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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

PROFESSOR JOHN C. JEFFRIES, JR.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW

CHAPTER 1: THE JUDICIAL POWER

Exam Tip 1: The bar exam asks you what the law IS. Not what it should be.

The examiners test only doctrine.

A. Source, Scope, and Limitations

• Source: Article III

• Scope: The jurisdiction of federal courts is limited to cases or controversies.

• Limitations: The Eleventh Amendment and State Sovereign Immunity

o Article III lists the kinds of cases that come within the judicial power of the United States—

the most important are diversity jurisdiction (i.e., disputes between citizens of different

states) and federal question jurisdiction (i.e., cases arising under federal law).

o A major exception to the judicial power is created by the

______________________________ Amendment and by the preexisting concept of state

sovereign immunity.

 Rule: You cannot sue a state for ______________________________ damages in either

state or federal court unless the state ______________________________ or the U.S.

Congress expressly says so to enforce ______________________________Amendment

rights.

• Note that the Eleventh Amendment protects states and state agencies, not

______________________________ governments (i.e., no immunity for cities,

counties, or towns).

• Note also that a state’s sovereign immunity applies in both

______________________________ and ______________________________

court, unless the state consents, or Congress expressly says so to enforce

Fourteenth Amendment rights.

o When enforcing individual rights, Congress can

______________________________ state sovereign immunity.

o It can force states to pay money damages for violating individual rights, but it

must say so expressly.

o Any lack of clarity will ______________________________ damages.

 If you can’t sue a state, then whom can you sue? Answer: A

______________________________.

• Injunctive relief—you can always get injunctive relief simply by enjoining the

appropriate state officer (e.g., sue the state attorney general)

• Money damages—you can also get money damages, but only from the officer

______________________________ for some kind of constitutional tort

• Damages from the state treasury are barred (unless the state consents or Congress

expressly says so to enforce individual rights).

B. Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

1. Original Jurisdiction

A case may be filed first in the Supreme Court (controversies between states, mostly).

2. Appellate Jurisdiction

Mostly, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is appellate.

a. Certiorari

 Almost all cases come to the Supreme Court by way of writ of certiorari.

 The key factor is that granting a writ of certiorari is ______________________________

with the court.

 The Supreme Court is the ______________________________ federal court that

exercises discretionary jurisdiction.

b. Limitations on the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction

 Congress can make exceptions to the Court’s appellate jurisdiction (i.e., Congress can

effectively control the Supreme Court’s docket (its appellate jurisdiction) by legislating

exceptions to its appellate jurisdiction).

c. Adequate and Independent State Grounds (AISG)

 Arises only in the U.S. Supreme Court, and it arises only when the Supreme Court

reviews a ______________________________ judgment.

Exam Tip 2: Frequently tested topic

 Rule: The Supreme Court can review a state court judgment only if it turned on

______________________________ grounds. The court has no jurisdiction if the

judgment below rested on an adequate and independent

______________________________ ground.

• Adequate: The state ground must control the decision no matter how a federal

issue is decided. When does this happen? When the federal claimant (i.e., the

party asserting a federal right) wins anyway under state law.

Example 1: A criminal defendant objects to the legality of a search and seeks

to suppress the evidence under both the Fourth Amendment and under the

analogous search and seizure provision of the state’s constitution. Suppose the

state court says it is unsure about the Fourth Amendment, but under the state

law, the search was illegal and the evidence must be suppressed. This kind of

case cannot be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court—the federal claimant wins

anyway under state law. Whether the evidence would also be suppressed under

federal law simply does not matter.

Note 1: Remember this key point: The U.S. Constitution is a floor, not a ceiling,

for individual rights. A state court interpreting a state constitution can always

give you more protection. A state can never give you less than the federal

constitution requires.

• Independent: The state law does not ______________________________ on an

interpretation of federal law. No AISG if state law adopts or follows federal law.

• When a state court decision is unclear as to the basis of the decision (i.e., whether it

is based on the state constitution or the federal constitution), the Supreme Court

______________________________ the federal issue.

o If the Supreme Court agrees with the state court’s decision of federal law, it

affirms the decision.

o If the Supreme Court disagrees with the state court’s understanding of the

federal issue, it remands the case to state court, so that the state court can

reconsider state law.

Example 2: Michigan v. Long: The defendant moved to suppress evidence

under both the Fourth Amendment and the analogous search and seizure

provision of the Michigan Constitution. The highest state court ruled in the

defendant’s favor, holding that the evidence must be suppressed, but cited state

cases and federal cases indiscriminately (i.e., it did not make clear whether it

was illegal as a matter of state law or federal law, or both). The Supreme Court

took the case, reviewed the federal issue, found that the search was valid, that

the evidence could lawfully be used under the Fourth Amendment, and

remanded the case to the Michigan Supreme Court to reconsider whether the

search was lawful under the state constitution.

Exam Tip 3: Again, remember that the U.S. Constitution is a

___________________, not a ____________________________. State law can

always provide more rights.

CHAPTER 2: THE JUDICIAL POWER (CONT’D): CONCEPTS OF JUSTICIABILITY

A. Standing to Sue

Standing requires ______________________________, ______________________________, and

______________________________.

1. Injury

o Almost anything can be injury, especially if Congress says so (either past or future).

o Must be ______________________________ (not abstract), but need not be economic

 If your freedom of movement or enjoyment of public space is impaired, that constitutes

injury.

o Mere ______________________________ objection is not injury.

o An organization has standing if its ______________________________ have standing.

2. Causation

o A defendant’s conduct has caused or will cause the injury.

3. Redressability

o A court can remedy or redress the injury.

o If the injury is in the past, the remedy is ______________________________.

o If future injury is threatened, the remedy is an ______________________________.

o Past injury does not give automatic standing to seek an injunction for future injury. To get

an injunction, you must show that it will happen again.

4. Standing Examples and Commonly Tested Standing Issues

Example 3: Corporation A applies for a business license, but is turned down.

Corporation B applies for the same license and gets it. Corporation A sues to

enjoin the government from licensing Corporation B. Does Corporation A have

standing? ______________________________. Denying the license to

Corporation B would not redress the wrong to Corporation A. The wrong to

Corporation A was a wrongful denial of a license. Corporation A should sue for

its own license.

o Federal taxpayers always have standing to challenge their own tax liability. However,

taxpayers do not have standing to challenge government expenditures.

 Narrow exception under the Establishment Clause: An establishment of religion

challenge to ______________________________ congressional appropriations can be

raised by ______________________________. (Note also that state courts often allow

municipal taxpayers to challenge a municipality’s expenditures.)

o Legislative standing

 Legislators do not have standing to challenge laws that they voted

______________________________.

 In some circumstances, the legislature itself as a body may have standing, if the claim

concerns its institutional functions.

• Occasional legislature standing, but no legislator standing.

o “Third-party standing” refers to the question of whether you can raise the rights of someone

else.

 Generally, the answer is ______________________________.

 Exception: Parties to an ______________________________ or

______________________________ can raise the rights of other parties to that

exchange or transaction.

Example 4: Doctors who were not compensated for providing abortion

services can raise the rights of women who wanted to have abortions provided.

The doctor has injury because he was not paid but he wants to raise the rights

of his patient to have an abortion, not his own. The doctor and the patient are

involved in an exchange or transaction.

Example 5: A seller of beer in a saloon can raise the rights of 18-year-old boys

to buy beer at the same age as 18-year-old girls. The saloon keeper is injured

because she is not making money. She wants to raise the rights of the underage

boys because that is gender discrimination. She can raise the claims of those

customers or would-be customers because they are parties to an exchange or

transaction.

