Judicial Powers Flashcards
Standing
Plaintiff must show: (1) Injury, (2) Causation and (3) Redressability to have standing.
(1) Injury: Plaintiff has a concrete injury, specific to plaintiff.
(2) Causation: Government action caused injury. and
(3) Redress: the court can provide a legal remedy for injury.
No Generalized grievances - P does not have standing to enjoin government from acting a particular way.
Exceptions: (1) specific govt. expenditures that violate the Establishment clause. (2) Their own tax liability.
Commerce Clause & Strict Scrutiny Review
State laws that discriminate against interstate commerce face strict scrutiny review.
Strict Scrutiny Review means the law must be: (1) necessary to advance a (2) legitimate local interest that (3) cannot be adequately served by any other nondiscriminatory alternatives. (4) The burden is on the state.
Strict Scrutiny Review
Strict Scrutiny Review means the law must be: (1) necessary to advance a (2) compelling gov. interest that (3) cannot be adequately served by any other nondiscriminatory alternatives. (4) The burden is on the state.
Applies to Fundamental rights & Discrimination issues.
State Sovereign Immunity-11th amendment
- Can’t sue a state for MONEY damages in its own court or federal court unless: (a) the state consents or
(b) Congress permits to enforce the 14th Amendment. - Can sue the state officer personally for money damages.
- Can sue for injunction.
SCOTUS Jurisdiction
Article III, Section 2 delineates the jurisdiction of federal courts as limited to cases or controversies:
i) Arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States;
ii) Affecting foreign countries’ ambassadors, public ministers, and consuls;
iii) Involving admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;
iv) When the United States is a party;
v) Between two or more states, or between a state and citizens of another state;
vi) Between citizens of different states or between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states; or
vii) Between a state, or its citizens, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.
Adequate and Independent State Grounds (AISG)
The Supreme Court can review a state court judgment only if it turned on Federal grounds. The court has no jurisdiction if the judgment below rested on an adequate and independent State ground.
Judicial recusal
Due process entitles a person to a fair decision maker. A judge must recuse herself when she has a direct, personal, substantial, pecuniary interest in a case or there is a serious risk of actual bias.
Executive Powers - Discretionary Spending
expenditure of general discretionary funds by the executive branch
Non-justiciable question
SCOTUS won’t decide certain issues because there is no manageable standard for deciding it.
Examples:
- Guarantee clause (protecting republican form of govt.)
- Foreign affairs - opening or closing relations with another country.
- Impeachment procedures.
- Political gerrymandering
Justiciability
Federal courts can only hear cases that are justiciable, meaning there must be a case or controversy. To have a case or controversy a case must:
- Standing
- Ripeness
- Mootness
- Political question doctrine
Third Party Standing
General rule: A party does not have standing to assert someone elses claim. Exceptions: 1)Special Relationships- P may assert the rights of a third party whose injury also affects P or P’s relationship with third party. (client-patient or seller-customer). 2)Privacy-Third party cannot attack law without revelaing identity so organzation sues on members behalf. 3) Organizational standing - (a) Org always have standing if injury is to org itself. (b) Org can sue on behalf of members if (i) members woould have standing individually; (ii) Injury is related to the organization’s purpose; (iii) Neither claim nor relief requires particpation of individual members.
