Constitutional Law Outline
Course Themes
What does the Constitution do? 1. Establishes national government & allocates power among the branches 2. Controls relationship between federal & state government (federalism) 3. Limits governmental power and protects individual rights
Why must we interpret the Constitution? 1. Many important topics not addressed in text 2. Many provisions written in broad language that needs interpretation 3. Constitution rarely functions in absolutes
Common modes of interpretation of Constitution (don’t always work in isolation—often work together) 1. Originalism: limit the meaning to what the text meant at the time it was written a. Original intent: what were the intentions of the people who wrote the Constitution? b. Original understanding: look to what the ratifiers understood the text to mean c. Original public meaning 2. Constitutional purpose: broader inquiries into the purposes & themes of Constitution 3. Historical practice: looked to how government has acted in the past 4. Structuralism: look at the overall structure of the Constitution 5. Process-based theory: Courts primary role is to make a fair process of government but to leave substantive judgments to majority rule 6. Rights based theory: beliefs that government exists primarily to protect individuals from intrusion
Two types of challenges: * As applied – claiming that the statute is uncon as applied in this case * Facial – statute must be struck down entirely, no constitutional applications
Judicial Review: federal courts have the ability to review the constitutionality of decisions and actions of other branches of government
Marbury v. Madison: Courts can order executive/legislative officials to perform non-discretionary duties, but not discretionary acts; Courts can review constitutionality of statutes passed. Only original jurisdiction for specific things: Ambassadors, foreign diplomats, cases in which the state is a party.
Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee: federal courts can review state court determinations of federal/constitutional issues, BUT State Courts are the final arbiters of State Law.
Judicial exclusivity in constitutional interpretation
Cooper v. Aaron: the SCOTUS’s interpretation of constitutional provisions is binding on state officials. The SC is the Exclusive authority for the Constitution.
Dickerson v. US: Congress cannot pass statutes to overrule SCOTUS’s interpretations of Constitutional provisions (whether they are explicitly in the Constitution or inferred from)
Political Restraints on Supreme Court:
Judicial selection
Impeachment of judges
Court-packing
Jurisdiction stripping (Congress can pass statutes preventing federal courts from hearing cases)
Constitutional amendment
Advisory opinions: SCOTUS has refused to give opinions as to a legal issue before there is a real case
Standing: question of whether a particular person/organization is the proper party to present the issue to the court
2 kinds of standing 1. Constitutional: Congress cannot overrule, inferred from Article III of the Con 2. Prudential: Congress can overrule this with a statute
3 prongs of constitutional standing 1. Injury-in-fact 2. Causation 3. Redressability
Injury-in-fact requirement: injury must be concrete, real and imminent
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife: just saying that would want to go to a country to see animals is not an imminent or real injury—need an actual connection
Sierra Club v. Morton: injury to environment is not sufficient, need to show how the actions injure the individual
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency: just because a harm is widely shared, this does not prevent an injury; fact that litigant was a state (quasi-sovereign) meant to relax standing requirements; having the increased risk of something is enough for injury
Causation: the allegedly wrongful
Collin Zaio CRJ 101.100 Pros and Cons I have learned a lot in my Criminal Justice 101 class for the semester. I have learned there are a lot of pros to becoming an officer of the law. But like any other job there are a lot of cons that come with becoming an officer of the law. Which some can say one out ways the other and will force them to make a tough decision whether to follow through with becoming an officer of the law. To become an officer of the law there are a lot of pros that come with getting the…
Opinion Chief Justice ROBERTS delivered an opinion with respect to Parts I-IV. I. In Sebelius, this Court held that the individual mandate was not a valid exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause. National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 132 S.Ct. 2566, 2582 (2012). The revised individual mandate is invalid for virtually identical reasons. The Constitution grants Congress the power to “regulate Commerce.” Art. I, §8, cl.3. This Court…
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable…
The laws on guns have been a major concern in the US lately. With the many deadly shootings that have happened recently for examples the massacre that took place in at the theater in Colorado, and the shooting at the school in Connecticut. It has brought concerns to many of Americans as well as the President. The president wants to come up with a tighter new gun law, but not everyone is in favor of the idea. It seems so easy now days for people to get a hold of guns that at times can spark up…
It can start with reasonable suspicion, which is below probable cause. If an officer has reasonable suspicion they may temporarily detain the person if they believe they have been or is engaged in criminal activity. They also may frisk with reasonable suspicion. The fourth amendment does not allow random searches on people of the public. An officer can’t randomly search you unless he has your permission or if he has reasonable suspicion or probable cause. After you have been arrested for a crime…
Constitutional Law Where does FED or STATE legislature get its power? 1. Congress i. – if abused their powers. It is up to the court to interpret it (Marbury v. Madison) 1. They don’t have the power, because it is not enumerated. Our govt is a govt of enumerated powers, or 2. Power was exceeded 14th Amend. § 5 Kimmel Test to see if the Congress esceeded ii. If breached its limits. There are immunities and privileges of the people and if they pass a law that breaches it Amend 14th §1 then…
the power of Congress to override state sovereignty, even when exercising its otherwise plenary powers to tax or to regulate commerce.” The court found that requiring states to pay their employees the minimum wage violated the Tenth Amendment b/c the law “operates to directly displace the States freedom to structure integral operations in areas of traditional governmental functions.” The court explained that forcing state and local governments to pay their employees the minimum wage would require that…
The pros and cons of voters I.D I am writing this essay to tell you some things about the pros and cons of voter ID. One of the biggest political issues today is the up and coming debates about photo ID laws. This is a law that requires voters to show identification in order to vote. Some states even make you a have a photo ID, and without one you can’t vote. The states that are the strictest on these laws are Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, and Tennessee. First I would like to start you…
Unit 4 Assignment HA545: Unit 4: Project July 7, 2015 Prof. Cardell Bell Attala Young Introduction For many years there have been several discussions about the pros and cons with the use of marijuana. Many states and government have protested the use of cannabis. It has been declared illegal and is harmful to individuals’ health. Many drugs have been tested to prove if usage is harmful or safe. However, cannabis has not been put through the trial of determining its safety…
Ryan Davis English Comp 123 ERAU What was it like before "Equal Opportunity" was mandated and how effective is it? It is an interesting thought, and idea to grasp how exactly society functioned before there were equal opportunity laws being implemented across organizations, and workplaces. Furthermore, how exactly these changes were made, and how effective are they? Many people to this day are still very much prejudice towards certain types of races, groups, sexual preferences, sex, size, etc. So…