B. Timeliness (Ripeness and Mootness)

• Ripeness concerns prematurity of a case. You must show ______________________________

or an ______________________________ threat of harm.

• Mootness cases are overripe and are dismissed whenever they become moot. Cases can

become moot during trial or on appeal.

o Exception: Controversies capable of ______________________________, yet evading

______________________________, are not moot, even though they look like it.

 Such controversies always have an internal time limit (e.g., pregnancies and abortion).

C. Advisory Opinions

• Federal courts cannot issue advisory opinions.

• Federal courts cannot rule on the constitutionality of ______________________________

legislation.

Exam Tip 4: Commonly tested

Example 6: Disputes about federal grants and aid projects were to be

litigated in federal court, but the statute also provided that the court’s

judgment would be given effect only if the head of the relevant federal agency

agreed with it. This is an unconstitutional advisory opinion. Federal courts

decide cases; they do not make recommendations to executive officers.

D. Political Questions

• A non-justiciable question when it is inappropriate for judicial resolution

o The issue is committed to another branch of government for decision;

o There are no manageable standards for adjudication.

• Examples of non-justiciable political questions include:

o ______________________________ Clause (protecting the republican form of

government);

o Foreign affairs, e.g., opening or breaking off diplomatic relations with another country;

Example 7: Congress enacted a law stating that American citizens born in

Jerusalem could list Israel as their place of birth on their passports, which the

executive branch challenged. The Court held that a dispute over the regulation

of passports is somewhat related to foreign affairs but is nonetheless justiciable.

o ______________________________ procedures; and

o Political gerrymandering (drawing districts to establish a political advantage of one party

over another).

 Political gerrymandering can violate equal protection; but

 The court has found no judicially manageable standards for determining what is and

what is not acceptable in the area of drawing districts.

CHAPTER 3: THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

A. Introduction

• In theory, the federal government is a government of ______________________________

powers. In fact, the federal government can do almost anything it likes, so long as it does not

violate individual rights.

Exam Tip 5: On the Multistate exam, you’ll be given a federal statute, and

you’ll be asked to identify the strongest argument in favor of congressional

power for passing that legislation. Three wrong answers:

i) Promoting the ______________________________ is not a power of

Congress;

ii) The federal government does not have a general

______________________________;

______________________________ is not a free-standing power of

Congress. It works only as an add-on to some other legislative power.

• There are many powers of Congress, but the three big ones for the bar exam are: Taxing,

spending, and commerce.

Exam Tip 6: The general rule for the bar exam:

i) Pick the ______________________________ power when the law

involves a tax;

ii) Pick the ______________________________ power whenever federal

money is spent or disbursed;

iii) When in doubt, pick the ______________________________ power.

Example 8: There is a federal law that states that every state that receives

federal highway funds has to limit its speed limit to 65 mph. What is the

strongest argument Congress has to accomplish this? Answer: The

______________________________ clause. What if the law simply caps the

highway speeds at 65 mph without saying anything about federal highway

funds? Answer: Regulation of ______________________________.

B. The Powers

1. The Commerce Power

o Almost anything can be regulated as interstate commerce.

o Congress can regulate:

 The ______________________________ of interstate commerce (highways, seaways,

airways, etc.);

 The ______________________________ of interstate commerce (cars, trucks, railroads,

ships, etc.); and

 Intrastate (and interstate) activity (economic or commercial) that has a

______________________________ on interstate commerce.

• Substantial effect is judged in the ______________________________. The

question is whether the aggregate activity of everyone doing the same thing has a

substantial effect on interstate commerce, and the answer is almost always yes.

• Not within the Commerce Clause: For non-economic, non-commercial activity,

Congress can regulate intrastate actions only by actually demonstrating a

substantial effect on interstate commerce (substantial effect is presumed for

economic or commercial activity). Thus, Congress cannot regulate purely intrastate,

non-commercial, non-economic activity for which a substantial effect on interstate

commerce has not been shown.

Example 9: Wickard v. Filburn (wheat growing case where growing crops for

sale was judged in the aggregate and a substantial effect was demonstrated)

Example 10: Gonzales v. Raich (where the cultivation and medical use of

marijuana was judged in the aggregate and a substantial effect was

demonstrated)

Example 11: United States v. Lopez (a statute prohibited possession of a

firearm within 1000 feet of a school—it could not be proved that it was an

economic or commercial activity, and it could not be demonstrated that there

was a substantial effect on interstate commerce)

Example 12: United States v. Morrison (a statute provided a federal remedy for

gender-motivated violence—it could not be shown that, in the aggregate, the

activity had a substantial effect on interstate commerce)

Example 13: 2012 Affordable Health Care case (the individual mandate

required individuals to buy health insurance or to pay a penalty for not doing

so—the Court said that forcing individuals who are not engaged in commercial

or economic activities to buy health insurance they do not want cannot be

sustained as a regulation of interstate commerce.)

2. The Taxing and Spending Power

Think of these as separate powers even though they are lumped together in one clause.

a. Taxing

 The Taxing Clause is the right answer whenever Congress imposes a

______________________________, even when the tax is actually used to prohibit the

good or activity in question.

 The tax need only be ______________________________ to raising revenue.

Example 14: 2012 Affordable Health Care case—the individual mandate was

not sustained as a regulation of interstate commerce, but it was held to be valid

under the taxing power. The individual who chooses not to buy health

insurance must pay a tax, and the taxing power supports anything that is

rationally related to raising revenue.

b. Spending

 The Spending Power includes spending for the ______________________________.

 Congress can use the Spending Power to accomplish things it could not do by direct

regulation under the Commerce Clause.

Example 15: South Dakota v. Dole—The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition

and gave states the power to control the regulation and consumption of

alcohol. As a result, Congress likely cannot directly regulate the drinking age in

the states. Thus, in order to pass a 21-year-old drinking age law, Congress

passed a “bribe.” If states wanted to receive federal highway funds, they had to

raise their drinking age to a minimum of 21 years of age.

3. Anti-Commandeering

o Congress cannot force states to adopt or enforce ______________________________

programs. It cannot commandeer state and local agencies to implement federal programs.

Example 16: The Brady Gun-Control Act required background checks for people

wanting to purchase firearms, and it required that state and local law

enforcement carry out those background checks. The Supreme Court said this

was unconstitutional.

o What can Congress do to enforce regulatory programs?

 It can bribe states through use of the ______________________________ power.

 It can adopt its own regulatory program and enforce it with federal officers.

4. The War and Defense Powers

o Congress has the power to ______________________________ and the power to maintain

the Army and Navy.

o Congress has the power to provide for military discipline of U.S. military personnel.

o Congress can provide for military trial of enemy combatants and enemy civilians.

o Congress cannot provide for ______________________________ trial of U.S. citizens who

are civilians.

CHAPTER 4: THE LEGISLATIVE POWER (CONT’D): THE POWER TO ENFORCE THE CIVIL WAR

AMENDMENTS

A. Thirteenth Amendment

• Congress has broad power to legislate against ______________________________

discrimination, whether ______________________________ or

______________________________.

• Includes purely private racial discrimination

B. Fourteenth Amendment

• Congress has the power to ______________________________ violations of

______________________________ rights by the government, but only as those rights have

been defined by the courts.

o Does not enable Congress to redefine constitutional rights by legislation

o Only permits Congress to adopt remedies reasonably designed to enforce individual rights

as they have been defined by the courts

• To be properly remedial, the legislation must have “congruence” and “proportionality.” That is,

there has to be a ______________________________ between the remedial law enacted by

Congress and the constitutional right as defined by the Supreme Court.

Example 17: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)

Overview: Neutral, generally applicable regulations of conduct can validly be

applied despite religious objections. Everyone can be made to obey the law

whether they believe in it or not.

