Constitutional Law Rules and Cases

Question 1

Chadha

Answer 1

Legislative vetoes are unconstitutional (stateless man was going to be deported because Congress said they had a legislative veto in a statute that gave power to the INA to make the decision to deport or not deport him)

Question 2

McIntosh

Answer 2

Example of Congress using their ability to control funding to protect people engaging in state-allowed medical marijuana from prosecution (Appropriation bill said DOJ couldn’t spend funds to prosecute individuals engaged in conduct permitted by the state medical marijuana laws and who fully complied with such laws)

Question 3

What are modes of constitutional interpretation?

Answer 3

Textualism - look at the text of the Constitution
Original Meaning - what did people in power think it meant at the time
Judicial Precedent (doctrinal) - has this case already been decided?
Structuralism - textualism at a high level of generality
Pragmatism - practical consequences
Historical Practice - how has this worked/been treated in the past
National ethic - what the Constitution and other famous American documents stand for
See also formalism and functionalism (can overlap with other modes)