SJC Flashcards
District of Columbia v. Heller
The Supreme Court recognized the right to bear arms belonging to private citizens inside their homes for self-defense relying on the originalism interpretation (I.e., deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition. The 2A rights are not unlimited.
McDonald v. City of Chicago
In this case, the Supreme Court extended the 2nd Amendment rights\ to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
NYSRPA v. Bruen
The Supreme Court ruled that the private citizens have right to bear arms outside of home for self-defense under the second amendment, incorporated against the states via the 14th Amendment DPC.
Second amendment extends to all instruments that constitute bearable arms even those not contemplated at the time of founding. .
Five First Amendment Rights
Religion
Assembly
Petition
Press
Speech
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
The closely held corporations have right to refuse to provide contraception if it violates their right to exercise religion. The ACA violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as it burdened Hobby Lobby’s free exercise of religion rights.
If the government action is burdensome, it needs to be the least restrictive measure serving compelling government interest.
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
The Court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission expressed hostility to the baker based on his religious belief thereby violating the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2010)
The State’s prohibition that state scholarship fund, which could be used for private schools, cannot be used towards religious private schools violate the Free Exercise Clause of the 1A.
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrisey-Berru (2020)
The religious organizations have right to select its key leaders without governmental interference under the 1A under the ministerial exception. In this case, this involved a religious education teacher.
Tandon v. Newsom
The Supreme Court ruled that California’s COVID-19 restriction that prohibited religious gathering at home for more than 3 households violated the 1A rights of the citizens as it was not generally applicable (I.e., allowed other secular activities of the similar risk profile to occur like shopping/hair salons/movie theaters).
Strict Scrutiny is triggered because the restriction is not neutral/generally applicable.
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)
A school district’s firing of a football coach for taking a knee and praying at the football games did not violate the Establishment Clause but violated his first amendment free exercise and free speech rights.
Carson v. Makin (2022)
Maine Department of Education’s ban on its school vouchers going towards non-sectarian schools violated the free exercise clause of the 1A. A use-based discrimination offends the Free Exercise Clause.
Groff v. DeJoy (2023)
In religious accommodation cases, the burden that the employer must show is no longer a “de minimus cost” but “substantially increased cost” to the employer to accommodate. In this case the employee wanted a religious accommodation not to work on Sundays.
303 Creative vs. Elenis
The Supreme Court ruled that forcing a website designer to create a website under the Colorado’s non-discrimination statute against the designer’s religious belief would violate the free exercise clause of the First Amendment . The Court stipulated that her website constituted “expressive” conduct.
Bostock v. Clayton (2020)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against the same sex couples. Justice Gorsuch, relying on textualism, noted that discrimination “because of sex” means “in part of sex” based on the statute’s ordinary public meaning. Homosexuality and transgender statuses are inexplicably intertwined
with sex.
Obergefell v. Hodges
Under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the same sex couples have right to marry, which should be recognized by all states.
June Medical Services v. Russo (2020)
The Court held that the Louisiana law that required abortion clinicians to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles from the abortion clinics presented a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortion (undue burden on their right to abortion).
Whole Women’s Health v. Jackson (2021)
WWH challenged the Texas Heartbeat law. The Court allowed a suit to proceed agains certain defendants but not others. The Court did not enjoin the challenged law.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled that the right to abortion does not exist under the Constitution as it’s not deeply rooted in our history and tradition/not consistent with the concept of ordered liberty. The power is sent back to the states/its elected officials.
What are the factors the Court would consider in overturning a precedent?
(1) nature of the court’s error; (2) quality of the court’s reasoning; (3) workability of the rules; (4) disruption on other areas of the law; (5) absence of concrete reliance on the precedent.
West Virginia v. EPA
The Court relied on the major questions doctrine and ruled that the EPA did not have authority under Clean Air Act to use generational shifting to regulate carbon dioxide emission and existing power plants.
What is a major questions doctrine
It’s a method of legal interpretation under which an agency must point to clear congressional authorization if it seeks to regulate on an issue of great “economic and political significance.”
Griswold v. Connecticut
The Supreme Court found the right to privacy of couples to use contraception in the 14th amendment based on other fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
“Zone of Privacy” is in the “penumbra.” The penumbra is created by rights inferred by the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th Amendments.
Are there other rights that are not enumerated in the constitution but fundamental?
