CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

GARCIA V. SAN ANTONIO METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY

NEW YORK V. UNITED STATES

PRINTZ V. UNITED STATESUNITED HAULERS V. ONEIDA-HERKIMER SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

DORMANT COMMERCE CLAUSE EXAM APPROACH

EX PARTE MCCARDLE (APPELLATE JURISDICTION) BOUMEDIENE V. BUSH (APPLICATION OF HABEUS CORPUS STATUTE)

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH V. LAIDLAW ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, INC. MASSACHUSETTS V. EPA

ORIGINS OF THE RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS

DRED SCOTT V. SANFORD STATE ACTION AND THE 14TH AMENDMENT

“THE CIVIL RIGHTS CASES”SHELLEY V. KRAEMER EDMONSON V. LEESVILLE CONCRETE COMPANY DESHANEY V. WINNEBAGO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICESCLEVELAND BOARD OF EDUCATION V. LOUDERMILL

MATHEWS V. ELDRIDGE HAMDI V. RUMSFELD PIERCE V. SOCIETY OF THE SISTERS LOCHNER V. NEW YORK

WEST COAST HOTEL V. PARRISH

Characteristics of U.S. Government

(1) Delegation of power, in which the duties and prerogatives of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are delineated by express constitutional provisions

(2) Separation of Powers, in which the responsibilities of government are divided and shared among the coordinate branches

(3) Reservation of power, in which the sovereignty of the federal government is qualified by the sovereignty reserved to the state governments

(4) Limitation of power, in which the prerogatives of the three branches of government are restricted by constitutionally enumerated individual rights, un-enumerated rights derived from sources outside the text of the Constitution, and other constraints inherent in a democratic system where the ultimate source of authority for government action is the consent of the people.

b) Once a court has interpreted a constitutional provision in a certain fashion, it becomes a precedent. Under the doctrine of Stare Decisis, the judicial branch is required to adhere to existing precedent in all future cases presenting analogous factual and legal circumstances, unless it has a compelling reason for deviating from the precedent or overruling it.

c) A state or federal law is said to be “constitutional” when it is consistent with the text of a constitutional provision and any relevant judicial interpretations. The federal Constitution comprises seven articles and 26 amendments.

d) Articles I, II, and III set forth the basic structure of the U.S. government

(1) Article I defines congressional lawmaking powers

(2) Article II sets forth the presidential executive powers

(3) Article III establishes federal judicial powers.

e) The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, (Bill of Rights), enumerate certain individual liberties that must be protected against government infringement.

f) The rest of the Constitution contains miscellaneous other provisions, many of which are intended to maintain a federalist system of government in which the federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land and the federal government shares sovereignty with the statesArt. VI declares the constitution to be the supreme law of the land, along with all federal laws made pursuant “thereto.” To decide whether a federal law is made pursuant to the constitution, the court must interpret the constitution. Martin v. Hunter’s Lesee (1816)

i. Rule : Federal courts have the power to review the decisions of state courts when it concerns matters of federal law and interpretation of the Constitution.

ii. Art. III grants federal courts jurisdiction over “all cases arising under the constitution.” If federal courts could not review state court decisions interpreting the Constitution, then federal courts could not hear all arising under cases, in clear violation of art. III.

iii. Justice Story noted the horrible consequences of allowing each state to interpret the federal constitution unilaterally.

iv. Treaties made by the federal government are equal in status to federal laws, the later in time will prevail and both are superior to state law.

Introduction

i) Justification for Separation of Powers(i) Prevention of Tyranny: avoid the concentration of too much power in any one

person or branch by separating powers and providing for checks and balances. (ii) Efficiency: In theory, divides the work of a government among several state actors

however, also requires cooperation to ensure it is actually efficient. ii) Approaches to the Separation of Powers

(i) Formalism: Demands adherence by each branch to the powers granted to that branch. Strict separation of powers. Power is construed narrowly on each branch. Rigid construction/interpretation of the text of the constitution.

(ii) Functionalism: The constitutions distribution of power is violated only if one branch of fed gov. aggrandizes its power at the expense of another.

(2) Executive Domestic Powersi) Youngstown v. Sawyer

(a) The Korean war effort increased the demand for steel. Disputes arose between steel industry management and labor that culminated in an announcement of a strike by

the union. President Truman authorized Secretary of Commerce Sawyer to take possession of the steel industry and keep the mills operating.

(b) Rule : The president’s power to issue an order must stem directly from an act of congress or the constitution; President does not have implicit or explicit executive power under the war powers clause of the U.S. Constitution, or any implied powers gleaned therefrom, to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to seize the nation’s steel mills.

