Con Powers Test 3

Enumerated Powers of Cong

Taxing and spending (Sec 8 Money Powers, Tax and Spend Clause), Commerce (Commerce Clause), Military Powers (Sec 8), Necessary and Proper Clause

Military Powers and Necessary and Proper

Could create Air Force and Space Force through Necessary and Proper. Implied power.

Requirements for HoR

25 years old, 7 years U.S. citizen, 2-year terms.

Powers of HoR

Brings impeachments and revenue bills

Requirements for Senate

30 years old, 9 years a citizen,

Powers of Senate

V-P of US is President of Senate, tries impeachments

Rules in House and Senate

Sec 5. Each chamber will create its own rules.

Limits on Cong Power

• Ex Post Facto — cannot pass a law to make someone guilty or

  make a law that criminalizes something retroactively

• Writ of Habeas Corpus – due process rights cannot be suspended unless required by public safety or rebellion/invasion

• Financial transparency – no money can be drawn from Treasury without appropriation from Congress

• No titles of nobility allowed to be granted

• No laws regarding the importation of persons prior to 1808

McCullough v. Maryland

Implied powers of Cong through Necessary and Proper. Congress brought the Second Bank of the U.S. to Maryland. MD state leg wanted to tax the bank out of existence. McCullough refused to pay the tax.

SCOTUS: Necessary and Proper to establish a bank through monetary powers. Additionally, because of the Supremacy Clause, a state cannot tax a Federal institution.

Size of Cong

435 members of HoR

Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 set number of reps indefinitely.

Committees

Comms write and revise leg, conduct oversight of federal agencies, hold public hearings.

Committee Chairs

Direct the operation of the committee

• Set committee agenda

• Preside over meetings

• Oversee committee budget

• Lead investigations

Ranking Member

Longest serving member of minority party on committee is the

“ranking member” and has similar functions as chairman but for

the members of the minority

Investigations

Implied power to investigate issues that Cong plans to legislate on.

Investigations can include:

• How laws are being executed

• Look into allegations of administrative misconduct

• Collect data necessary to draft legislation

Subpoena power like courts – the legal authority to

compel individuals to testify or produce documents

Investigations must serve a “legitimate legislative purpose”

Trump v. Mazars

Investigation of Trump’s financial documents. Subpoenas seeking to obtain the personal financial records of the president, his family, and his businesses.

Trump sued to block these entities from complying with the subpoena, arguing that the committees lacked a “legitimate legislative purpose”

4-step Subpoena Test for Presidential Papers

Came from Trump v. Mazars.

• Whether the legislative purpose can be achieved without relying on the personal papers

• Whether the subpoena is no broader than reasonably necessary

• Whether Congress can provide detailed evidence of the specific legislative purpose

• Whether the subpoena imposes an undue burden on the president’s time and duties

Banks didn’t have to bring the papers bc Cong had overstepped.

Reynolds v. Simms

Apportionment based on Equal Protection Clause. One person, one vote. Upheld requirement to redistrict every 10 years for population equality.

McGrain v. Daugherty

Teapot Dome Scandal. Oil lobby and the President. Subpoenaed Daugherty, and he refused to produce records. Daugherty found in contempt, and SCOTUS upheld.

Held: Congress can subpoena information when necessary and proper to do so

Watkins v. U.S.

Red Scare. House UnAmerican Activities Committee → subpoena labor union leader Watkins. Watkins refuses based on 1st Amendment Rights. Found in contempt of Cong.

Ruling: If Congressional inquiry is to “aid the legislative process” and to protect government interests in order to be legitimate. What is the “question under inquiry”? Will there be any legislation to come against Communism?

Barenblatt v. U.S.

College Professor subpoenaed to testify at House Comm on Un-American Activities. Refuses on 1st Amendment grounds. Found in contempt of Cong.

What is the purpose in this case? To reduce funding for universities with a significant Communist presence. Therefore, the legislative purpose was upheld, and Barenblatt’s contempt was upheld.

Powell v. McCormick

Rep. Adam Clayton Powell. House voted to exclude him from taking his seat because of financial and ethical misconduct. Powell had disregarded court orders and was being investigated by House Ethics Comm. Exclude but not expel because he hadn’t been sworn in. Started moving assets so that court couldn’t find them to take judgments (liens) from a defamation case. Avoiding seizure to pay judgments. Cong took away his committee standings, reduced pay, and censured him effectively. He was physically removed by the Speaker.

