Black Letter Law

Question 1

The doctrine of “field preemption” means that:

Answer 1

Federal laws can occupy an entire field, and preempt any state laws in that field, whether conflicting or complementary.

Question 2

A time, place, and manner regulation of a limited public forum will be invalid unless it is:

Answer 2

Viewpoint natural and rationally based related to a legitimate government purpose.

Question 3

The Supreme Court can review a decision from the highest court in a state if ____.

Answer 3

the state court decision turns on federal grounds

Question 4

When a private individual is suing for defamation arising from a statement regarding a matter of public concern, what is the minimum level of fault that the individual must prove in order to prevail?

Answer 4

negligence

Question 5

Congress’s power to investigate ____ limited to areas directly related to contemplated legislation.

Answer 5

is not

Question 6

Congress has the implied power to investigate to secure information as a basis for ____.

Answer 6

potential legislation or other official action (such as impeachment or trying impeachments)

Question 7

Congress does have the power to subpoena witnesses to ____.

Answer 7

compel their presence at congressional investigatory hearings

Question 8

Regarding intersovereign litigation among the states and the federal government, a state ____ sue ____ without that party’s consent.

Answer 8

may not; the United States

Question 9

Any regulatory system, injunction, or other action by the government that serves to stop speech from reaching the public is called ____.

Answer 9

prior restraint

Question 10

A suit seeking a ____ can meet the case or controversy requirement.

Answer 10

declaratory judgment

Question 11

If the limitation on First Amendment activities is severe, it will be upheld only if ____.

Answer 11

narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest

Question 12

In First Amendment law, a prior restraint is:

Answer 12

government action that prohibits speech or other expression before the speech happens

Question 13

Generally for government action to be valid under the Establishment Clause, the action ____.

Answer 13

must be religiously neutral or in accord with history and the understanding of the Founding Fathers

Question 14

A person has a property interest in continuation of a government benefit if the person has ____.

Answer 14

a legitimate claim or entitlement to the benefit

Question 15

The war-making power can be used by Congress to ____.

Answer 15

regulate civilian activities outside the theater of active war zones

Question 16

The Twenty-First Amendment allows states to:

Answer 16

prohibit all sellers from making direct shipments of liquor to customers within the state

Question 17

Executive agreements may not ____.

Answer 17

conflict with existing federal statutes

Question 18

A state may impose an ad valorem property tax on goods shipped through interstate commerce when:

Answer 18

the goods reach their destination

Question 19

A content-neutral speech regulation will be upheld if it:

Answer 19

(i) furthers important interests that are not related to the suppression of speech
(ii) does not burden more speech than is necessary to advance such interests

Question 20

May a state tax discriminate against interstate commerce?

Answer 20

Yes, if Congress authorizes the tax.

Question 21

____ are the three suspect classifications designated by the Supreme Court as requiring a strict standard of review for a challenge to a government action or law on the basis of equal protection.

Answer 21

race, national origin, and alienage

Question 22

The grounds for impeachment are ____.

Answer 22

(a) treason
(b) bribery
(c) high crimes
(d) misdemeanors

Question 23

Impeachment requires a ____ vote of the House and a ____ vote of the Senate.

Answer 23

majority; two-thirds

Question 24

Congress can choose to ____ to children born aboard to United States citizens and choosing to deny entry to ____.

Answer 24

denying citizenship; aliens based on their political beliefs

Question 25

What are the power not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution?

Answer 25

(a) general police power (b) power to fix weights and measures

Question 26

The Tenth Amendment prohibits Congress from:

Answer 26

commandeering state officials

Question 27

When a public figure is suing for defamation, what is the minimum level of fault that the official must prove in order to prevail?

Answer 27

malice (i) knowledge that the statement was false (ii) reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity

Question 28

If a state law violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, it might also violate the ____.

Answer 28

Dormant Commerce Clause

Question 29

The Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV limits state discrimination against ____.

Answer 29

nonresidents with regard to fundamental rights, which includes commercial rights

Question 30

The Commerce Clause has an exception for discrimination where the state is ____.

Answer 30

acting as a market participant

Question 31

If the government allows an issue to be presented in a nonpublic forum, the government may not limit the presentation to only one view; the regulation must be:

Answer 31

viewpoint neutral

Question 32

The Due Process Clauses of the Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment provide that the government shall ____.

Answer 32

not take a person’s life, liberty, or property without due process of law

Question 33

The power to regulate foreign commerce lies ____.

Answer 33

nearly exclusively in the federal government

Question 34

Under current law, when will Congress’s regulation of noncommercial, noneconomic intrastate activities be upheld?

Answer 34

Only if Congress can factually show a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.

Question 35

A law or government program that prefers one religious sect over others probably will be held invalid unless it can be shown that it is:

Answer 35

Necessary to serve a compelling government interest.

Question 36

Government actions that include sect preferences must meet a ____ standard to be valid under the ____.

Answer 36

strict scrutiny; Establishment Clause

Question 37

Like treaties, executive agreements prevail over ____.

Answer 37

conflicting state laws

Question 38

The federal courts will not hear a case unless the plaintiff can show a concrete stake in the outcome of the litigation. What is the name given to the standing concept that a decision in the plaintiff’s favor will eliminate the harm to the plaintiff?

Answer 38

redressability

Question 39

The President’s veto of a bill may be overturned by ____.

Answer 39

a two-thirds vote of both houses

Question 40

The Necessary and Proper Clause gives ____ the power to enact laws appropriate for carrying into execution any ____

Answer 40

Congress; power granted to any branch of the federal government

Question 41

____ is a legislative act that imposes a punishment, criminal or otherwise, without a judicial trial, on one or more individuals who either are specifically named or are identified by their past conduct.