Background: Religious individuals often claimed a right of accommodation of

religious belief. They claimed that laws valid against everyone else could not be

enforced against religious objectors unless the government showed a compeling

interest. That claim was rejected by the Supreme Court, which held that neutral

regulations of conduct could be enforced against anyone, including religious

objectors.

Congress disagreed with the Supreme Court and passed RFRA, which declared

that religious believers have the right not to obey otherwise valid laws, unless

the government can show a compelling interest in enforcing the law against

them.

The Supreme Court struck down RFRA, as it went beyond federal legislative

power, because it was not really remedial. It was not narrowly aimed at the

kinds of laws the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional—laws aimed at

religion.

Congress could have made it a crime for the government to discriminate against

religious belief. Congress could have said that any government or government

official who discriminated against religious belief had to pay money damages.

Congress could give the Department of Justice special enforcement powers to

look into religious discrimination and make sure it is rooted out. All of these

actions would have been reasonable remedies against a recognized

constitutional violation of discrimination against religious belief.

In RFRA, Congress said even non-discriminatory laws were invalid unless the

government showed a compelling interest. That, said the Supreme Court, was

not an attempt to enforce the Free Exercise right against religious

discrimination as it had been defined by the court. Rather, it was an attempt to

overturn the Court’s decision about what the Constitution did and did not

protect. Therefore, RFRA was struck down as beyond the federal legislative

power.

Note: RFRA was unconstitutional only as it applied to states and localities.

Requiring states and localities to accommodate religious belief was found to be

beyond Congress’s power under the 14th Amendment. However, Congress is

free to accommodate religious belief in the exercise of its undoubted federal

powers (e.g., Congress’s powers over the Army and the Navy, the District of

Columbia, etc.). When Congress exercised its federal powers, it may choose to

accommodate religious believers, but Congress has no power to force that

policy on the states.

C. Fifteenth Amendment

Congress has the power to ensure there is no racial discrimination in voting.

Exam Tip 7: On exam day, be on the lookout for Congressional acts that mirror

RFRA. Remember that such acts are generally valid as to Congress, but invalid

as applied to the states and localities.

CHAPTER 5: THE EXECUTIVE POWER AND INTERBRANCH RELATIONS

A. The Powers of the President—Domestic

• Has the power to ______________________________ the law, not to make it or break it

• The power to enforce is greatest when authorized by ______________________________.

Generally speaking, the President’s powers are subject to control by statute.

• Few powers that are exclusively executive and, therefore, not subject to statutory control:

o Pardon Power: The President can pardon or commute punishment for any and all

______________________________ offenses. (Governors have a similar power for state

crimes.) This power cannot be limited by Congress.

o Veto Power: The President has ______________________________ days to veto legislation.

The President can veto for any reason or no reason, but cannot veto specific provisions in

the legislation and accept others.

 Overriding a veto requires a ______________________________ majority vote of each

house.

o Appointment and Removal of Executive Officers: Only the President (or his appointees) can

______________________________ or ______________________________ executive

officers. Some senior officers (e.g., cabinet officers, ambassadors, federal judges) require

the advice and consent of the Senate. The Senate has a power of

______________________________. The Senate’s approval power does not translate into a

power of appointment.

 Who are executive officers? Anyone who ______________________________ on

behalf of the U.S.

 Just as Congress cannot hire or fire an executive officer, it cannot give executive power

to any officer it can hire or fire.

Exam Tip 8: The question tells you that a certain officer is appointed by

Congress (e.g., the Speaker of the House), and is therefore under legislative

control. Then, someone proposes legislation that gives the officer executive

po we r. Once the officer is under legislative control, any attempt to give the

officer executive power is unconstitutional.

B. The Powers of the President—Foreign Affairs

• Commander in Chief: The President has control over military decisions, although Congress has

exclusive power to ______________________________.

o Congress can cut off funding to military actions.

• Treaties and Executive Agreements

o Treaties are negotiated by the President, but require approval by a

______________________________ vote of the Senate. Once a treaty is ratified

(approved), it has the same authority as a statute.

o Executive agreements are presidential negotiations not submitted for approval by the

Senate. They can be authorized, precluded, or overridden by statute, but they take

precedence over conflicting state laws. They do not have the binding status of a treaty.

C. Interbranch Relations

1. Congressional Limits on the Executive

a. Impeachment

 Applies to executive officers (e.g., President, Vice President, cabinet officers, federal

judges)

 An accusation passed by the House of Representatives requiring a

______________________________ vote.

 Once impeached, the person is tried in the Senate.

 Conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

 Impeachment and conviction lead to ______________________________ from office.

No other penalty applies.

b. Impoundment

 If a statute gives the President discretion to spend or withhold funds, he may do so.

 But, if a statute unambiguously requires that certain funds be spent on certain

purposes, then the President cannot refuse to do so. There is no power to

______________________________ (withhold) funds.

c. Legislative Veto

 Unconstitutional;

 It arises when Congress passes a law reserving to itself the right to disapprove future

executive actions by simple ______________________________.

 If Congress wants to override executive actions, it must

______________________________ the law (so that the President has an opportunity

to veto the new legislation).

 Congress cannot evade the President’s guaranteed veto opportunity by passing a law

saying that in the future it plans to govern by resolution.

2. Delegation of Powers

o Congress can delegate its power to administrative agencies, so long as there are intelligible

standards governing the exercise of that delegated power.

o Not a demanding test—almost all delegations of legislative powers are upheld.

3. Immunities

a. The President

 Has ______________________________ immunity from liability for official acts (broadly

construed)

 Has no immunity for acts done ______________________________ to taking office

 Has an ______________________________ privilege not to reveal confidential

communications with presidential advisers, but that privilege can be outweighed by a

______________________________ need in a criminal prosecution (U.S. v. Nixon)

b. Judges

Judges have absolute immunity for all ______________________________ acts, but may be

liable for non-judicial acts (e.g., employment discrimination).

c. Legislators

 United States Senators and Representatives (not state legislators) are protected by the

______________________________ Clause.

 Senators and Congressmen and their aides cannot be

______________________________ or ______________________________ in relation

to their ______________________________ acts.

• The official acts of a federal legislator cannot be introduced into evidence.

CHAPTER 6: THE FEDERAL SYSTEM

A. Federal and State Powers

• Even though federal powers are superior, most federal powers are

______________________________ with those of the states. (On most topics, both Congress

and the states have regulatory powers. If there is a conflict, Congress wins.)

• Some powers are exclusively federal. They include the power over foreign relations and the

power to coin money.

B. Intergovernmental Immunities

• The federal government is generally ______________________________ from direct state

regulation or taxation. However, states can tax indirectly (e.g., taxing the income of federal

employees).

• States are not immune from direct federal regulation (e.g., pollution regulations, employment

laws, etc.).

• States cannot ______________________________ state officers from federal liability for

violating federal constitutional rights.

• Exception: The anti-commandeering principle covered in Chapter 3. States cannot be forced to

carry out federal programs. The federal government can always use the spending power to

bribe states to comply.

C. State Regulation and Taxation of Commerce

1. Privileges and Immunities of State Citizenship under Article IV (Comity Clause)

o Technically, a subject of individual rights, but functionally belongs here because of its

similarity to the next subject (Dormant Commerce Clause).

o Forbids serious ______________________________ against

______________________________ individuals, absent substantial justification.

 Does not protect out-of-state ______________________________.

 “Serious discrimination” typically involves employment.

o Rule: There can be no legal requirement of ______________________________ for

______________________________ employment. States cannot require that you live or

reside in the state to work in the state. However, public employment can require residency

requirements.

Example 18: A law that requires all cab drivers to live in the city is not valid.

