JB Constitutional Law I

• - Interpretation of Constitution, federal laws, treaties, admiralty and maritime laws
• - Disputes between states, states and foreign citizens, and citizens of diverse
• citizenship

Plaintiff must allege real harm or imminent threat of harm

A CASE IS MOOT UNLESS

- Injury must be personal to that plaintiff,

- Case is a class action and issue still exists for at least one member of the class

- Case may seem moot, but there may be non-frivolous claims of monetary damages

- D stops the harmful action, but is still free to resume it at any time

- Plaintiff must have suffered real or genuine injury, any kind

- Injury must be caused by the defendant

- The court must be able to do something to redress the injury

• - Organization – orgs can have standing to sue for injury to itself, or its members if the
• member has standing, and member’s injury is related to the purpose of
• organization, and the individual participation isn’t required

• - Third parties – A party can raise the rights of someone else if the party has
• suffered actual injury and there is a special relationship between the party
• and the third party, and the third party is somehow hindered from raising their
• own rights

- Citizen – citizens have no standing

• - Taxpayer standing – taxpayers can challenge their own tax liability, but they have no
• standing to challenge how the government spends its money, except for money
• given to religion

- Legislators – Legislators have no standing to challenge laws which were properly enacted

o Original – all cases affecting ambassadors, public ministers, consuls and those cases in which a state is a party

• o Appellate – all cases that federal power extends
• - Writ of Certiorari – cases from state courts challenging the constitutionality of a federal statute, federal treaty, or state statute
• - All cases from federal courts of appeals

Federal court won’t hear political questions when they are better left for another branch of govt, or if the judiciary is incapable of deciding them

• Supreme Court won’t exercise jurisdiction if state court decision is based on adequate and
• independent state grounds, even if federal issues exist

• Rule - Federal court won’t exercise jurisdiction over constitutional claim of a state law if
• the meaning of the law is unsettled or if it is already pending in state court

Exception – if the state proceedings are brought in bad faith

- Private party can’t sue a state in federal court unless the state consents, or unless Congress removes state immunity

- Private party can sue state officers individually though

Must work in conjunction with another federal power, can’t stand alone

• o Power to tax, as long as they bear some reasonable relationship to revenue production OR if Congress has power to
• regulate activity being taxed
• o No tax exports to foreign countries
• o Use taxing power to regulate and prohibit behavior so long as the statute is capable of raising some money

• - spend to provide for the common defense and the general welfare – any public purpose
• - Congress uses this to bribe states to do what the federal govt wants by placing
• conditions on funds

• - Condition must serve a public purpose
• - Condition must not be ambiguous
• - Condition must be related to the federal interest
• - Condition doesn’t violate an independent bar

• - Exclusive power to regulate all foreign and interstate commerce
• - Regulate 1) channels, 2) instrumentalities, 3) activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce
• - Regulate intrastate activity if it can be shown to have a substantial affect on interstate commerce or if its cumulative affects within the state substantially affect interstate commerce

• - Declare war
• - Raise and support armies
• - Provide for and maintain navy
• - Economic regulation during wartime
• - Make rules for regulation of armed forces

Power to dispose of and make rules for territories and other properties of the U.S.

• 13th - abolish the badges and incidents of slavery
• 14th – applies only to state action, not acts of private parties
• 15th – right to vote

Pres may grant pardons for all federal offenses but not for impeachment or civil contempt

• - Coining money
• - Impeachment
• - Immigration
• - Establish requirements for federal
• citizenship
• - Declare war
• - Conduct foreign policy

All powers not delegated to federal government are reserved to the states

• · Suits By United States Against a State
• - U.S. can sue states without consent

• · Suits By a State Against U.S.
• - States cannot sue U.S. without its consent

• · Federal Officer as Defendant
• - Federal officers can be sued if acting beyond their authority and as long as the judgment sought wouldn’t be satisfied out of
• the public treasury and would not interfere with public administration

• · Suits by One State Against Another
• - States may sue one another without consent

• · Article IV – Privileges of State Citizenship
• o Prohibits discrimination by a state against
• nonresidents regarding commercial activities and the enjoyment of civil
• liberties
• o State law discriminating against nonresidents
• may be valid if state shows that nonresidents are part of the problem and that
• there are no less restrictive means to solve the problem

• · Fourteenth Amendment – Privileges of National Citizenship
• o States may not deny citizens the privileges or immunities of national citizenship

• Where Congress has not acted, state law may still be invalid if it
• discriminates against or unreasonably burdens interstate commerce

• - Laws that favor in-state commerce are always struck down
• - Laws that discriminate for the purpose of promoting health or safety are struck down, unless state shows there are no reasonable, non-discriminatory means alternatives
• - A state MAY prefer its own citizens when acting as a market participant
• - If a nondiscriminatory state law burdens interstate commerce, it will be valid unless the burden outweighs the promotion
• or a legitimate local interest