Constitutional Law rule statements Flashcards
Explain the 11th Amendment’s Sovereign immunity and its exceptions
The 11th Amendment prohibits federal law suits against states on the premise of state sovereign immunity. In other words a state cannot be sued by a private actor.
There are exceptions to the 11th amendment, such as
- state consents and waives sovereign immunity
- if under its 14th Amendment sec 5 power it abrogates (repeals, gets rid of) the state sovereign immunity in a statute.
Otherwise, citizens of the state or of other states are not permitted to sue a state directly for damages. Can sue state actors
explain the 11th amendment’s exception enabling private citizens to sue state actors
despite the 11th amendment, state officials can be sued in their individual capacities for damages, and in their official capacities for prospective injunctive relief, even if that relief would require some money from the state treasury.
A suit against a state officer for injunctive relief will be maintained if it is seeking prospective relief and the effect on the state officers is incidental.
Explain the Dormant Commerce Clause
The commerce clause grants to congress the right to regulate interstate commerce.
While states have a general police power to regulate in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of their citizens, the negative implication of the commerce clause, often called the dormant commerce clause, limits what they can do when it places a burden on interstate commerce.
Generally, if a state law discriminates against out-of-staters, or against interstate commerce, it will be struck down unless the state can show it is necessary to protect a substantial state interests (unrelated to protectionism). It is does not discriminate, it will be struck down if it places an undue burden on interstate commerce– in other words, the burden on interstate commerce will be weighed against the interest of the state.
explain how congress can exercise its authority under the 14th Amendment section 5:
Congress may only exercise its authority in a way that is “congruent and proportional” to any constitutional violation it may be addressing. Limited by its enumerated powers
what is the market participant exception to the dormant commerce clause?
tested exception to the Dormant Commerce Clause is the market-participant doctrine (i.e., the state is acting as a market participant or business rather than regulator). If the state is acting as a market participant, it is allowed to favor its own residents.
If a law discriminates against interstate commerce, it is invalid unless
the state can show that the law was necessary to serve a compelling state interest and there is no reasonable nondiscriminatory alternative (strict scrutiny). *
**A state law that discriminates against interstate commerce is usually unconstitutional.
Commerce power explain
Congress can regulate the channels and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, persons and things in interstate commerce, or anything that has a “substantial effect” on interstate commerce—meaning, it can regulate anything economic or anything noneconomic that “substantially affects” interstate commerce (even if it is purely “intrastate”—i.e., within a state)
in its commerce power, what cant a state do?
Congress cannot, however, “commandeer” states and force states to enforce federal laws. Congress will either have to regulate directly (if within its commerce power) or regulate indirectly by threatening to take away funding if the state does not adopt a law (under Congress’s spending power).
If a state law is non discriminatory on its face (i.e.,it imposes the same burden on those in-state and out-of-state) but it still burdens interstate commerce, it is valid only if
it serves an important state interest and does not impose an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.
***A state law that merely burdens interstate commerce is more likely to be constitutional.
where can one find state action?
State action: state action is present when
- a state passes a law,
- when a state permits its officials to take action,
- when a private actor is performing a traditional and exclusive government function (e.g., conducting elections, or
- running a company town—this is pretty narrow), or when private action is closely controlled by the state
Symbolic speech: a law which regulates conduct and places an incidental burden on speech is constitutional if the regulation is
narrowly tailored to an important governmental interest and is unrelated to the suppression of the speech.
Unprotected speech: A law regulating unprotected speech needs to pass rational basis scrutiny. The following categories of speech are not protected under the First Amendment: FIDO
Fighting words- likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction
Inciting imminent lawless action
Defamation and other words of conduct such as threats
Obscenity
test for obscenity
- whether it appeals to a prurient interest
- whether it depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and
- whether it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Commercial speech: the law must meet the Central Hudson test, which states that
(1) the speech must be lawful and not misleading,
(2) the statute must serve a substantial governmental interest,
(3) the statute must directly advance that interest, and
(4) the statute must be narrowly tailored.
Laws regulating Sexual or indecent speech, the standard?
serve a substantial governmental interest and leave open reasonable alternative channels of communication.