 Examples of private employment requirements (can’t depend on residency): Admission

to the bar; other occupational licenses.

 Examples of public employment (can depend on residency): A city hiring only city

residents or requiring a certain percentage of city residents on city construction

projects.

o Non-serious discrimination: States can discriminate with regard to recreational

opportunities, such as hunting licenses or state park access.

2. Dormant Commerce Clause

o More important than Privileges and Immunities of Article IV because it protects out-of-state

______________________________ as well as out-of-state individuals.

o “Dormant” describes what the Commerce Clause means in the absence of federal regulation

(when the federal commerce power is unexercised).

o Rule: In the absence of federal regulation, state regulation of commerce is valid so long as:

1) There is no ______________________________ against out-of-state interests;

2) The regulation does not ______________________________ interstate commerce; and

3) The regulation does not apply to wholly extraterritorial activity.

a. No discrimination against out-of-state interests

 Examples include: forbidding sale of only out-of-state products; taxing out-of-state

products at a higher rate; requiring that manufacturing be performed in-state.

Example 19: A state law said that metal ore mined in the state must be

processed in the state (i.e., refined) before it could be shipped out of the state.

The state law is unconstitutional because it discriminates against out-of-state

metal refiners.

Example 20: A law limiting landfills to in-state garbage is unconstitutional

because it discriminates against out-of-state garbage.

 Hypothetically ok if there is a substantial state interest and no other non-discriminatory

means is available; this is incredibly rare.

 Exceptions to no discrimination against out-of-state interests:

• State as Market Participant—When a state is ______________________________

or ______________________________ goods or services, it can choose to deal with

only in-state persons.

o Examples include: Sale of cement produced by state-owned plant only to in-

state purchasers; garbage stored in state-owned landfill limited to in-state

garbage; law requiring 50% local workforce on state-financed construction

projects.

• Subsidies—A state can always choose to subsidize only its own citizens (for

example, welfare benefits or in-state college tuition).

• Federal Approval—Remember, the Dormant Commerce Clause applies only in the

______________________________ of federal action. If Congress

______________________________ or ______________________________ to

state regulation of commerce, nothing the state does will violate the Commerce

Clause, even if it discriminates against out-of-state interests.

Exam Tip 9: Commonly tested on the MBE

b. No undue burdens on interstate commerce

 Non-discriminatory state regulation of commerce is almost always upheld.

 Only when it is so outrageously ______________________________ relative to the

benefits of the regulation is a non-discriminatory state regulation struck down as an

undue burden on interstate commerce.

 This is a balancing test, but non-discriminatory regulations are rarely struck down.

c. No regulation of wholly extraterritorial activity

 A state may not regulate conduct occurring wholly beyond its borders.

Example 21: Connecticut tried to legislate that beer sold in Connecticut could

not be sold at a price different from the price of beer sold in other states.

CHAPTER 7: STATE TAXATION OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE, PREEMPTION, AND RELATIONS AMONG

STATES

A. State Taxation of Interstate Commerce

• Generally, the requirements are the same as for any other state regulation of commerce:

Discriminatory taxation will be struck down unless Congress

______________________________, and non-discriminatory taxation will be upheld unless it is

unduly ______________________________.

o Non-discriminatory taxation is valid if the following two requirements are met:

1) ______________________________ between the taxing state and the property or

activity to be taxed

• “Substantial nexus” does not require any kind of physical presence.

2) Must be a ______________________________ of tax liability among states

Example 22: A state may tax the in-state portion of a corporation’s revenue

but cannot tax the entire world-wide activity of the corporation.

• Ad Valorem Property Taxes (value-based property taxes)

o Levied on personal property

o Distinguish between two kinds of personal property because they are taxed differently:

 Commodities are the goods that move from state to state.

• States tax all commodities within their borders on a specified date (called tax day),

but not goods that are merely in transit—the commodities have to come to rest in

the state.

• Rule: Pay the full tax to every state where goods are stopped for a

______________________________ on tax day. No taxes are due where they are

merely ______________________________.

 Instrumentalities are the transportation equipment that moves commodities (railroads,

trucks, airplanes, etc.)

• Fair apportionment of tax liability among states with a substantial nexus to the

instrumentality.

• Each state in which an instrumentality is used can tax the value of that

instrumentality.

Example 23: A long-haul trucker drives his rig from Maine to California. Every

state through which the truck passes can tax the truck itself but each state can

only tax a portion of the truck’s value, roughly equal to the portion of in-state

use. The state of the taxpayer’s domicile taxes the full value of the truck, then

turns around and gives a credit to every state that asserts taxation when the

truck uses its highways. You end up with a scheme of fair apportionment of tax

liability among those states with a substantial nexus to the truck. The

commodities in the truck cannot be taxed if they are merely passing through;

they must stop for a business purpose on tax day.

B. Preemption

• Federal law preempts (overrides) ______________________________ state law.

• State law is not preempted simply because it addresses the same subject matter or topic as a

federal statute. There must be incompatibility or conflict.

Example 24: Federal law provides automobile emissions must be at least 95%

pure. California adopts a more stringent requirement requiring CA emissions be

98% pure. Is this state law preempted? No. There is no conflict—you can

comply with both of those standards.

• Preempting the Field: When Congress determines that there should be no state law of any sort

in a particular field, then any state law in that area is inconsistent with the federal statute and is

preempted. This is rare.

C. Relations Among States

• Interstate compacts are agreements among states. States can make interstate compacts, but if

the compact affects ______________________________ rights, Congress must approve.

• Full Faith and Credit Clause: States do not have to follow other states’ laws, but they do have to

give full faith and credit to ______________________________ rendered by other states’

courts, so long as the rendering court had ______________________________ to render a final

judgment on the merits.

CHAPTER 8: STATE ACTION AND PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

A. State Action

• The 13th Amendment (outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude) applies

______________________________ to private parties and individuals, but it is narrow in its

focus.

• Other individual rights apply to states and localities through the

______________________________ Amendment, which requires state action.

• “State action” means ______________________________ action, whether state or local (e.g., a

county firing a sheriff is state action; a city denying a permit is state action).

• Most state action is clear, but not always. Government cannot be significantly involved in

private discrimination.

o Significant state involvement:

 Government cannot ______________________________ private discrimination.

 Government cannot ______________________________ a private agreement to

discriminate.

 But, government is not required to ______________________________ private

discrimination.

o Generally, the government acts constitutionally so long as its own conduct is neutral and

even-handed (e.g., trespass laws, liquor licenses for private clubs).

• Anti-Discrimination Statutes

o State action is required to show a violation of the Constitution.

o State action is ______________________________ if there is anti-discrimination legislation.

B. Procedural Due Process—the Right to Notice and a Hearing

1. Consists of two questions:

1) Is ______________________________, ______________________________, or

______________________________ being taken?

2) If life, liberty, or property is being taken, what process is due?

2. Breakdown of loss of life, liberty, and property

o Life: Death penalty requires procedural due process

o Liberty: Physical confinement, probation and parole, physical injury (such as a spanking in

school), any restriction on legal rights (including being punished for free speech). Injury to

______________________________ is not a loss of liberty.

o Property

Exam Tip 10: Out of the three, property is the most heavily tested. Most of the

questions in this area concern government jobs or benefits.

 You have a property interest in your government job or benefit whenever you have a

legitimate ______________________________ to continued enjoyment of the job or

benefit.

 A mere expectation of continued employment or benefit does not suffice.

 Most government benefits are entitlements, and hence property.

 How can you tell whether you have an entitlement to a government job or whether you

have a mere expectation of government employment?

• Government jobs are entitlements only when the government says so—such as by

providing a contractual term or discharge only “for cause.”

