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Constitutional Law > Finals Overview > Flashcards

Finals Overview Flashcards

1
Q

Standards of Review

A

1) Mere-rationality
2) Strict scrutiny
3) Middle-level review

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2
Q

Mere-rationality

A 
Court will uphold government action if 2 requirements are met 
1) Legitimate state objective 
2) Minimal rational relation 
BOP: individual challenging gov. action
Examples: 
a. Dormant Commerce Clause 
b. Substantive Due Process 
c. Equal Protection 
d. Contracts Clause
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3
Q

Strict scrutiny

A

Only satisfied if governmental act satisfies 2 tough requirements:
1) Compelling objective
2) Necessary means (must not be a less restrictive means of accomplishing
BOP: Government
Examples:
a. Substantive Due Process / Fundamental Rights
b. Equal Protection Review
c. Freedom of Expression
d. Freedom of Religion / Free Exercise Clause

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4
Q

Intermediate Scrutiny

A 
Must be
1) Important objective (between legitimate and compelling)
2) Substantially related 
BOP: usually government
Examples:
a. Equal Protection / Semi-suspect 
b. Contracts Clause 
c. Free expression/ non-content based
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5
Q

Main Powers of Congress

A

1) Regulate interstate commerce and foreign commerce
2) Taxing and spending
3) District of Columbia
4) Regulate and dispose of federal property
5) Declare war, establish & fund armed services
6) Enforce post-civil war amendments

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6
Q

Main Powers of President

A

1) Execution of laws
2) Commander in chief of armed forces
3) Treaty and foreign affairs
4) Appointment of federal officers
5) Pardons
6) Veto

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7
Q

Dormant Commerce Clause

A
  • Prohibits a state from discriminating against interstate commerce for purely economic reasons
  • Allows states to incidentally discriminate against interstate commerce in furtherance of a legitimate state interest
    3 Part Test
    1) Regulation must pursue a legitimate state end
    2) Regulation must be rationally related to that legitimate state interest and
    3) Regulatory burden imposed by the state on interstate commerce must be outweighed by the state’s interest in enforcing its regulation
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8
Q

Equal Protection

A

“No state shall make or enforce any law which shall…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

  • 14th Amendment
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9
Q

Affirmative Action

A

Race-based affirmative action must be:

1) narrowly tailored and
2) serve a compelling government interest

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10
Q

Selective enforcement of law

A

1) Prove that the law has a discriminatory effect,
2) Prove that the law has a discriminatory purpose
3) Make at least a credible showing of different treatment of similarly situated persons

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11
Q

Brown v. Board of Education

A

Separate educational facilities for black students are inherently unequal and violate equal protection guarantees in the US Constitution

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12
Q

Gender Discrimination - When Intermediate Scrutiny Applies

A

Either:

1) a gender-based classification on the face of the statute or
2) an intent to discriminate based on gender

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13
Q

Equal Protection Federal v. State

A

State: 14th
Federal: 5th

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14
Q

Supremacy Clause

A
  • If there is a conflict between federal and state law, the state law is invalid
  • State law must yield to federal law
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15
Q

Express Preemption

A
  • Congress sometimes states explicitly that the statute is intended to preempt some area of state or local law
  • Any state or local law that falls within the zone intended by Congress to be exclusively federal will be invalid under the Supremacy Clause
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16
Q

Implied Preemption

A
  • The structure or purpose of the congressional action suggests that Congress intended to displace non-federal law
  • 2 main types:
    1) field preemption
    2) conflicts preemption
17
Q

Field preemption

A
  • Occurs where the scheme of the federal regulation is so pervasive as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for the states to supplement it
18
Q

Conflicts preemption

A

Applies to 2 situations:

1) Direct physical conflict: state regs drafted in such a way that it is physically impossible for a person to obey the federal and state regulations simultaneously (labeling regulations)
2) Conflict in purposes: when the regulatory scheme imposed by a state is inconsistent with the purposes of a fed reg (What is the intent of Congress?)

19
Q

Interstate Privileges and Immunities Clause

A
  • Prevents a state from discriminating against non-residents
  • Only operates with respect to rights that are fundamental to national unity (related to commerce)
    2 prong test:
    1) State must show that out-of-staters are a peculiar source of evil
    2) State must show that its solution is substantially related to this peculiar evil the out of staters represent (no less discriminatory alternatives)
20
Q

14th Amendment 1868

A

1) Right to due process
2) Right to equal protection and
3) right to privileges and immunities of national citizenship
- Makes the Bill of Rights applicable to the states

21
Q

Bill of Rights guarantees not incorporated in 14th

A

1) Grand jury
2) Right to jury in civil cases
3) Excessive fines

22
Q

Jot for jot incorporation

A
  • once a BOR guarantee is made applicable to the states, the scope of that guarantee is interpreted the same way for the states as for the federal gov
23
Q

Substantive Due Process

A
  • certain types of state limits on human conduct have been held to so unreasonably interfere with important human rights that they amount to an unreasonable and unconstitutional denial of liberty
  • gov impairment of fundamental rights: strict scrutiny, almost always invalidates measure
  • Fundamental Rights: family, child-rearing, marriage, medical decision making, abortion
  • Non fundamental rights are subject to rational basis review
24
Q

Economic and social welfare regulation

A

2 requirements to be in conformity with SDP:

1) State must pursue a legitimate state objective
2) minimal rational relation

25
Q

State Action Doctrine

A
  • Sometimes a private individual’s act will be found to be state action
    1) Public function
  • if private individual/group is entrusted by state to perform functions that are governmental in nature, private individual becomes an agent of state
  • Political system
  • Company town
  • Parks
  • Exclusively public function
    2) State involvement
  • Even if not traditionally a public function, may be state action if state is heavily involved
  • Commandment
  • Encouragement
  • Symbiosis
  • Entanglement or entertwinement: State and private party act together to carry out action (mere acquiescence not enough)
26
Q

Eleventh Amendment

A

States are immune from being sued for money damages by private citizens in federal court
- Congress cannot abrogate immunity through Commerce powers
- Civil Rights Amendments - can abrogate immunity
Restrictions:
a. Congruent and Proportional: If Congress wants to let private individuals sue the states in federal district court for money damages for state violations of a federal anti-discrimination statute, 2 conditions must be satisfied:
1) Evidence of widespread past constitutional violations by the states of the source that Congress is trying to prevent and
2) Remedy picked by Congress must be congruent and proportional to the state violations that Congress is trying to prevent

27
Q

Procedural Due Process

A

Requirement that states act with adequate or fair procedures when it deprives a person of life, liberty, or property

1) Has the individual’s life, liberty, or property been taken?
2) What process was “due” him prior to this taking?

28
Q

Due Process Clause

A
  • States cannot deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process
  • ## Substantive and procedural
29
Q

Gender Discrimination

A
  • Intermediate Scrutiny: if intentional or “on its face”
30
Q

Abortion Rights

A
  • Laws restricting abortion evaluated based on whether they create an undue burden
  • Law creates an undue burden if its purpose or effect is to impose a substantial obstacle on women seeking abortions

Constitutional Law (2 decks)

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