Powell’s Argument: Can’t exclude. Should seat him and find 2/3 maj to expel. SCOTUS agreed because the House imposed additional requirements from what the Constitution establishes. Altered Constitution’s meaning. Took rule making clause too far.

U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton

Arkansas voters imposed term limits on Congressional delegation. 2 terms in Senate and 3 terms in House. Can’t be on the ballot after finishing these terms. SCOTUS: States can’t impose additional qualifications beyond those in Article I, Sec 2. If the states make individual changes, there will be a lack of uniformity. Would have to do this through an Amendment to the Constitution, like with the President.

Congressional Immunity

NOT the same as Presidential immunity where they can’t be prosecuted for official duties while in office.

Speech and Debate Clause - May not be arrested for their speech on the floor or leaving the floor.

Hutchinson v. Proxmire

Golden Fleece Awards by Proxmire. What are the dumbest things done in government? Namely government waste through appropriations.

Hutchinson researched stress in monkeys. Proxmire gave Golden Fleece to NASA for the research efforts, saying it was not smart to research this topic. However, they were trying to find out how pressure from submarines and rockets would affect people. Part of Hutchinson’s grant was cancelled, and his life-long research was illegitimized. Hutchinson sued for defamation and got a settlement before starting in court.

SCOTUS: Speech and Debate Clause doesn’t protect transmission of information by members of Cong through press releases or newsletters. Strict interpretation. Proxmire reached a settlement with Hutchinson.

Walter Nixon v. U.S.

Senate has sole power to try impeachments.

BUT didn’t FORMALLY try. Investigation by a committee and then took a vote on Senate floor. Temporary Committee to investigate and not a full trial. Nixon said that Senate failed procedurally.

SCOTUS: It’s a political question, and the Senate can make internal rules. Non-justiciable, so the impeachment stood.

Gibbons v. Ogden

Steamboat case. Ogden operated a steamboat for a monopoly in New York, which often went into the waters of NJ. Gibbons was a former partner of Ogden who began operating in the same area with a federal license granted by an act of Congress.

SCOTUS: The monopoly by NY is void because it interferes with the act of Cong. Cong’s power to regulate commerce extends to waterways when considering interstate trade. Federal law supersedes that of the states.

U.S. v. EC Knight Co.

Sugar refining monopoly. Fed gov filed under Sherman Antitrust Act because the monopoly restricted interstate trade. EC Knight argued that since all of the production happened in the state of PA, there is no interstate commerce involved.

SCOTUS: Cong overstepped by filing under Sherman Antitrust Act because the transformation of raw materials within one state does not constitute interstate commerce.

Standard Oil v. U.S.

Just a few years after the Sugar Trust, the Supreme Court allowed the Sherman Act to be used against Standard Oil because of its empire of pipelines, shipping networks, railways, etc., that meant it controlled the interstate trade in petroleum.

Evidence showed Standard Oil had used its power to control oil and other prices for decades.

Hammer v. Dagenhart

Child Labor Act of 1916.

Dagenhart filed suit against Hammer, who was US attorney

tasked with enforcement of the child labor law.

The Supreme Court struck down the child labor law as

beyond the powers of Congress. Production is different than

commerce. Different than banning lottery tickets or tainted

food because those goods caused harm.

Can’t prescribe a law indirectly concerning Commerce.

NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Co.

National Labor Relations Act protected rights to unionize and to engage in collective bargaining. J&L Steel owner would fire those associated with unions. NLRB issued fines against the company and ordered the employees fired to be reinstated with back pay. J&L refused.

Did Congress have the authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate local labor relations and unfair labor practices as a manufacturing facility?

Yes. Any local activity that has a “close and substantial relation” to interstate commerce can be “commerce” sufficient for Congress to have the authority to regulate it.

The Court did away with the “production” and “manufacturing” distinctions of previous cases. A labor disruption at just one plant would have severe impacts on the interstate stream of raw materials coming into that plant.

• Because of this potential disruption in an industry, labor relations bear a “close and substantial relation” to commerce.

U.S. v. Darby Lumber. What case did it overrule?

