Con Law stuff Flashcards
(25 cards)
Removal of Article III judges
Only by IMPEACHMENT
Standing for a legislator
Must prove **personal stake in dispute **& concrete injury to challenge constitutionality of government action.
A federal or state legislator has standing to challenge the constitutionality of government action in the rare instance that the action caused the legislator personal and concrete harm—eg, by nullifying the legislator’s vote. Institutional, abstract harm shared equally by all legislators in that respective body does not confer standing.
Child standing
Parent has standing unless parental rights have been limited by court
OR
lawsuit may adversely affect child.
Congress power to suibpoena POTUS
Speech or debate clauset
Taxpayer standing exception
Taxpayers do have standing to challenge government expenditures made pursuant to federal (or state and local) STATUTES as violating the Establishment Clause.
- NOT general executive revenues
- NOT grants of property
- NOT tax credits
Ripeness factors
- The hardship that will be suffered without pre-enforcement review—the greater the hardship without pre-enforcement review, the more likely the court will hear the case AND
- The fitness of the issues and the record for judicial review—that is, does the court have all that it needs to effectively decide the issue?
SC original js
The Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over suits between states, as well as original jurisdiction where just one of the parties is a state.
Final Judgrement rule
Generally, the Supreme Court may hear cases only after there has been a final judgment from the highest state court, a federal court of appeal, or a three-judge federal district court.
State law grounds are INDEPENDENT if:
They are independent if the decision is not based on federal case interpretations of identical federal provisions. If the state court didn’t clearly indicate whether its decision rests on state law, the Supreme Court may hear the case.
Bars against suits against state govs
The Eleventh Amendment bars suits against states in federal court
Sovereign immunity bars suits against states in state courts or federal agencies.
Exceptions:
States may be sued pursuant to federal laws adopted under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, but it must be unmistakably clear that Congress intended to remove the protection.
Abstention
- Federal courts may not enjoin pending state court proceedings.
- If state law is unclear and state court clarification of that law could make a federal constitutional ruling unnecessary, then the federal court will abstain.
Powers that congress CANNOT delegate (nondelegalble powers)
- Making/repealing laws (but not RULES - agencies can make rules too)
- Declaring war
- Impeaching federal officers
Spending conditions - upheld? not upehdld?
A federal law that would withhold 5% of the federal highway funds otherwise allocable to a state unless the state had a drinking age of not less that 21 for alcohol was upheld where the funds withheld amounted to less than one-half of 1% of the state’s total budget.
A federal law that threatened to withhold Medicaid funding from states that did not greatly expand their Medicaid program was found to be unduly coercive because the withheld funds would be about 10% of an average state’s total budget.
Inferior officers
Officers whose work is supervised by superiors that were appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate (i.e. through standard appointment process).
Congress can delegate power to appoint inferior officers to:
The President (can appoint without approval of Senate);
The courts; or
Heads of executive departments
What are the President’s removal powers
Can remove high-level executive appointees without cause
⚠️ Exception: must show cause to remove:
Officer performing a judicial or quasi-judicial role; or
Officer appointed for a statutorily specified duration
Deportation of resident aliens
However, despite Congress’s plenary power, resident aliens are entitled to notice and a hearing before they can be deported.
Nonresident aliens
Aliens have no right to enter the United States and can be refused entry summarily because of their political beliefs.
Can congress delegate legislative power?
Congress has broad discretion to delegate its legislative power to executive officers or administrative agencies.
Delegations of legislative power to the executive branch of government are typically upheld.
The Supreme Court says that there must be some standards to guide the exercise of discretion, but the requirement is very minimal.
Major Questions doctrine
When an agency adopts regulations that have extraordinary economic and political significance (“major questions”), it must be able to point to clear congressional authorization for the exercise of such power. In major questions cases, modest, vague, or subtle language can’t support a broad delegation of power. Absent clear language, the Court will strike down the agency action as not being sufficiently specific regarding authority and direction on the major question.
How are judges appionted?
The President appoints ambassadors, federal judges, and officers of the United States, with the advice and consent (that is, approval) of the Senate.
Recess Appointments
The President may not make recess appointments (which don’t require Senate approval) during intrasession recesses that are less than 10 days.
REMOVAL POWER of executive officers
Unless removal is limited by statute, the President may fire any executive branch officer.
For Congress to limit removal of an executive officer, the office involved must be one for which independence from the President is desirable.
Even for those officers, Congress can’t completely prohibit removal of executive appointees, but it can limit removal to when there is good cause.
Further, Congress cannot limit the President’s authority to remove the head of an independent agency if that person is the sole director and exercises substantial discretion.
