Judicial Power

Question 1

Source and scope

Answer 1

Art. III cases & controversies

Question 2

Limits to judicial power`

Answer 2

11th

1. The rule is that you cannot sue a state for money damages in either the state’s own court or Fed. court unless the state consents or Congress expressly says so. You may sue a state for money damages in a sister state’s court. Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979).
2. • protects states and state agencies, not local govs (no immunity for cities, counties, or towns).
3. Note also that a state’s sovereign immunity applies in both state and fedcourt, unless the state consents, or Congress expressly said so to enforce 14th
   a. Congress can override 11th Amendment immunity. It can force states to pay money damages for violating individual rights, but it must say so expressly.
   i. Any lack of clarity will preclude damages.

Question 3

Exceptions to 11th amend. limitation

Answer 3

a. Can get injunctive relief simply by enjoining the appropriate state officer (e.g., sue the state attorney general)
b. Can get money damages, but only from the officer personally
c. Damages from the state treasury are barred (unless state consents or Congress expressly says so to enforce individual rights).

Question 4

Original jurisdiction of S.Ct.

Answer 4

may be filed first in the Supreme Court (controversies between states, mostly).

Question 5

Legislative ability of S.Ct.

Answer 5

a. Congress can make exceptions to the Court’s appellate jurisdiction. can effectively control the Supreme Court’s docket (its appellate jurisdiction) by legislating exceptions to its appellate jurisdiction.

Question 6

Independent and adequate state grounds doctrine

Answer 6

arises only when the Supreme Court reviews a state judgment.
Rule: The Supremes can review a state court judgment only if it turned on Fed. grounds.

no juris if the judgment below rested on an adequate and independent state ground.

Question 7

Adequate State Grounds

Answer 7

the state ground must control the decision no matter how a Fed. issue is decided. When does this happen? When the Fed. claimant (the party claiming a Fed. right) wins anyway under state law.
a. Note 1: Remember this key point: The U.S. Constitution is a floor, not a ceiling, for individual rights. A state court can always give you more from state const. But can never give you less than the fed constitution requires.

Question 8

Independent

Answer 8

The state law does not depend on an interpretation of Fed. law. No AISG if state law adopts or follows Fed. law.

Question 9

If indépendant and adequate state grounds unclear

Answer 9

If state court is unclear as to whether it rests on Fed. or state grounds, the Supreme can review the Fed. issue. If Supreme agrees with the state decision of Fed. law, it affirms. If the Supreme disagrees with the state court’s understanding of the Fed. issue, it remands the case to state court, so state court can reconsider state law.

Question 10

Issues for Justiciability

Answer 10

Standing, Timeliness (ripe & moot), Advisory opinions, and Political ?

Question 11

Standing Requirements

Answer 11

injury, causation and, redressibility.

Question 12

Standing Injury

Answer 12

1. Almost anything can be injury, especially if Congress says so (either past or future).
   a. Must be concrete (not abstract), but need not be economic
   b. If freedom of movement or enjoyment of public space is impaired, that constitutes injury.
   c. ideological objection is not injury.
   d. An organization has standing if its members have standing.

Question 13

Causation (under standing)

Answer 13

(Factual) rarely tested A D’s act must have caused or will cause the injury.

Question 14

Redressibility (under standing)

Answer 14

1. A court can remedy or redress the injury.
   a. If injury is in the past, the redress= damages
   b. If future injury is threatened, the redress = injunction
   c. Past injury does not give automatic standing to seek an injunction for future injury. You must show that it will happen again.

Question 15

Standing of Federal Taxpayers

Answer 15

1. always have standing to challenge their own tax liability. However, taxpayers do not have standing to challenge gov. expenditures.
   a. Narrow exception An establishment of religion challenge to specific congressional appropriations can be challenged by any taxpayer (Note also that state courts often allow municipal taxpayers to challenge a municipality’s expenditures.)

Question 16

Legislative standing

Answer 16

: Legislators dont have standing to challenge laws that they voted against.

Question 17

Third Party Standing

Answer 17

Refers to the question of whether you can raise the rights of someone else.Generally, the answer is no,
a. Exception: Parties to an exchange or transaction can raise the rights of other parties to that exchange or transaction. (see examples in outline)

Question 18

Ripeness

Answer 18

1. prematurity of a case. must show actual harm or an imminent threat of harm.

Question 19

Mootness

Answer 19

1. Mootness cases are overripe and are dismissed whenever they become moot. Cases can become moot during trial or on appeal.
2. Exception: Controversies capable of repetition yet evading review are not moot, even though they look like it.Such controversies always have an internal time limit (e.g., pregnancies and abortion).

Question 20

Advisory opinions

Answer 20

1. •Fed. courts cannot issue advisory opinions.

2. Cannot rule on the constitutionality of proposed legislation

Question 21

Political ?

Answer 21

1. A non-justiciable question—courts will not decide because there are no manageable standards for judicial decision-making

a. Guaranty Clause (protecting the republican form of gov.);
b. Foreign affairs, such as opening or breaking off diplomatic relations with another country;
c. Impeachment procedures; and
d. Political gerrymandering (drawing districts to establish a political advantage of one party over another).