Law Flashcards
What is constitutional law
It defines the structure and function of government and the relationship between the government and its’ citizens. It also defines the relative powers of the national and state governments and prohibits from taking certain actions, such as those that infringe on the freedom of religion.
How are the powers of national and state governments limited?
By the constitutional guarantee of individual liberties and freedoms enshrined within the constitution
In what way can constitutional law be considered a process?
Constitutional law provides a language and a forum for the debate of important issues. The language of constitutional law begins with begins with the text of the Constitution and expands to the precedents that interpret it and the principles that can be drawn from it.
What was Plessy v Ferguson
A court ruling in 1896 that allowed for racial segregation of railroad cars
What was Brown v Board of Education
A court ruling that exercised it’s discretionary adjudication to illustrate the unconstitutionality of racial segregation in educational facilities.
Why do we need constitutional law
Constitutional law provides a vernacularity and vocabulary and a process for dealing with important issues. It is neither the isolated and exclusively solitary vocabulary nor process, but it has been an important and familiar one for 200 years.
What is an originalist interpretation of the Constitution
A framework of evaluation that is plagued with the orientation of undergoing the assimilation and incorporation of the incipient intentionality that influenced the authors of the Constitution to devise the amendments.
What is a nonoriginialist interpretation of the constitutional
The realization and apprehension of the convoluted and esoteric complexity that characterizes adequately assimilating an understanding and cognizance of the introductory volitional intentionality that characterizes the authors of the Constitution and instead prioritizes the extrapolation and distillation of the principles and precedence that were established via the ideational materialization of the Constitution.
What are the due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments?
No person may be denied life, liberty and property without due process of law.
Marbury v Madison
Marbury v. Madison, 1803, was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes that they find to violate the Constitution of the United States.
United States v Lopez
United States v. Alfonso D. Lopez, was a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court concerning the Commerce Clause. It was the first case since 1937 in which the Court held that Congress had exceeded its power to legislate under the Commerce Clause.
Why was United States v Lopez important?
U.S. v. Lopez is a particularly significant case because it marked the first time in half a century that the Court held Congress had overstepped its power under the Commerce Clause.
Hamdi v Rumsfeld
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, (2004), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court recognized the power of the U.S. government to detain enemy combatants, including U.S. citizens, but ruled that detainees who are U.S. citizens must have the rights of due process, and the ability to challenge their enemy combatant status before an impartial authority.
Commerce Clause
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; . . . The Commerce Clause gives Congress broad power to regulate interstate commerce and restricts States from impairing interstate commerce.
Explicate the two categorically distinct types of rights.
The first group of rights is procedural rights. These rights are about the procedures the government must follow; how the government must behave when it acts with respect to an individual or, sometimes, a group.
The second group is substantive rights. These rights define the areas of individual freedom that the government cannot invade regardless of the procedures it follows.
Give an example of a procedural right.
If you are receiving social security benefits , the government can’t just take them away because some bureaucrat believes you are no longer entitled to them. Before your benefits can be cut off, your constitutional right to due process guarantees that you must receive notice of the governments claim and must have to opportunity to present your arguments about the issue at a hearing.
Give an example of a substantive right.
If the government wants to force you to attend a Catholic Mass, the constitutional issue is one of substance, not process. Even if the government gives you notice and a hearing, it cannot infringe on your substantive constitutional right to choose your own religion.
What is due process?
Due process means that the government must follow fair procedures in taking action with respect to an individual.
