Judicial Power Flashcards
Source, Scope, and Limitations
Source - Article 3
Scope - jursidiction of federal courts is limited to cases or controversies
Limitations - 11th amendment and state soverign immunity
List - article 3 lists the kinds of cases that come within the judical power of the United States - most important = diversity jurisdiction and federal question jurisdiction (cases arising under laws of the US)
Major Exception - exception to the judicial power is created by the 11th amendment and by preexisting concept of state soverign immunity
Rule - cannot sue a state for money damages in state or federal court unless the state consents or the US congress expressly says so to enforce 14th A rights (can sue for money damages in sister state
Note - protects states and state agencies, not local gov; state soverign immunity applies in both state and federal court unless state consents or congress expressly says it is permitted
Override - when enforcing individual rights, congress can override 11A immunity and can force states to pay money damaes for violation but must do so expressly (any lack of clarity will preclude damages)
Who Can You Sue? - a state officer; can get injunctive relief by enjoining the officer orand can sue for money damages but must come from them personally
Jurisdictions of the Supreme Court - Original
Original Jurisdiction - case may be filed in the supreme court (controversies between states, mostly)
Jurisdictions of the Supreme Court - Appellate
Two Means of Establishing Appellate Juris - Certiorari and Direct Appeal
Certiorari - most used method; key factor is that certiorari is discretionary with the court and the supreme court is the only federal court that exercises discretionary jurisdiction
Direct Appeal
Limitations on the Supreme Court Appellate Jurisdiction - congress can make exceptions to court’s appelalte jurisdiction
Jurisdictions of the Supreme Court - Appellate - AISG
Adequate and Independent State Grounds - most important topic on bar
General - arises only in the SCOTUS and it arises when SCOTUS reviews a state court judgment
Rule - scotus can review a state court judgment only if it turned on federal grounds but the court has no jurisdiction if the jdugment below rested on an adequate and independent state ground
Adequate - state ground must controle the decision no matter how a federal issue is decided (when federal claimant wins anyway under state law)
Remember - US constitution is a floor, not a ceiling, for individual rights and state constitution can always give you more
Independent - the state law does not depend on an interpretation of federal law and no AISG if state law adopts or follows federal law; when state decision unclear as to whether it rests on federal or state grounds, SCOTUS can review the issue.
Standing to Sue - General
Rule - standing requires injury, causation, and redressabilty
Standing to Sue - Injury
General - almost anything can be injury, especially if congress says so
Rule - must be concrete (not abstract) but need not be economic and can be past or future
Ex: freedom of movement or enjoyment of public space is imparited
Not Injury - ideological objection
Organization - org has standing if its members has standing
Standing to Sue - Causation
Defendant’s acts must have caused or will cause the injury
Standing to Sue - Redressability
General - court can remedy or redress the injury
Rule - if injury in the past, the redress is damages; if injury is threatened, then redress is usually injunction
Note - past injury does not give automatic standign to seek injunction of future injjury unless you are able to show it will happen again
Taxpayers - federal taxpayers always have standing to challenge their own tax laibility, however do not have standing to challenge gov expenditures
Exception - Establishment Clause - establishment of religion challenge to specific congressional approproations can be challenged by any taxpayer (very narrow)
Legislative Standing - legislators do not have standing to challenge laws that they voted against (ideological disagreement)
Third Party Standing - generally cannot raise rights of someone else UNLESS parties to an exchange or transaction can raise the rights of others to that exchange or transaction
Ex: Dr who were not compensated for providing abortion services can raise the rights of women who wanted to have abortions provided. The Dr has injury because he was not paid but he wants to raise the rights of his patient to have an abortion, not his own; Dr and patient are involved in an exchange or transaction
Ex: seller of beer in a saloon can raise rights of 18 year old boys to buy beer at the same age as 19 year old girls; saloon keeper injured because not making money; she wants to raise the rights of the underage boys because that is gender discrimination; can do so because they are parties to an exchange or transaaction
Timeliness
Ripeness - must show actual harm or an immediate threat of harm
Mootness - cases are overriped and are dismissed whenever they become moot
Exception - controversies capable of repetition yet evading review are not moot even though they look like (look for internal time limit e.g. preganancy/abortion)
Advisory Opinions
Rule - federal courts cannot issue advisory opinions and canot rule on the constitutionality of proposed legislation
Note - commonly tested
Ex: litigation that only takes affect if executive officer agrees with it; functionally a recommendation/opinion to the officer and therefore unconstitutional
Political Questions
Rule - non-justiciable question - courts will not decide because there are no maneable standards for judicial decision making
Examples of non-justiciable political questions include:
- foreign affairs (such as opening or breaking off diplomatic relations)
- impeachment procedures
- political gerrmandering
- guarantee clause - (protecting the replublican form of government)
