Con Law Exam Tactics

Question 1

When asked the validity of a law [for Constitutional Law purposes]

Answer 1

Check first to see if it is a federal or state law. If you do this, you will frequently be able to eliminate at least one distractor (answer choice)

Question 2

When the question asks about a plaintiff’s standing

Answer 2

ignore substance. remember that standing requires that the plaintiff must either have suffered or be immediately likely to suffer an injury due to the challenged action. What you must do is focus on the requirement and “ignore issues of substance” in the plaintiff’s claim.

Question 3

Avoid answer choices which state a statute is constitutional because the plaintiff’s interest is a “privilege, not a right.”

Answer 3

Sometimes an answer choice will suggest that a statute is valid, in the face of a due process challenge, because plaintiff’s interest is a “privilege” and not a “right.” This is a distraction without a difference. If a governmental action impinges on a plaintiff’s personal, fundamental interest, it does not matter if the interest is characterized as a privilege instead of a right. As a result, the “privilege and not a right” answer choice is almost certainly a distractor.

Question 4

What do you do with economic legislation?

Answer 4

When you are faced with a purely economic or social statute, remember that there is probably “no serious due process or equal protection problem,” because the statute will be subject only to the “rational relation” test.