CONSTITUTIONAL CLAUSES - Presentment Clause o Article I, Section 7 o Outlines federal legislative procedure for bills to become federal law - Taxing and Spending Clause o Article I, Section 8 o Congress s power of the purse - Necessary and Proper Clause AKA Elastic Clause o Article I, Section 8 o Congress authorized to establish necessary and proper laws to enforce the Constitution - Commerce Clause o Article I, Section 8 o Congress authorized to regulate commerce between states, foreign nations, and native tribes o Cannot regulate intrastate commerce (within states) - Constitutional Limits o Article I, Section 9 o Guarantee of habeas corpus, no bills of attainder, no ex post facto laws - Contract Clause o Article I, Section 10 o Prohibits states from retroactively impairing contract rights - Take Care Clause AKA Faithful Execution Clause o Article II, Section 3, Clause 5 o The President must enforce the law - Full Faith and Credit Clause o Article IV, Section 1 o States must respect the laws, contracts, and judicial decisions of other states - Privileges and Immunities Clause o Article IV, Section 2 o Prohibits states from discriminating citizens from other states - Supremacy Clause o Article VI o Federal law is the supreme law of the land and supersedes state and local laws - Establishment Clause o 1 st Amendment o Federal government may not establish an official religion or religious preference - Free Exercise Clause o 1 st Amendment o Each citizen may have freedom of conscience/religion - Citizenship Clause o 14 th Amendment o All native-born and naturalized people of the United States are citizens and guaranteed constitutional protections o Applied to the states - Due Process Clause o 14 th Amendment o Prevents states and local governments from denying rights without legislative or judicial process - Equal Protection Clause o 14 th Amendment o Each state is required to guarantee equal protection to all people within its jurisdiction
JUDICIAL REVIEW - Marbury v. Madison (1803) o Established judicial review; determining constitutionality of laws FEDERALISM - Chisolm v. Georgia (1783) o Federal courts could decide on lawsuits against states o Overturned by Eleventh Amendment in 1795 - Fletcher v. Peck (1810) o Establish constitutionality of state laws o Upheld Contract Clause protections - Martin v. Hunter s Lessee (1816) o Federal courts can review state court decisions - McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) o Expanded implied powers through Necessary and Proper Clause Bank of the United States ruled constitutional o Enforced Supremacy Clause over states prohibiting states to tax federal institutions - Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) o Upheld private contracts through Contracts Clause o Ruled against New Hampshire protecting Dartmouth s private charter with Great Britain before the Revolution - Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) o Expanded the federal power on interstate commerce through the Commerce Clause Included navigation as an aspect of commerce o Reiterated supremacy of federal law over state laws - Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) o Native tribes are dependent entities, not foreign nations, therefore subject to federal jurisdiction - Worcester v. Georgia (1832) o Endorsed native tribal sovereignty against state laws and governments - Barron v. Baltimore (1833) o Limited application of Bill of Rights to the federal government and not to the states - Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837) o Massachusetts granting of a contract for a new bridge did not violate the Contract Clause o Viewed as a victory for states rights - Munn v. Illinois (1876) o States could regulate private property used for the public interest per the 14 th Amendment - Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886) o States could not place a direct burden on interstate commerce per Commerce Clause o Led to the establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) - United States v. E.C. Knight Co. (1895) o Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1980 ruled constitutional o Manufacturing not included in commerce power regulation - U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1975) o States applying federal congressional term limits ruled unconstitutional - United States v. Lopez (1995) o Congress applied Commerce Clause to restricting firearms in school zones o Ruled unconstitutional since the restriction did not apply to economic activity; limited Congress s commerce regulation power
SEPARATION OF POWERS/CHECKS AND BALANCES - Ex Parte Merryman (1861) o Only Congress can suspend habeas corpus, not the President. - Prize Cases (1863) o President, as Commander-in-Chief, could order a naval blockade without a congressional declaration of war - Ex Parte Milligan (1866) o Civilians may not be tried in military tribunals if civilian courts functioning, even in a time of rebellion or war - Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935) o National Industrial Recovery Act violated separation of powers by unconstitutionally delegating legislative powers to the president o Sparked Franklin Roosevelt s court-packing threat to the Supreme Court to ensure New Deal programs - United States v. Nixon (1974) o Executive privilege does not protect the president from criminal investigation - Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha (1983) o Legislative veto ruled unconstitutional in violation of the Presentment Clause - Clinton v. Jones (1997) o President is subject to civil investigation and litigation based on events prior to taking office as president - Clinton v. City of New York (1998) o Line-item veto ruled unconstitutional in violation of the Presentment Clause ELECTIONS/CAMPAIGN FINANCE - Baker v. Carr (1962) o Legislative apportionment ruled a justiciable issue and not a political question - Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) o U.S. congressional districts must be redrawn with equal population - Reynolds v. Sims (1964) o State legislative districts must be redrawn with equal population - Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) o Poll taxes ruled unconstitutional per Equal Protection Clause - Shaw v. Reno (1993) o Redistricting based on race limited - Buckley v. Valeo (1976) o FECA s restrictions on individual and PAC contributions ruled constitutional o FECA s restrictions on independent expenditures, candidate s personal contributions, and total campaign expenditures ruled unconstitutional - Bush v. Gore (2000) o Local election standards violated Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. o 5-4 decision led to Florida s electoral votes awarded to Bush for presidency - Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (FEC) (2010) o BCRA s ban on soft money ruled unconstitutional
