General Flashcards
Commerce Clause
Article 1 Section 8 Commerce clause = “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes”
Lopez - Historically, the Court has allowed Congress to use their Commerce Clause powers to regulate activity within 3 categories:
(1) channels of interstate commerce,
(2) instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or
(3) activities that substantially affect interstate commerce
Taxing and Spending Powers
Article 1 Section 8 - “lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the US”
Dole 5 factor - condition on the receipt of federal funds by a state is constitutional if
- for the general welfare,
- clear and unambiguous condition,
- related to a federal program,
- no independent bar to constitutionality,
- coercion
Necessary and Proper Extension
Executive Authority
Separation of Powers principle embedded in Const - Chadha
- The Constitution vests in the President the “executive Power.” (Art. II Sec. 1).
- It states that “he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” (Art. II Sec. 3).
- The President “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties”. Need ⅔ Senate to approve. (Art. II Sec 2).
- “shall be Commander in Chief … of the [military]” (Art. II Sec 2). Provides civilian control over military and defines ultimate control in one actor (the president)
- The Reception Clause states that “he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers.” (Art. II Sec 3).
- Presentment Clause states that a bill from Congress must be presented to the president before it becomes law. Also signed into law. Article I, Section 7, but the President has POWER to veto.
The President’s power “must stem from an act of Congress or the Constitution itself.” - Youngstown
- Highest Ebb (const powers + congressional delegated powers)
- Middle Ebb (can only rely on indep powers)
- Lowest Ebb (can only use his own const powers minus Congress’ con powers
War Powers Act
Constitutional Standing
- Allen - Separation of Powers
- Article III - case or controversy
- Lujan (injury, causation, redressability)
+ concrete and particularized, actual/imminent injury
+ fairly traceable causation
+ redressability
Prudential Standing
- Unlike constitutional standing, Congress can enact a law to overrule the prudential requirements. Judicial standing is derived not from the Constitution but instead from the Court’s view of prudent judicial administration.
- 3rd Party standing = Court has stated that “even when the plaintiff has alleged injury sufficient to meet the case or controversy requirement, the Court has held that the plaintiff generally must assert his own legal rights and interests, and cannot rest his claim to relief on the legal rights or interests of third parties.” What the defendant did wrong actually harms someone else’s rights (collateral damage brings the case to court). cases where Court is trying to change behavior in society
- Court will look to 2 factors:
1. relationship of litigant to person whose right litigant seeks to assert AND
2. ability of 3rd party to assert their own right
General grievance = Prevents individuals from suing if their only injury is as a citizen or a taxpayer concerned with having the government follow the law
- Exception = Flast v. Cohen (standing to challenge gov expenditures as violating the Establishment Clause
Ripeness
- Two factors to decide ripeness = fitness of the issues for judicial decision and hardship to the parties of withholding court consideration (Abbott)
- Case must be ripe to be heard in court
Mootness
- Continuing controversy (come up again)
- Controversy likely to repeat but timing evades review (roe)
- Case cannot be moot to get to Court
Anti-Commandeering
- McCulloch = Federal laws are supreme and states may not make laws that interfere with the federal government’s exercise of its constitutional powers under the Supremacy Clause.
- Article 1, Section 10 = limits the power of the states and provides means of executing federal powers
- The Tenth Amendment states “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
- New York and Printz = Federal government cannot control a state legislative branch or a state executive branch to enforce federal regulations or create legislative actions.
- Reno = The Anti-Commandeering Doctrine prohibits the federal government from compelling a state legislature to enact a law or a state official to implement a federal program. Federal government can affect the actions of states if the act is generally applicable and not just to states.
Can be executive or legislative that anti-c’d
- US government = distinguish from Printz (state actors) and use Condon (broad application of state and local individuals)
- Counter perspective = compare to Printz (use of state personnel and a lack of regulation) and NY (using state personnel to implement federal regulation imposes on states a burden that should fall on federal agents), distinguish from Condon
