Constitutional Law

Federal judicial power

Requirements for cases and controversies: Standing (imminent personal injury). Causation and
redressability. Ripeness (hardship, fitness). Mootness (excpt: capable of repetition, evading
review; vol. cessation; class action). Political question doctrine (repub. govt, foreign policy,
impeachment). No third-party standing (excpt: close relationship, cant or wont assert, org.).
For appeals from state court: no independent and adequate ground of decision.
Younger abstention: fedl courts may not enjoin pending state court proceedings.
Federal legislative power
No general fedl police power, except MILD (military, indian resvn., D.C., lands & territories).
Tax and spend allowed for general welfare (distinguish: regulation).
10th Amdt. limit: Congress cannot directly compel state regulatory or legislative action.
Leg. vetos and line-item vetos are unconstl. Congrl action reqs: bicameralism + presentment.
Congress may not create agency and appoint officers; appointment power belongs to President.
Federal executive power
Treaties: Senate approval reqd; trump state laws; last-in-time prevails for fedl laws.
Executive agmts.: No Senate approval reqd; trump state laws; never trumps federal laws.
Can pardon accused or convicted federal criminals; not state crimtes; not civil liability.
Federalism
Implied preemption: mutually exclusive; impedes fedl objective; clear intent to preempt.
Dormant commerce clause and P&Is of Art. IV.
Structure of the constitutional protection of individual liberties
State action reqd, unless: performing traditional public fn.; govt entanglement w/ priv. act.
Levels of scrutiny: rational basis test, intermediate scrutiny, strict scrutiny.
Due process
Procedural due process: deprivation, life, liberty, property; balancing three factors.
Substantive due process: takings clause, regulated value down to zero, loss in FMV terms;
contracts clause, state interference, existing K, private vs. govt Ks; other rights listed.
Equal protection
Is there a classification? Facial or discriminatory intent + impact.
Level of scrutiny: Strict (race, natl origin, alienage generally, interstate travel, voting).
Intermediate (gender, illegitmacy, undoc. alien children). Rational basis (aliengage fedl reg.
or related to self-govt, age, disability, wealth, international travel, all other categories).
First Amendment
Standards of review: content-neutral (intermediate); subject-matter reg. (strict); viewpoint reg.
(strict); symbolic (impt. intr. + tight fit); obscenity (not protected); profanity and indecency
(normal protection); nonmisleading comml speech (intermediate), religious speech (strict).
Obscenity: 3-part definition, prurient community std., patently off., no social value natl. std.
Defamation tiers: public official, candidate, figure (malice); private fig. w/ public concern (negl.
for actual, malice for presumeds or punitives); private fig. w/o pub. concern (Ds burden, truth).
Places available for free speech: public forums & designated public forums (time, place, manner
only; s.m. and viewpoint neutral; impt. govt. purpose; adequate alternatives; no local discretion).
Nonpublic forums (viewpoint neutral, not s.m. neutral, rble reg., legit. govt. intr.).

Establishment: secular purpose, effect neither advance or inhibit, no excessive entanglement (SEX).