IN Con Law Flashcards
(27 cards)
Define a special law.
A law that can apply only to particular persons or locations. A law that appears general in form may nonetheless be special as applied.
What is the test for determining whether legislation constitutes a special law?
(1) Will a general law work? If no, the law is constitutional. If yes,
(2) Is the law special in its application? If yes, the law is unconstitutional.
When will population classifications be upheld?
If:
(1) Population is a rational basis for classification given the subject matter of the statute, and
(2) The population categories are open so that other localities can eventually qualify.
How do courts approach legislation?
Courts are extremely deferential to the legislature.
What is germaneness?
A law must be confined to a single subject and matters properly connected to that subject (there is no federal equivalent).
Under what doctrine must the state consent to being sued?
Sovereign immunity.
What is the Indiana Tort Claims Act?
It permits liability by governmental entities and their employees for torts committed by them, unless the act giving rise to the tort falls within a specific exception delineated in the Act.
May Indiana courts issue advisory opinions?
Yes, unlike federal courts.
What does Indiana’s constitution say re: appeals?
There is an absolute right to one appeal in all cases, civil and criminal.
What does the Indiana constitution say re: separation of powers?
Unlike the federal constitution, the Indiana constitution contains an express provision mandating the powers of the state be distributed among the 3 branches of government. It contains a Separation of Powers clause and a Separation of Functions clause (which prohibits one branch from performing the functions of another).
What is the Delegation Doctrine?
Despite the separation of powers, the IN legislature can delegate discretionary powers to the executive branch to promulgate rules. The only limitation is that reasonable standards must exist to guide the administrative body’s discretion.
What is the holding under Price?
The state cannot impose a “material burden” on a “core constitutional value (e.g. political speech).”
What is political speech defined as?
“Popular comment on public concerns.” It must be directed towards a political actor.
What is the definition of “material burden” for purposes of Price?
If the speech the state seeks to regulate causes a “public nuisance,” that is, the speech merely “disturbs the public order or decorum,” then regulation would impose a material burden on the speech and be unconstitutional.
If the speech causes a “private nuisance,” that is, harm to determinable private persons such that it would be actionable under tort law, then the state’s regulation would not impose a material burden on speech and would be constitutional.
How does Price differ from the First Amendment?
(1) Price broadly protects political speech and there is relatively little protection for nonpolitical speech.
(2) Price focuses solely on the interests of the speaker, whereas federally there is a balancing test between the state’s interest and those of the speaker.
(3) Price does not recognize any distinctions between content-based and content-neutral regulations.
(4) There is no federal corollary to Price’s public/private nuisance distinction.
(5) IN does not recognize the overbreadth doctrine.
Does Indiana’s Freedom of Religion provision provide for greater or lesser protection than the federal First Amendment?
Greater. It also evinces a clear separation between church and state.
What are the seven (7) religion clauses in Indiana’s constitution?
(1) Natural right to worship,
(2) Freedom of religious opinions and rights of conscience,
(3) Freedom of and from religion,
(4) No religious test required for office,
(5) No public money for benefit of religious institutions,
(6) Witness competent regardless of religious opinions, and
(7) Oaths are to be administered in a way that is consistent with the conscience of the oath-taker.
Indiana’s Equal Privileges and Immunities provision is the state corollary to what federal clause?
Equal Protection.
What is the 2-part test to determine whether an action of the legislature grants unequal privileges or immunities to certain classes?
(1) The legislation must be reasonably related to inherent characteristics that distinguish the unequally treated classes, and
(2) The preferential treatment must be uniformly available to all persons similarly situated.
A classification will be upheld so long as _____.
The court can conceive of a rational basis for the classification. There is great deference to the legislature.
What is Indiana’s Due Course of Law federal corollary?
The Due Process clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments.
What is the Open Courts clause?
All courts shall be open, and every person shall have a remedy by due course of law without delay.
How does Indiana’s search and seizure analysis differ from federal analysis?
Indiana employs only a reasonableness inquiry - whether the search or seizure was reasonable.
Federal analysis has a 2-part test:
(1) Does the person exhibit an actual expectation of privacy, and
(2) Does society recognize that expectation as reasonable?
In Indiana, does a person have a right to a jury trial in a civil case?
Yes.