Example 25: You are hired as the city planner and the boss says, “This job has

a term of five years. You will not be fired during that five-year term except for

cause.” You have a property right in that job for five years.

Example 26: Barnes was an assistant professor at a state community college.

He had a three-year teaching contract and under state law, five years was

required for tenure. At the end of three years, his contract was not renewed,

and he sued. What is his strongest argument that he should get notice and a

hearing?

A. He was the best teacher in the school.

B. He was the only teacher not rehired.

C. He was so sure of success that he moved his elderly parents to town to care for them.

D. He had an oral promise of re-employment from the president of the college.

Answer choice ______________________________ is the correct answer

because the president is acting as the government, and arguably Barnes had an

entitlement to continued employment.

What is the strongest argument against Barnes receiving notice and a hearing?

Answer: He had a three-year contract that ended.

o Deprivation: Notice and a hearing are not required when there is an accident. Random

negligence by a state employee does not constitute a deprivation of life, liberty, or property

(e.g., death by a municipal garbage truck). Deprivation requires the intentional taking away

of life, liberty, or property.

3. If life, liberty, or property is being taken by the government, what process is due?

o Procedural due process is variable, and the types of hearings can range from casual to very

elaborate.

o To decide what kind of process is due, the courts balance three factors:

1) The ______________________________ at stake (life, liberty, property);

2) The ______________________________ in protecting that interest; and

3) The ______________________________ in efficiency and cost.

o Timing of the hearings

 Sometimes, a hearing must occur before the deprivation.

• Examples include: Terminating welfare benefits; non-emergency revocations of

driver’s licenses.

 Sometimes, the hearing can occur after the action, so long as the hearing is

______________________________ and ______________________________.

• Examples include: Terminating disability benefits; disciplinary suspension from a

public secondary school.

o Public employees who can be fired only “for cause” must be given some opportunity to be

heard ______________________________ to discharge, unless there is a

______________________________ not to keep the employee on the job. If there is a

significant reason not to keep a person on the job, then the discharge can come first with a

subsequent hearing that is prompt and provides reinstatement with back pay (fair).

Example 27: A police officer charged with a crime can be suspended

immediately because there is a significant reason not to keep him or her on the

job. The hearing can come afterwards, but it must be prompt and provide

reinstatement with back pay if the charges are ultimately unfounded.

CHAPTER 9: SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS

A. Standards of Review

• Both substantive due process and equal protection have the same three standards of review.

1. Strict Scrutiny

o Is the law ______________________________ for a ______________________________

government interest?

o Implicit in strict scrutiny is the requirement for the least restrictive means.

o When strict scrutiny applies, the ______________________________ bears the burden of

proof. The government must show that the interest is compelling and the law is necessary

to that interest.

o Applies when there is a ______________________________ classification or a

______________________________ right

2. Intermediate Scrutiny

o Is the law ______________________________ related to an

______________________________ government interest?

o Applies to classifications based on ______________________________ and

______________________________.

Note 2: While three standards of review are available in both substantive due

process and equal protection claims, intermediate scrutiny has only ever been

used to decide cases based on equal protection grounds.

3. Rational Basis

o Is the law ______________________________ related to a

______________________________ interest?

o The ______________________________ bears the burden of proof of showing that this

standard is not met.

o Very easy for government to pass

o Applies to all other cases (residual test)

B. Fundamental Rights

• Triggers the strict scrutiny test under both due process and equal protection

1. Due Process versus Equal Protection

o If a law denies a fundamental right to everyone, it violates

______________________________.

o If a law denies a fundamental right to only some, it violates

______________________________.

2. Travel

o We have a fundamental right of ______________________________ and settlement.

o States can impose reasonable residency requirements for

______________________________ and ______________________________.

 Most are 30–90 days

 One year is too long for everything except ______________________________ and

jurisdiction to issue a ______________________________.

o All residents have a right to be treated equally. A state cannot have a tax scheme that

favors long-term residents over recently arrived residents.

3. Voting and Ballot Access

o Voting is a fundamental right to all ______________________________ age 18 and over.

 ______________________________ are unconstitutional because they burden the

fundamental right to vote.

 Short-term (e.g., 30 days) residency requirements are permitted.

 Congress controls the residency requirements for ______________________________

elections. States control residency requirements for all other elections.

o Ballot access

 States can impose requirements for candidates to be listed on a ballot, such as longer

residency, filing fees, and nomination petitions, so long as serious candidates can

reasonably comply.

 If the requirements become so onerous that they effectively bar access to the ballot,

then they are unconstitutional.

4. Privacy

a. Marriage

There are all sorts of requirements for marriage (e.g., age or restriction on marrying close

relatives), but substantial interference with the marriage—including same-sex marriage—is

unconstitutional.

b. Contraception

It is a fundamental right for everyone, whether married or not, to purchase contraceptives.

c. Sexual intimacy

Perhaps not technically a fundamental right—the Supreme Court found that the

government has no ______________________________ in regulating non-commercial

sexual intimacy between consenting adults, including same-sex couples.

d. Abortion

 Roe v. Wade: A woman has a right to terminate her pregnancy until viability of the fetus.

After that stage, restrictions can apply so long as there are exceptions to preserve the

life and health of the mother.

 States regulate abortion in a variety of ways, but they cannot impose an

______________________________ on the woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.

• Informed-consent requirements are ______________________________.

• Twenty-four hour waiting periods are ______________________________.

• Parental ______________________________ requirements (for minors) are

allowed.

• Parental ______________________________ requirements are generally not

allowed.

o Narrow exception for requirement that an underage female get the consent of a

parent or a judge, but requires the judge to give consent if the underage female

understands the nature of the act.

• ______________________________ requirements are not allowed.

• Government financing of abortion is ______________________________.

e. Parental rights

 Parents have a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit, including the

choice of religious or ______________________________ schools.

 Can lose their rights through abandonment, ______________________________, or

neglect

f. Family relations

 Includes the right to live together with close relatives

g. Obscene material

 Fundamental right to read obscene material in the privacy of one’s own home.

 However, no fundamental right to purchase, sell, import, or distribute such material.

 Does not apply to ______________________________.

h. Refusal of medical treatment

 Not clear whether this is a fundamental right, but there is a liberty interest in refusing

medical treatment

 No right to commit suicide

CHAPTER 10: EQUAL PROTECTION (RACE, ETHNICITY, AND NATIONAL ORIGIN)

A. General Considerations

• Privileges or Immunities of National Citizenship under the 14th Amendment—means nothing

today (so it is never the correct answer on the MBE)

Note 3: Privileges and Immunities of ______________________________

Citizenship Clause in Article IV (Comity Clause) has a narrow but important

meaning. It prohibits serious discrimination against out-of-state individuals,

especially in the context of access to the ______________________________

job market, i.e. prohibits requiring those who work in the state to live in the

state.

• Two Due Process Clauses

o Fifth Amendment applies to the federal government.

o Fourteenth Amendment applies to ______________________________ and

______________________________.

• One Equal Protection Clause—found in the 14th Amendment

o Applies to localities and states

Note 4: Though no Equal Protection Clause guarantee technically applies to

the ______________________________ government, equal protection

concepts are applied to the federal government via the Due Process Clause of

the Fifth Amendment. Therefore, states and localities have both equal

protection and due process; for the federal government, equal protection and

due process are called Fifth Amendment Due Process.

B. Standards of Review—Same for Due Process and Equal Protection

• Strict scrutiny, i.e., is the law necessary for a compelling interest?

• Intermediate scrutiny, i.e., is the law ______________________________ related to an

______________________________ government interest?

• Rational basis, i.e., is the law ______________________________related to a

______________________________ government interest?

o Rational basis test is generally easily passed. However, recent Supreme Court cases have

made exceptions in the field of sexual orientation.

