What is the significance of Marbury v. Madison (1803)?

Established judicial review — the power of the Supreme Court to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. Chief Justice Marshall held that 'it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.'

What are the three requirements for Article III standing?

(1) Injury-in-fact: concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent harm; (2) Causation: the injury is fairly traceable to the defendant's conduct; (3) Redressability: a favorable decision is likely to redress the injury.

What are the three categories of activity Congress can regulate under the Commerce Clause after Lopez?

(1) Channels of interstate commerce; (2) Instrumentalities of interstate commerce and persons/things in interstate commerce; (3) Activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. Non-economic, purely local activity that does not substantially affect interstate commerce is beyond Congress's reach.

What is the Youngstown framework for presidential power?

Justice Jackson's concurrence in Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer (1952) identifies three zones: (1) President acts with express/implied congressional authorization — maximum power; (2) Congress is silent — President acts on his own constitutional powers only; (3) President acts against Congress's will — lowest ebb, only clearly exclusive executive powers apply.

What is the Mathews v. Eldridge balancing test for procedural due process?

Courts weigh three factors to determine what process is due: (1) the private interest at stake; (2) the risk of erroneous deprivation under current procedures and the value of additional safeguards; and (3) the government's interest, including fiscal and administrative burden of additional procedures.

What is the rational basis test under equal protection?

The law must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest. The most deferential standard — the government almost always wins. Any conceivable legitimate purpose suffices, even if not the actual reason for the law.

What is strict scrutiny under equal protection or due process?

The government must show the law is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest and is narrowly tailored (least restrictive means). Government almost always loses. Applies to race, national origin, alienage (EP) and fundamental rights (SDP).

What categories of speech are unprotected by the First Amendment?

Incitement (Brandenburg test), true threats, obscenity (Miller test), defamation, fraud, child pornography, fighting words (Chaplinsky), and speech integral to criminal conduct. These receive no constitutional protection.

What is the Establishment Clause standard after Kennedy v. Bremerton (2022)?

The Supreme Court abandoned the Lemon test and now interprets the Establishment Clause by reference to historical practices and understandings at the time of the Founding. A government action violates the Establishment Clause if it coerces religious participation or is not consistent with historical tradition.

What is the Dormant Commerce Clause doctrine?

Even when Congress has not acted, the Commerce Clause implicitly prohibits state laws that discriminate against or unduly burden interstate commerce. A law that facially discriminates against out-of-state commerce is virtually per se invalid unless narrowly tailored to a compelling local interest.

What is the anti-commandeering principle?

Under the 10th Amendment, Congress cannot compel state legislatures to enact laws (New York v. United States) or direct state executive officers to administer federal law (Printz v. United States). The federal government must act directly on individuals, not through the states.

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Constitutional Law MBE Flashcards | Bar Exam Prep | Critical Pass Flashcards

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Constitutional Law MBE Flashcards | Bar Exam Prep | Critical Pass Flashcards

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Study Constitutional Law for the MBE with 101 expert flashcards. Covers judicial power, Commerce Clause, due process, equal protection, First Amendment & more.

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Judicial Power

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