Fair Labor Standards Act 1938

• National minimum wage

• Maximum hours work week

• Overtime pay requirements

• Failure to comply → No movement of goods in interstate commerce

Darby had lumber company in GA. All wood came from GA. Very localized. BUT refused to comply with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Criminally indicted. Ships lumber to other states.

SCOTUS: Manufacturing is not interstate commerce, but the shipping is. Because of this, Congress can regulate intrastate activities, such as manufacture, because unfair labor practice would give Darby a competitive advantage in the national marketplace.

Overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) – the child labor case.

Wickard v. Filburn

Filburn exceeded the quota for wheat production. Used it extremely locally. Didn’t sell it, just fed his animals on his farm.

BUT would affect interstate commerce because others would start doing this instead of buying wheat on the market. The aggregate effect makes it wrong for him to violate the quota. Therefore, the act that implemented the quota stands, and Filburn has to pay the fine.

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964)

Challenged CRA 1964. The motel was necessarily tied into interstate travel. It was near two interstates, it advertised in national media, and most of its business was from out-of-state travelers.

Affected interstate commerce because people of color could not stay at the motel. If every place refused to rent rooms to them, these people would not be able to travel effectively. Travel stimulates other states’ economies, and limiting an entire people group from traveling will hurt tourism.

Katzenbach v. McClung (1964)

BBQ joint in Birmingham that refused to serve people of color inside the business. Had a pickup window. The ingredients for their food came from out of state. Was located on a highway and had a significant amount of interstate travelers eating there. Participating in interstate movement of goods.

Like Wickard, the aggregate effect of intrastate activities exerts a substantial impact on interstate commerce.

U.S. v. Lopez Facts

G_n Free School Zones Act of 1990. Guy brought his g_n to school. Argued that Cong didn’t have the ability to pass the act through the Commerce Clause. Asked for motion to dismiss because he couldn’t get off as innocent.

Question: How is bringing a g_n near a school related to the economy?

Cong’s Response: They have parts from many places. Ammunition comes from elsewhere, too.

SCOTUS: Didn’t buy it. Overturned the law. Thought that everything would be commerce if this stood. A criminal statute doesn’t relate to the economy.

Lopez Test

Where Congress can legislate under “regulation of commerce”:

1. The channels of interstate commerce (Rail, shipping, highways)

2. The instrumentalities of interstate commerce (Trucks, ships, airplanes)

3. Local activities that substantially affect interstate commerce (must be inherently commercial in nature)

Reno v. Condon (2000)

Driver’s Privacy Protection Act 1994 outlawed the sale of individual’s DMV personal records by states.

SC sued because they were making lots of money. Said it was unconstitutional because it abused 10th Amendment rights for states and “commandeered” them.

SCOTUS: Cong didn’t command the states to do anything. It merely regulated the state’s activities as a commercial seller of personal information, which is part of Congress’s ability to regulate commerce.

U.S. v. Morrison

Violence Against Women Act 1994, which created a federal civil lawsuit for victims of gender motivated violence.

Virginia Tech filed against 2 other students.

The Supreme Court, citing the Lopez test, held gender motivated

crimes are not economic activity. Plus, non-economic, intrastate

criminal conduct cannot be aggregated to create a substantial impact on interstate commerce

To do so would mean that the federal government could essentially federalize any crime, or any local government issue which would erase the federal / state distinction and weaken the local police powers of a state.

Gonzalez v. Raich

California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, for state residents with a doctor’s prescription

2 women with chronic medical conditions using and growing medical marijuana. Got busted.

The women argued that purely intrastate cultivation of marijuana and its personal use was beyond the powers of Congress to regulate, as it did not constitute interstate commerce.

SCOTUS: Cited Wickard v. Filburn. Like Wickard, in the aggregate, the local production and consumption of marijuana would have a substantial effect on interstate commerce, even though it was illegal federally. High demand for marijuana would eventually draw locally produced marijuana into the national illicit marketplace for it.

NFIB v. Sebelius

Obamacare. Individual mandate was constitutional and expansion of Medicaid was unconstitutional.

SCOTUS: Individual mandate - tax collected by IRS if you don’t enroll in an insurance plan. Constitutional because it relies on taxing and spending powers.

Medicaid expansion provisions exceeded Congress’s authority because it unconstitutionally forced state legislatures to act. Can’t commandeer states.