 In the 2003 Lawrence case, the Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing

homosexual sodomy using language suggesting the laws did not pass the rational basis

test as they reflected prejudice, not a legitimate reason for the laws.

 In the 2013 Windsor case, the Court used the same approach in striking down the

federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Court applied a version of the rational

basis test “with teeth” suggesting that because the motivation behind the federal

DOMA was animus and prejudice, the law was not a rational plan of government.

o Laws against sexual orientation might be struck down as irrational because they are not

supported by reasons other than mere prejudice.

C. Suspect Classifications (Trigger Strict Scrutiny and Arise under Equal Protection)

• Race, Ethnicity, or National Origin—laws that disadvantage minorities will be struck down.

o Discriminatory purpose is required: For constitutional purposes, a law is a racial

classification only if the plaintiffs show it has a discriminatory

______________________________ (not enough to show a disproportionate impact).

Example 28: Economically restrictive zoning in Arlington Heights—a developer

wanted to come in and build a large multi-family housing complex. Developer

argued that the two-acre, single-family zoning ordinance has the effect of

restricting the town to wealthy white people; he argued that discriminated

against minorities. The Supreme Court said the zoning law was not

unconstitutional as racial discrimination unless you can show it was done for

the purpose of discriminating against minorities.

 Discriminatory purpose: May be explicit on the face of the statute, or may be proved by

a history of discriminatory ______________________________, or by extrinsic evidence

about the purposes of those who passed the law.

 School desegregation: De jure (by law) segregation is unconstitutional. De facto

segregation is not (usually by residential housing patterns).

o Affirmative action

 It is a racial classification; an effort to benefit a racial or ethnic minority.

 Triggers ______________________________ and requires a

______________________________ interest

 Specific past discrimination: Affirmative action is valid when it specifically corrects past

discrimination by the specific department or agency now engaged in affirmative action.

Example 29: New Haven Firefighters case—Nineteen firefighters sued the city

of New Haven when they had all scored high enough on a standardized test to

be promoted to management positions. City officials abandoned the test results

because minority firefighters had not scored high enough to be considered for

these positions, and then the city hired minorities anyway for these spots. The

Supreme Court said the city’s actions looked like a racially motivated quota and

struck it down.

• General societal discrimination does not justify affirmative action.

 Affirmative action is allowed in the context of preferential admissions to colleges and

universities.

• Preferential admissions are allowed if ______________________________ to

achieve a diverse student body and diversity is essential to the education.

o Must be a strong showing that racial preferences are essential to achieving a

diverse class.

o Racial preferences must be “holistic” (can be built into an evaluation if every

student is evaluated individually in a holistic way) and flexible.

o Quotas are not allowed.

o Separate admissions tracks or procedures for minority applicants are not

allowed.

• Preferential admissions not allowed for ______________________________

(though schools may be located and attendance zones created to maximize

diversity).

CHAPTER 11: EQUAL PROTECTION (ALIENAGE, GENDER, AND ONE PERSON-ONE VOTE)

A. Suspect Classifications Continued

• Alienage—Requirement of U.S. Citizenship

o Classifications based upon U.S. citizenship are generally suspect classifications that require a

compelling interest, but two important exceptions to strict scrutiny for alienage apply:

 Federal government

• Congress has plenary power over citizenship, immigration, and naturalization.

• Federal classifications based on U.S. citizenship do not trigger strict scrutiny.

• Federal classifications are valid unless ______________________________ and

______________________________.

 State and local participation in government functions

• These are jobs that have a particular relevance to the role of government and non-

U.S. citizens can be barred from these jobs.

• States and localities may require U.S. citizenship for participation in government

functions, including voting, serving on a jury, and working in any kind of government

law enforcement position (including probation and parole officers), or as a public

school teacher.

o Rule: States and localities cannot require U.S. citizenship for access to

______________________________ employment or for government

______________________________.

Example 30: Florida required U.S. citizenship for admission to the Florida bar.

Admission to the bar controls private employment as an attorney and therefore

triggered strict scrutiny. It was struck down.

Example 31: Maryland required U.S. citizenship for Maryland’s in-state tuition,

a government benefit, a kind of subsidy of in-state students. Basing that

subsidy on U.S. citizenship triggers strict scrutiny. The requirement was struck

down. However, Maryland could and did validly require residency for in-state

tuition. But Maryland was not entitled to discriminate against lawfully resident,

taxpaying members of the Maryland community who were not U.S. citizens.

Note 5: Constitutional rights of undocumented aliens—Plyler v. Doe:

Undocumented aliens are not a suspect classification. Even so, states cannot

deny undocumented children public education.

B. Quasi-Suspect Classifications (Gender and Legitimacy)

• Trigger intermediate scrutiny—is the law ______________________________ related to an

______________________________ government interest?

• Gender classifications are almost always invalid (e.g., Oklahoma had a law permitting women to

legally drink alcohol at a younger age than men).

o Permissible examples of gender classifications:

 Statutory rape can be gender-specific (historically); and

 The draft.

• Legitimacy (i.e., something depends on whether parents were married at the time of one’s

birth) laws are almost always invalid, especially if punitive in nature.

C. Non-Suspect Classifications (Age and Wealth)

• Age discrimination in employment is barred by statute, but it is not a suspect or quasi-suspect

classification under the Equal Protection Clause.

o Triggers rational basis

• Wealth is not a suspect or quasi-suspect classification, but the government has to waive filing

fees for indigents when charging the fees would deny a ______________________________

right.

o Examples include: ______________________________ (because marriage is a fundamental

right); transcript for appeal of a criminal conviction (because appellate review is a

fundamental right); transcript for appeal of the termination of parental rights.

 Bankruptcy filing fees do not have to be waived.

D. Fundamental Rights

Some fundamental rights almost always come up under equal protection.

1. Right to travel

2. Right to vote—one person, one vote

o Requires districts of approximately equal size, i.e., approximately the same number of

voters in each

o Applies whenever you elect representatives by ______________________________.

 Examples include: U.S. House of Representatives; both houses of a state legislature;

local governments when they elect representatives by district.

• Exception: Special purpose governments—A highly specialized government (e.g., for

distribution of water rights) can have a franchise based on that special purpose (e.g.,

acreage or water entitlements).

3. Gerrymandering

Comes in two varieties—racial and political

a. Racial gerrymandering

 Vote Dilution: Drawing districts to scatter minorities so that they are not a critical mass

in any one district. If done with a discriminatory ______________________________,

it’s unconstitutional.

 Voting Rights Act: Requires racial gerrymandering to ensure minority success by creating

majority-minority districts.

• Rule: Race may be a factor in drawing district lines, but not the

______________________________ or ______________________________ factor.

• Other factors include compactness and observing local, political subdivisions.

• A bizarrely shaped district may be evidence of a predominant racial purpose.

b. Political gerrymandering (drawing districts to hurt one party)

 Can, in theory, violate equal protection. In practice, it is never struck down.

 The Supreme Court has not found any judicially manageable standards for implementing

that guarantee.

 A political question (non-justiciable)

CHAPTER 12: PRIVILEGES & IMMUNITIES, TAKINGS, AND PROHIBITED LEGISLATION

A. Privileges & Immunities Clauses Distinguished

Recall that the Privileges & Immunities Clause of state citizenship under Article IV prohibits serious

discrimination against out-of-state ______________________________, chiefly regarding

employment.

Exam Tip 11: The Privileges or Immunities of national citizenship under the 14th

Amendment has no modern content and is never a strong answer that

something is unconstitutional on the bar exam.