CIVIL LIBERTIES Establishment Clause First Amendment - Everson v. Board of Education (1947) o Incorporation of the Establishment Clause - Engel v. Vitale (1962) o Prohibits school-led prayer in public schools - Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) o Established Lemon Test for constitutional religious laws Law must have a secular legislative purpose Law must not advance or inhibit religion Law must not result in excessive government entanglement with religion - Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2002) o School-led prayer at public school football games is unconstitutional Free Exercise Clause First Amendment - Reynolds v. United States (1879) o Polygamy ruled illegal despite religious doctrine - Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) o Compulsory education laws past 8 th grade violated religious upbringing - Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993) o States cannot restrict religious-mandated animal sacrifices Freedom of Speech First Amendment - Schenck v. United States (1919) o Established clear and present danger limit on free speech - Gitlow v. New York (1925) o Newspapers advocating the violent overthrow of government ruled illegal o Incorporated free speech to states - Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) o Fighting words are free speech - Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) o Symbolic speech (black armbands) constitutional - Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) o Inflammatory speech may only be limited if incites imminent lawless action - Miller v. California (1973) o Established the Miller Test for obscenity laws Average person applying contemporary community standards finds work appeals to prurient interest Depicts or describes in an offensive way sexual conduct or excretory functions Lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value - Texas v. Johnson (1989) o Burning of the American flag in protest is protected as symbolic speech - Reno v. ACLU (1997) o Regulation of the internet violates Free Speech (with exception to obscenity and child pornography)
Freedom of Press First Amendment - Near v. Minnesota (1931) o Limited the government s use of prior restraint on newspapers o Incorporation of Free Press to the states - New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) o Libel must be proven with malicious intent o Allowed for increased criticism of public figures and officials - New York Times v. United States (1971) o Limited prior restraint on matters of public concern o Pentagon Papers - Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) o Prior restraint allowed for school administration to ensure safety Freedom of Assembly First Amendment - DeJonge v. Oregon (1937) o Incorporated freedom of assembly allowing a communist group to organize - NAACP v. Alabama (1958) o Ruled Alabama s request for membership lists as a violation of right of association - Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000) o Private associations may exclude members based on certain criteria Freedom to Petition Government for Redress of Grievances First Amendment - Edwards v. South Carolina (1963) o Incorporated to the states Right to Bear Arms Second Amendment - District of Columbia (DC) v. Heller (2008) o Guaranteed an individual s right to bear arms - McDonald v. Chicago (2010) o Applied the Second Amendment s guarantee of an individual s right to bear arms to the states Search and Seizure Fourth Amendment - Wolf v. Colorado (1949) o Evidence illegally obtained may be used in criminal proceedings - Mapp v. Ohio (1961) o Established the exclusionary rule and incorporated to the states o Overturned Wolf v. Colorado - Nix v. Williams (1984) o Discovery rule allowed evidence in criminal proceedings - United States v. Leon (1984) o Established good faith exception to the exclusionary rule Self-Incrimination Fifth Amendment - Miranda v. Arizona (1966) o Informed of rights prior to official interrogation o Right to remain silent, right to an attorney, provision of attorney Double Jeopardy Fifth Amendment - Palko v. Connecticut (1937) o Incorporation of double jeopardy Eminent Domain (Takings Clause) Fifth Amendment - Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. Chicago (1897) o Incorporation of eminent domain; fair compensation for seized property
Right to Counsel Sixth Amendment - Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) o Right to an attorney if unable to afford one o Applied to the states - Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) o Right to an attorney during interrogations Cruel and Unusual Punishment Eighth Amendment - Furman v. Georgia (1972) o Death penalty unconstitutional based on indiscriminate and inconsistent application - Gregg v. Georgia (1976) o Death penalty ruled constitutional based on juries receiving standards of sentencing Right to Privacy Ninth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment - Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) o Prevention of the use of contraceptives ruled unconstitutional - Roe v. Wade (1973) o Woman s right to terminate a pregnancy within first trimester ruled constitutional - Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health (1990) o Right to die case leading to living will legislation in states - Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) o Right to terminate pregnancies upheld, but restrictions allowed only if laws do not place any undue burden on the mother CIVIL RIGHTS - Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) o Persons of African descent are not eligible for citizenship o Property rights cannot be denied; slavery legal in all states; Missouri Compromise ruled unconstitutional o Federal government must enforce fugitive slave law - Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) o The 14 th Amendment s Privileges and Immunities clause limited only to powers granted to the federal government and not powers reserved to the states - Civil Rights Cases (1883) o Congress could not enforce civil rights legislation against private citizens and their actions, only state action - Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) o Established separate but equal doctrine - Korematsu v. United States (1944) o Legal internment of Japanese - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) o Desegregation of schools o Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and separate but equal - Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) o Quotas based on race could not be used for college admissions o Affirmative action case of reverse discrimination - Lawrence v. Texas (2003) o Overturned sodomy laws; ensured privacy for homosexuals