Answer 41

a bill of attainder;

Question 42

An ____ refers to a law that retroactively changes the criminal law in a way that deprives an individual, for purposes of punishment, of a right the individual previously enjoyed.

Answer 42

ex post facto law

Question 43

When a state acts as a market participant, may ____, such as by distributing state-owned resources only to residents or paying residents more for something than it would pay a nonresident.

Answer 43

favor its own citizens

Question 44

As a general rule, the press’s First Amendment rights are the same as ____.

Answer 44

the public’s First Amendment rights

Question 45

A ____ test must be met in order for a regulation affecting core political speech to be upheld.

Answer 45

strict scrutiny

Question 46

Under its taxing power, Congress may tax for the purpose of ____.

Answer 46

raising revenue

Question 47

The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits ____ from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process and equal protection of the law.

Answer 47

states

Question 48

The Supreme Court has stated that the Free Exercise Clause prohibits government regulations that ____.

Answer 48

punish conduct just because it is religious

Question 49

Regarding the First Amendment freedom of speech, an overbroad regulation is one that ____.

Answer 49

prohibits substantially more speech or speech-related conduct than is necessary to achieve a legitimate government interest

Question 50

It is not sufficient that economic activity within a state has ____ on interstate commerce; the effect must be ____.

Answer 50

“any” effect; substantial

Question 51

Congress’s commerce power extends to:

Answer 51

- transportation - internet - electricity - gas - telegraph - telephone - television - radio - mail

Question 52

The one person, one vote principle requires almost exact mathematical equality between ____.

Answer 52

congressional districts within a state

Question 53

The needs of the ____ can outweigh the President’s interests in keeping papers and conversations confidential.

Answer 53

criminal justice system

Question 54

The employer may ask about membership in ____.

Answer 54

any organization relevant to the employee's position

Question 55

A law or government program must be ____ if it includes a preference for some religious groups over others.

Answer 55

necessary to serve a compelling government interest

Question 56

Under the rational basis test, a law will be upheld if it is ____.

Answer 56

rationally related to a legitimate government interest (burden of proof on challenger)

Question 57

It would be improper for the ____ to adjudicate a border dispute between states.

Answer 57

Senate

Question 58

The power to adjudicate actions where two or more states are involved, which would include actions to adjudicate border disputes, is vested in the ____.

Answer 58

judicial branch (Supreme Court/ other federal courts)

Question 59

Congress may “regulate” states through its spending power by ____.

Answer 59

imposing conditions on the grant of money to state governments

Question 60

A federal court will hear an action to enjoin a pending state court prosecution if it is ____.

Answer 60

being conducted in bad faith (merely to harass the defendant)

Question 61

A person has standing to challenge a governmental action if he can show ____ from the action that is ____ when the government acts unlawfully, and that a decision in his favor will remedy the injury.

Answer 61

an injury in fact; greater than the injury everyone suffers

Question 62

If an ordinance is being applied unconstitutionally, a person has ____.

Answer 62

standing

Question 63

Discrimination against illegitimate children is judged by a ____ similar to that used in gender discrimination cases.

Answer 63

quasi-suspect standard

Question 64

Quasi-suspect standard requires that the classification be ____.

Answer 64

substantially related to an important state purpose

Question 65

When a law that involves classifications based on gender or legitimacy is challenged, ____ standard is applied, and the burden of proving that the law is constitutional generally is on the ____.

Answer 65

an intermediate scrutiny; government

Question 66

A case or controversy will exist if there is an ____.

Answer 66

actual dispute between parties having adverse legal interests

Question 67

The Establishment Clause prohibits government sponsorship of ____.

Answer 67

religion (meaning the government cannot aid or formally establish a religion)

Question 68

The Supreme Court has held that a charitable appeal for funds involves a variety of speech interests protected by ____.

Answer 68

the First Amendment

Question 69

The Supreme Court has found the ____ to be fundamental rights. Thus, government limitations on these rights, if challenged, generally will be held invalid unless ____.

Answer 69

right to vote, to speak freely, and of privacy the government can prove that the limitation is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest

Question 70

Under his power as commander in chief, the President has the power to ____ but lacks the power to ____.

Answer 70

establish a military government in occupied territories; declare war unilaterally

Question 71

Content-based regulations on protected speech are subject to ____. The government must prove that the regulation is the ____.

Answer 71

strict scrutiny; least restrictive means to achieve a compelling government interest

Question 72

To be constitutional, restrictions on the content of speech (content-based) must be ____.

Answer 72

necessary to achieve a compelling government interest

Question 73

The government has a compelling interest in categories of speech, which are deemed "unprotected speech." What are the "unprotected speech?"

Answer 73

(1) inciting imminent lawless action (2) true threats and fighting words (3) obscenity (4) defamatory speech (5) some commercial speech

Question 74

What are the elements of inciting imminent lawless action?

Answer 74

(1) imminent illegal conduct is likely (2) speaker intended to cause it

Question 75

Speech constitutes obscenity if it described or depicts sexual conduct that, taken as a whole, by the average person:

Answer 75

(1) appeals to the prurient interest in sex, using a community standard (2) patently offensive (3) lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, using a national reasonable person standard

Question 76

Commercial speech that proposes ____ may be restricted as unprotected speech.

Answer 76

unlawful activity or that is false, misleading, or fraudulent

Question 77

Commercial speech will be upheld only if it:

Answer 77

(1) serves a substantial government interest (2) directly advances that interest (3) is narrowly tailored to serve that interest