B. Takings

• Private property shall not be taken for ______________________________ without

______________________________.

o Public use—basically anything the government wants to do with the property. It need only

be ______________________________ related to a ______________________________

public purpose. This includes taking private property to resell to another private owner for

purposes of economic development.

o Just compensation—______________________________ at the time of the taking.

• Taking—This is where the controversy often occurs.

o Taking versus regulation—If there is a taking of property, compensation is required; if there

is a mere ______________________________ on property, compensation is

______________________________, even if the regulation reduces the value of the

property.

o Economic impact—The adverse economic impact of the government’s action does not

necessarily mean there has been a taking (e.g., a new prison built next door to a beautiful,

countryside home). Many regulations can dramatically affect the value of property but that

does not trigger a right to compensation.

o Physical occupation—This is the key question. If the government physically occupies a

private owner’s property, then a taking has occurred and it owes just compensation.

 If the government physically occupies only a tiny portion of your property, it is still a

taking.

o No physical occupation—Generally, no physical occupation means that no taking has

occurred.

• Zoning—Not a taking and no compensation is required, so long as the zoning advances

______________________________ interests and does not extinguish a fundamental attribute

of ownership.

• Regulatory Taking—A zoning regulation can be considered a taking when it leaves no

economically viable use for the property (rare).

Example 32: Two adjacent beachfront lots were purchased for the purpose of

building a vacation home. After the lots were purchased, a new zoning law was

passed, which stated that no permanent structure could ever be built on the

property for environmental reasons. The Supreme Court said that no

economically viable use was left for the owner, so this constitutes a taking and

compensation is required.

• Development permits—Development is often conditioned on “concessions” by the developer,

such as building an access road or donating land to a park. Such exactions are valid so long as

they can be seen as offsetting the ______________________________ impact of the

development.

C. Prohibited Legislation

• Bill of Attainder—A bill of attainder is a ______________________________ punishment

imposed without judicial trial and is unconstitutional.

• Ex Post Facto Laws—Unconstitutional to expand criminal liability

______________________________, either by creating a new crime that applies retroactively to

past conduct or by ______________________________ the penalty for past conduct.

• Contract Clause—Bars states from legislative impairment of

______________________________ contracts, unless there is an

______________________________ need (something like an emergency).

CHAPTER 13: FREEDOM OF RELIGION

A. Establishment of Religion

1. Three-Part Test of Lemon v. Kurtzman:

o Does the law have a ______________________________ purpose?

o Does the law have a ______________________________ that neither advances nor inhibits

religion?

o Does the law avoid excessive government ______________________________ with

religion?

2. Deficiency of Lemon Test

o Exceedingly difficult to apply

o It once was interpreted to condemn aid to religious primary and secondary schools, but

neutral aid is now allowed (goes to everyone).

 The government gives aid to parents and the parents are allowed to send their children

to the schools of their choice.

 The parents are making the decision as to whether a religious school gets the money.

• The government is not picking and choosing recipients.

3. Endorsement

o It is a violation of the Establishment Clause for the government to endorse one religion over

another and also to endorse religion over ______________________________.

 But, many endorsements are upheld, such as “In God We Trust” on currency.

o The Supreme Court wants to prevent ______________________________ endorsement of

religion (one that might override individual choice).

 The Establishment Clause prohibits government endorsement of religion in a context

that might prove coercive on an individual’s conscience.

 Examples:

• Officially-sponsored school prayer is unconstitutional.

• Officially-sponsored graduation prayer is unconstitutional.

• Bible reading is permissible, but cannot be inspirational (e.g., as literature or

poetry).

• Display of the Ten Commandments is sometimes okay. It can be displayed for

secular purposes (e.g., historical or promoting morals), but not to inspire religious

belief.

o Can teach the Ten Commandments in school as an example of an early legal

code.

o Cannot post the Ten Commandments in a classroom and leave it there every

day of the school year—designed to inspire religious belief.

o Cannot post the Ten Commandments in a ______________________________

if the context makes plain that the purpose is to endorse religious belief.

• Laws prohibiting teaching evolution have been struck down.

• Legislative prayer is okay for historical practices.

• Nativity scenes are okay on public property if there is something else there to dilute

the religious message (e.g., Hanukkah symbols, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer).

B. Free Exercise of Religion

1. Religious Belief

Protected ______________________________ (entitled to hold any belief or none at all)

2. Religious Conduct

o Protected qualifiedly

 Laws regulating religious conduct because of its religious significance are

unconstitutional (i.e., laws aimed at religion).

 Neutral regulation of conduct: Neutral, generally applicable laws must be obeyed

despite religious objections.

• No right to accommodation.

• No constitutional right to exemption from neutral, generally applicable regulations

of conduct (e.g., Peyote case).

Example 33: Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) overruled the Peyote

decision: Even neutral, generally applicable laws could not be enforced against

religious objectors unless the government had a compelling interest. Insofar as

RFRA applied to state and local governments, the Supreme Court struck it down

as beyond federal legislative authority (Congress cannot force states to

accommodate religious beliefs). RFRA would not be beyond federal legislative

authority insofar as it applied to the federal government’s own actions. Can

states and localities require a religious accommodation for themselves? Yes.

• Exception: “Ministerial exception”—in 2012, the Supreme Court held that the First

Amendment requires a ministerial exception to employment laws.

o Non-discrimination employment laws cannot be applied to

______________________________.

o Plaintiff was a commissioned minister working as a teacher in a religious school.

The school fired her in a plain violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She sought reinstatement as provided by the statute.

o The Supreme Court held that the First Amendment precludes claims concerning

the employment relationship between a religious

______________________________ and its ministers.

o The federal government cannot regulate employment relations between a

religious institution and its ministers.

o The term “minister” was construed broadly.

 Campus Access: A state university that allows student groups to meet on campus must

allow student religious groups equal access.

CHAPTER 14: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (TIME, PLACE, AND MANNER)

A. Regulation of the Content of Expression

Content-based regulations of speech trigger ______________________________ and are usually

______________________________.

1. Expressive Conduct (a.k.a. Symbolic Speech)

o Laws regulating expressive conduct are upheld if:

 They further an ______________________________ interest;

 That interest is ______________________________ to the suppression of expression;

and

 The burden on expression is no greater than necessary.

Example 34: Laws against flag desecration are

______________________________ because they suppress an expressive type

of speech to show disapproval.

Example 35: Laws against public nudity are

______________________________ because public order must be kept, which

is unrelated to speech.

o The key: If the government is trying to suppress a particular message, then the law will be

struck down; if the government is trying to pursue an interest unrelated to the suppression

of expression, then the law will be ______________________________.

2. Vagueness and Overbreadth

o Vagueness: Vague laws are ones that give no clear notice of what is prohibited and thus

violate due process.

o Overbreadth: Overbroad laws are ones that go too far in regulating speech. These laws

burden ______________________________ more speech than is necessary to protect a

______________________________ interest and thus violate the First Amendment.

Example 36: Laws that prohibit all nudity in drive-in movies are overbroad.

Exam Tip 12: Vagueness and overbreadth are almost always seen together on

the bar exam.

3. Prior Restraints

o Are especially disfavored and will be struck down even when other forms of regulation

might be upheld.

o Injunctions against speech are almost impossible to get.

B. Regulation of the Time, Place, or Manner of Expression (Content-neutral)

• Apply principally in a ______________________________ forum.

• A public forum is a place traditionally reserved for speech activities. These places include

______________________________, ______________________________, and

______________________________ around public buildings (but not airports).

• Only time, place, and manner may be regulated in a public forum. There are three

requirements:

1) Content neutral: Must be content neutral on its face and as

______________________________. Also, must not allow executive

______________________________.

Example 37: A local D.C. ordinance prohibited picketing within 500 feet of a

foreign embassy if the picketing sign brought the foreign government into

odium or disrepute. This is plainly content-based and is thus, unconstitutional.