Right to marry; right to travel; right to raise children and direct their education.
Washington v. Glucksberg
The Court held that there is no right to have medically assisted suicide in the Constitution under the due process clause of the Constitution. The inquiry begins by examining whether the asserted right is consistent with our nationals history and legal tradition/practices.
Janus v. AFSCME
The charging of agency fees on non-union members who work in the public sector violated their rights to the free speech because it compelled them to subsidize private speech on matters that were of substantial public concern.
Biden v. Nebraska
The Court relied on the major questions doctrine and ruled that the secretary of education under the HEROS act (higher education relief opportunities act) did not have authority to cancel billions of dollars in student debt as debt relief has major political and economic significance.
Allen v. Milligan
The Court held that the restricting/congressional map in Alabama likely violated the Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which prohibits election practices that abridge the right of people based on their race.
The independent state legislature theory
The independent state legislature theory or independent state legislature doctrine (ISL) is a judicially rejected legal theory that posits that the Constitution of the United States delegates authority to regulate federal elections within a state to that state’s elected lawmakers without any checks and balances from
Harper v. Moore
Under the “Election Clause” of Article 1 of the Constitution, the state legislatures do not have exclusive power to set federal election rules, including drawing congressional maps, without interference from other parts of the state government like the judicial branch.
SFFA v. Harvard/North Carolina
The race-conscious admissions process at UNC is unconstitutional and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Harvard violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Is race-based quota appropriate in admissions policies?
No. In University of CA v. Bakke, the Court ruled that the racial quotas violate the Equal Protection Clause and the EPC under the 14th amendment . Race could be a plus factor but not a quota (this has been overturned).
Grutter v. Bollinger
The race-conscious admissions policy was found to be constitutional where it was to achieve education benefit of the diversity/to achieve critical mass (compelling state interest).
Gratz was found to violate the EPC of the 14th amendment because it used a point system.
Fisher - UT did not violate the 14th amendment but race-conscious policy must be used when non-race based measures do not achieve the goal of creating educational benefit of diversity.
What is Qualified Immunity
Government officers of certain discretionary functions are immuned from suits if they did not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional right.
Egbert v. Boule
The Bivens Action to pursue 1A retaliation claims is not allowed against the border patrol officers because it raises national security concerns.
Counterman v. Colorado
To rise to a true threat, the government must prove that the defiant had some subjective understanding of the nature of the threatening statement; recklessness is enough.
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo
The case asks whether Chevron should be overturned and whether National Marine Fisheries Services have authority to promulgate a rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act to require the companies to pay for monitors.
What is Chevron Deference?
Chevron is a foundational case in administrative law, in which the Supreme Court held that when a federal statute is ambiguous or silent, courts should defer to an agency’s interpretation of that law so long as it is reasonable.
What is critical race theory?
It’s an academic discipline that advocates looking at America’s history through the lens of racism.
What is Commercial Speech?
Speech for purposes of earning revenue; intermediate scrutiny
What is the standard of review for a content neutral speech regulation
generally intermediate scrutiny. Content-neutral speech restrictions only restrict time, place, and manner.
Mapp v. Ohio
Evidence that is illegally obtained against the 4th Amendment is not admissible in state and federal courts.
Exceptions to the exclusionary rule
good faith; inevitable discovery; attenuation; independent source
Exceptions to the warrant requirement
hot pursuit; consent; border search; investigatory stop; plain view; search incident to arrest
What are the FIVE 5th Amendment Rights
(1) double jeopardy (2) right to grand jury; (3) takings clause; (4) self-incrimination; (5) due process (Federal)
6th amendment rights
(1) right to counsel (2) right to impartial and local jury; (3) confrontational clause; (4) speedy trial
how many grand jurors are there/ do you need? how many do you need for a quorum?
There should be 23; need 16 for the quorum; need 12 votes.
What is the speedy trial clock? how many days?
45 days to trial.
What right is guaranteed by the 7th amendment
Right to Civil Trial for a cases worth more than $20.
minimum of 6 jurors needed; unanimous; 3 per-emptory challenges.
8th Amendment
right against excessive bail; cruel and unusual punishment.
How do you define something to be “cruel and unusual”
(1) too severe for the crime; (2) arbitrary; (3) offends society’s sense of justice.
9th amendment
The unenumerated rights in the Constitution belong to the people.
10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. (state’s power)
13th amendment
abolished slavery