(c) In determining whether the executive has authority, there are three general circumstances (Jackson):

1. President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress (President’s authority is at its greatest)

2. When the President acts in the absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority. (When this is the case, the test depends on the imperatives of events and contemporary imponderables rather than on abstract theories of law)

3. When the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress (authority of the President is at its lowest)

ii) Clinton v. City of N.Y. (a) Rule : A line-item veto is unconstitutional because by exercising such a veto over a

particular budget line the President was changing an act of congress, and this was not permitted even when authorized by congress

(b) Unworkable because it in effect allows the president control over budget allocations after the budget has been passed

(c) Violates the concept of separation and bicameralism; aggrandizes the power of the President beyond that which was intended by the constitution

(3) Non-Delegation Doctrine i) Congress cannot delegate its legislative powers to agencies. Rather, when it instructs

agencies to regulate, it must give them an "intelligible principle” on which to base their regulations. (Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc.)

ii) This standard is viewed as quite lenient, and has rarely, if ever, been used to strike down legislation.

(4) Executive Foreign Affairsi) U.S. v. Curtiss Wright

(i) Court agreed that the President could proclaim arms sales to foreign countries illegal via executive order.

(ii) Rule : The non-delegation doctrine does not bar Congress from delegating great authority and discretion to the President of the United States in the conduct of foreign affairs.

(iii) There is a fundamental difference in the role of government in foreign affairs and domestic affairs. The President is the United States’ sole representative to foreign nations. In order to achieve the United States’ foreign policy aims, the President is

better able than Congress to judge conditions that exist in foreign nations and is afforded substantial discretion and wide latitude in those decisions. The President has confidential information as well as consular, diplomatic and foreign affairs officers to help in his decision.

ii) Dames and Moore v. Regan (i) Court upheld the President’s authority to nullify attachments and liens on Iranian

assets and to suspend legal claims against Iran as part of an executive agreement resolving a foreign policy dispute between the US and Iran.

(ii) Rule : A systematic, unbroken, executive practice, long pursued to the knowledge of the Congress and never before questioned may be treated as actions taken in pursuance of Congress’ consent.

(iii) The Presidents’ actions with regard to the transfer of assets were taken pursuant to specific congressional authorization under the IEEPA; the Court relied on inferences drawn from related legislation, a history of congressional acquiescence in executive claims settlement practices, and past decisions recognizing broad executive authority.

(iv) Court also relied on test reasoning that this agreement was “supported by the strongest of presumptions and widest latitude of judicial interpretation and the burden of persuasion rests heavily on any who might attack it.”

iii) Medellin v. Texas (i) Rule : An international treaty may constitute an international commitment, but it is

not binding domestic law unless Congress has enacted statutes implementing it or unless the treaty itself is "self-executing."

(ii) Decisions of the ICJ are not binding domestic law and that, without authority from the United States Congress or the Constitution, the President of the United States lacks the power to enforce international treaties or decisions of the International Court of Justice

(5) Treaties i) Types of International Agreements

(a) Treaties(i) Art. II declares that the president shall have power, by and with the advice and

consent of the senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur. (Ratification indicates and intent to be bound on an international plain)

(ii) Missouri v. Holland established that U.S. treaties are superior to state law and the legal equivalent to legislated federal law. Thus, if a treaty and a law of Congress are inconsistent, the one later in time prevails.

(iii) Self-Executing v. Non Self Executing (i) A self-executing treaty becomes judicially enforceable upon ratification; Non-

self-Executing treaty becomes judicially enforceable through the implementation of legislation.

(ii) Distinguishing Factors1. statements that are made by Congress or the Executive regarding the treaty

2. indeterminate language of the treaty3. the treaty deals with a matter within the exclusive law-making power of

Congress, indicating that Congress must create implementing legislation.(b) Executive Agreements

(i) An agreement made between the executive branch of the U.S. government and a foreign government without ratification by the Senate.

(ii) Not the legal equivalent of federal law, but enforceable (Use Youngstown) (c) Congressional Executive Agreements

(i) President gets congress’s approval. Only needs majority vote in both houses of congress.

(6) Executive Privileges and Immunitiesi)

Origins of the Reconstruction Amendments

A. Introduction B. Dred Scott v. Sanford

(1) Rule: 2) State Action and the 14th Amendment

A. IntroductionB. The Civil Rights Cases C. Shelley v. Kramer D. Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Dept. of Social Services

(1) Rule: A state or county agency does not have an obligation under the DPC of the 14th A. to prevent child abuse when the child is 1) in parental, not agency custody, and 2) the state did not create the danger of abuse or increase the child's vulnerability to abuse. Failure to prevent child abuse by a custodial parent does not violate the child's right to liberty for the purposes of the 14th A.