fees—require only minimum rational basis scrutiny.
In addition, voter registration requirements and regulation of the time, place, and manner of casting ballots are valid so long as they do not impose an “undue burden” on the right to vote.
Every citizen who is 18 or older has the right to vote in statewide and local elections, provided he has been a resident of the state or locality for 30 days before the election.
Voter registration must be completed at least 10 days before an election. The legislature may enact laws providing that a voter, once registered, remains permanently registered so long as he remains qualified to vote at the same address.