Example 38: Parade permit laws giving permits to first come, first served are

constitutional. Parade permit laws giving the chief of police discretion are

unconstitutional because the law may not be applied in a content-neutral way.

2) Alternative channels of communication must be left open: Time, place, or manner law

must be a guideline for speech, not a flat prohibition of speech.

Example 39: Laws against amplified sound trucks during the night-time hours

are fine. Laws against amplified sound during all times and all places would be

struck down.

3) Must ______________________________ serve a ______________________________

state interest: Under this test, most content-neutral time, place, or manner regulations

are upheld.

• Does not require a compelling interest

• Nonpublic forum

o This includes all kinds of government property that is not a public forum (e.g., government

offices, jails, power plants, military bases, etc.). Here, the government has great power.

Basically, any ______________________________ regulation of speech will be upheld.

 Viewpoint discrimination is invalid: One clearly unreasonable kind of regulation would

be to discriminate based on viewpoint (e.g., between members of different political

parties).

 Disruption of the functions of government: One should go outside to the public sidewalk

surrounding the building since that is a public forum.

CHAPTER 15: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (CONTENT-BASED RESTRICTIONS ON SPEECH)

A. Regulation of Unprotected and Less Protected Expression

There are some categories of speech that can be regulated because of content.

1. Obscenity: Defined by the rule of “S”

o Sexy: Must be erotic; appeal to the prurient interest. (Gore and violence are not legally

obscene.)

o Society sick: Must be ______________________________ to the

______________________________ person in the society. The society may be the nation

as a whole, or a particular state, or a major metropolitan area.

o Standards: Must be defined by the proper standards for determining what is obscene, not

vague and/or overbroad.

Example 40: Tax on films displaying frontal nudity. Not a valid law because

frontal nudity is not a good enough standard.

o Serious value: The material must lack serious value. If material has serious value (artistic,

scientific, educational, or political), it cannot be held legally obscene. This determination is

made by the ______________________________, not the jury, and it must be based on a

______________________________ standard, not a local one.

o Footnotes on obscenity:

 Minors: A lesser legal standard can be applied to minors, but the government cannot

ban adult speech simply because it would be inappropriate for minors.

 Child pornography: Can be prohibited whether or not it is legally obscene, and

possession can be punished even if it is in the privacy of your own home.

 Land use restrictions: Narrowly drawn ordinances can regulate the zoning of adult

______________________________, but cannot ban them entirely.

Note 6: Courts have recently begun to distinguish legally obscene speech from

pornography. Merely establishing that speech constitutes pornography is

generally insufficient to establish that the speech is obscene.

2. Incitement

Speech is not protected if it is an incitement to ______________________________ violence.

3. Fighting words

o Words likely to provoke an immediate ______________________________.

 General vulgarity is not enough.

 Must be aimed/targeted at someone, and that person might hit back.

 In theory, fighting words are ______________________________ protected speech.

 In fact, all fighting words statutes on the bar exam are unconstitutionally

______________________________ and/or ______________________________ (e.g.,

laws against “hate speech”).

4. Defamation

o False statements of fact (not opinion) damaging to a person’s reputation can be prohibited.

o Public officials and public figures can recover for defamation only on proof of

______________________________ or ______________________________ falsity.

o Private plaintiffs can recover on proof of ______________________________ falsity.

Example 41: United States v. Alvarez: The Supreme Court struck down the

Stolen Valor Act. The Stolen Valor Act made it a crime to falsely claim receipt of

military declaration or medals. The Act was struck down by the Supreme Court

as applied to a local politician who lied about receiving the Congressional Medal

of Honor. The Justices held that the fact that the statement was a blatant self-

serving lie did not exempt it from First Amendment protection. The prohibition

was content-based and was not supported by one of the five recognized

categories of unprotected speech. The statute was unconstitutional.

5. Commercial Speech

o Most regulations of commercial speech are ______________________________. So long as

the advertising is ______________________________ and

______________________________, it must be allowed.

o Test: Regulation of commercial speech must directly advance a

______________________________ government interest and be

______________________________ tailored to that interest.

o Misleading speech: Misleading commercial speech (unlike political speech) may be

prohibited.

B. Government Speech

• The First Amendment restrictions basically do not apply to the government as a speaker.

• Government as a speaker is free to express a point of view (e.g., advertising the military).

• The government does not have to accept all monuments donated by a private person simply

because it accepts one—when the government is controlling the message, it is entitled to say

what it wants.

• But specialty license plates bearing messages requested by purchasers are still government

speech, so the government can refuse to issue plates that would be offensive to other citizens.

C. Corporations

Corporations have the same First Amendment right to speak as individuals.

CHAPTER 16: REGULATION OF THE MEDIA, REGULATION OF ASSOCIATION, SPEECH BY GOVERNMENT

EMPLOYEES, AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE

A. Regulation of the Media

1. No Special Privileges

The press and media have no special privileges. They have the ___________________________

rights as everyone else.

Exam Tip 13: When asked about a law on the media, ask whether that law

could be applied to you.

Example 42: Confidential sources for the media. Does a reporter have a

constitutional right to refuse to answer grand jury questions about a

confidential source? Think of it in terms of yourself: You will not answer

questions because you promised that you would not reveal a confidential

source. Can the government force you to talk? Yes, you can be put in jail (held

in contempt). The same is true of the media and press.

Example 43: Open trials—The press has the right of access to open trials.

2. Broadcasters

o The only special case is broadcasters.

o Traditionally, because of early limits on the broadcast spectrum, the government had

greater regulatory authority over broadcasters than over print media or the Internet.

B. Regulation of Association

• Freedom of association: Cannot be punished or disadvantaged because of political associations.

• Loyalty oaths: Public employees can be required to take a loyalty oath to the Constitution, but

most loyalty oaths are struck down as ______________________________ and/or

______________________________.

• Bar membership: States can investigate good character, but they cannot deny admission based

on political affiliations.

• Political parties: States cannot require ______________________________ primaries (i.e., one

in which you do not have to be registered as a member of the particular party to participate in

the primary).

C. Speech by Government Employees

• General rule: Government employees generally cannot be hired or fired based on political

______________________________, political ______________________________, or any act

of ______________________________.

o Can be fired for disrupting the workplace or not doing their jobs.

• Exception: This general rule does not apply to confidential advisors or policy-making employees

(e.g., the President’s cabinet officers).

D. Campaign Finance

• The use of money to support a political campaign is ______________________________ and

the regulation of that money raises First Amendment issues.

• Contributions versus expenditures:

o Contributions ______________________________ be regulated, provided that the limits

are not ______________________________ low.

o Direct expenditures in support of a candidate, a campaign, or a political issue

______________________________ be regulated.

 The rationale is to prevent corruption: a candidate could theoretically act in a certain

way in exchange for a larger, direct contribution.

• Independent expenditures versus coordinated expenditures:

o Independent expenditures cannot be regulated.

o A coordinated expenditure is a disguised contribution (the campaign is in control) and

______________________________ be regulated as contributions can be regulated.

• The constitutional protection of direct independent expenditures applies not only to individuals,

but also to corporations, including nonprofits, and unions.

• The Supreme Court has consistently rejected ______________________________ of campaign

resources as a valid rationale for restricting campaign expenditures.

Example 44: Congress passed the Millionaires’ Amendment, which basically

said that if your opponent spends a lot of his or her own money, then your

contribution limit is automatically raised. The Supreme Court struck it down.

[END OF HANDOUT]

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