Judicial Power

Question 1

What is the source of the judicial power?

Answer 1

Article 3 requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits Congress to create other federal courts and place limitations on the jurisdiction.

Question 2

What is the scope of the judicial power limited to?

Answer 2

Limited to cases and controversies
-> arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States
-> when the United States is a party
-> between two or more states, or between a state and citizens of another state
-> between citizens of different states or between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states
OR
-> between a state, or its citizens, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects

Question 3

What does the judiciary have the power to review even though it’s not enumerated in the Constitution?

Answer 3

The juridically has the power to review
-> another branch’s act and declare it unconstitutional
-> the constitutionality of a decision by a state’s highest court
AND
-> state actions under the Supremacy Clause to ensure conformity with the Constitution

Question 4

What are the exceptions to the 11th Amendment limitation?

Answer 4

The exceptions are:
-> consent by parties
-> injunctive or declaratory relief against a state official
-> damages to be paid by state officer and not the state itself
-> Congressional abrogates state immunity through enforcement of 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment rights
-> structural waivers in the original constitution

Question 4

Which amendment provides limitations to the judiciary?

What limitations does it state on the judiciary?

Answer 4

The 11th Amendment.

Limitations:
-> jurisdictional bar prohibiting citizens of one state from suing another state IN federal court, which immunizes states (BUT NOT local governments) from suits in federal court for money damages or equitable relief
-> sovereign immunity also bars citizens from suing their own state without the state’s consent in that state’s courts, courts of other states, or federal court
-> bars suits in federal court against state officials for violating state law

Question 5

What does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction over?

Answer 5

All cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls and those in which a State shall be a party.

Question 6

Can Congress expand or limit the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction?

Answer 6

No.

Question 7

How does the Supreme Court have appellate jurisdiction over something?

Answer 7

By certiorari (discretionary) and direct appeal (mandatory)

Question 8

What kind of state ruling does the Supreme Court not have appellate jurisdiction over?

Answer 8

A final state-court judgment resting upon adequate and independent state grounds is not reviewable by Supreme Court.

Question 9

What must the plaintiff establish to have standing in a federal court?

Answer 9

Plaintiff must establish
-> Injury in fact
-> causation
-> redressability
-> “prudential standing”

Question 10

How does injury in fact work for P’s standing?

Answer 10

Injury must be:
-> concrete and particularized

Injury need not be physical or economic

Future injury must be actual or imminent

Question 11

How does causation work for P’s standing?

Answer 11

Injury caused by the D’s violation of a constitutional or federal right

Question 12

How does redressability work for P’s standing?

Answer 12

Relief requested must be likely to prevent or redress the injury.

Question 13

What is “prudent standing”?

Answer 13

P is a proper party to invoke judicial resolution of the dispute

Question 14

What doesn’t a taxpayer have standing over and what do they have standing over?

Answer 14

Doesn’t have standing to
-> challenge government allocation of funds

Does have standing to:
-> litigate how much is owed on her tax bill
AND
-> challenge government expenditures as violating the Establishment Clause

Question 15

Does a P have standing to bring a lawsuits based on the claims of a third-party?

Are there exceptions?

Answer 15

Generally not standing to bring a lawsuit based on the claims of a third-party.

Exceptions:
-> when there is a special relationship between P and the third party
-> when the third party is unable to assert his own rights
OR
-> when there is a risk that disallowing third party standing will dilute the third party’s rights

Question 16

When does an organization have standing?

Answer 16

An organization can sue on its own behalf or on behalf of its members IF:
-> its members would have standing to sue in their own right
AND
-> the interests at stake are germane to the organization’s purpose

Question 17

What does Section 1983 do?

Answer 17

Section 1983 does not provide any substantive rights.

It provides a method to enforce substantive rights granted by the Constitution and other federal laws.

Question 18

What are the two requirements of a Section 1983 claim?

Answer 18

Proper Ds
-> individual government employees at any level of government, in their individual capacities; includes municipalities and local governments

Color of state law
-> P must show that the alleged deprivation of a federally secured right was committed by a person acting “under color of state law”

Question 19

What does “under color of state law” mean?

Answer 19

It means the D excised power “possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the authority of state law.”

Functionally identical to the “state action” prerequisite to trigger constitutional liability.

Question 20

What does it mean for an action to be “timely”?

Answer 20

The action must be ripe and cannot be moot.

Question 21

What is “ripeness”?

Answer 21

P must have experienced a real injury (or imminent threat thereof); an action Brough too soon is “unripe”

Question 22

What is “mootness”?

Answer 22

The action must a be alive controversy at each stage of review; an action brought too late is “moot.”

Question 23

When is a case not considered moot despite the definition of “mootness”?

Answer 23

A case is NOT moot if:
-> controversy is “capable of repetition” but is “evading review,” meaning that it will not last long enough to work through the judicial system
-> D voluntarily ceases its illegal or wrongful action upon commencement of litigation
-> Collateral legal consequences can be imposed based on the challenged conviction
-> Named P’s claim in a class action suit is resolved meaning their action is moot, does not mean that such a fact does not renders the entire class action moot

Question 24

What are three other reasons a federal court can deny hearing a case?

Answer 24

Advisory opinion
-> federal courts don’t give out advisory opinions, an actual case or controversy must exist for them to hear a case

Declaratory judgments
-> federal courts are not prohibited from issuing declaratory judgments, BUT the challenged action must pose “real and immediate danger” to a party’s interests.

Political question - Political questions are not subject to judicial review when
-> the Constitution has assigned decision-making on this subject to a different breach of the government
OR
-> the matter is inherently not one that the judiciary can decide

Question 25

When can a federal court abstain from deciding a claim?

Answer 25

Can abstain when strong state interests are at stake.