CRJU Final Exam

Constitutional Revolution of 1937

dramatic shift in the Supreme Court's jurisprudence, where it began upholding New Deal legislation. This pivot followed President FDR's failed 1937 "court-packing" plan, "the switch in time that saved nine"—legitimizing federal economic regulation.

War Powers Act

Effort by Congress to take a more active role in setting foreign and military policy, Urges consultation with Congress before committing troops – Must notify Congress 48 hours after troop deployment

Must withdraw troops after 60 days unless Congress authorized continued use of military force

Right to Privacy

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to privacy

“Zones of Privacy”

• Right to privacy provided in the Bill of Rights (2nd, 4th, 14th) - created by the “penumbras” of several fundamental guarantees (No explicit right)

Commerce Clause

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. The Constitution empowers Congress to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes".

• Became Congress’ main lawmaking power 

Commerce Clause Cases (start —> end)

• Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. (1964) - Expanding role for preventing discrimination at private businesses

• US v Lopez (1995) - G*ns in school zones could not be prohibited on this basis —> the clause was not unlimited (which they acted like it was for a while)

Living Constitution

• part of legal liberalism - Constitution should be interpreted with an understanding of modern context, changing with time - not stagnant 

• Constitution to evolve with societal needs, values, and technological advancements without requiring formal amendments

• contrasting Originalism

"Imperial Presidency"

• Concept developed by Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Growth of presidential power since at least FDR, Crisis mentality, Culture of secrecy, Blurring of foreign and domestic policy 

  • describing the modern U.S. presidency, referring to an executive branch that has accumulated significantly more power than the Constitution allows - particularly due to the unchecked use of war powers, emergency prerogatives, and executive secrecy

Watergate - The Break-In

• In June 1972, five men tied to President Nixon's re-election campaign were caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel-office complex in Washington, D.C.. They were planting listening devices (bugs) and taking photos of secret documents.

Watergate - The Cover-Up

• Instead of letting the police do their job, President Nixon and his top officials used the CIA and FBI to cover up the crime, hide evidence, and pay the burglars to stay quiet. Nixon won re-election later that year.

Watergate - The Investigation

• Despite the administration's efforts, two sharp reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, continued to investigate. At the same time, a Senate committee launched an investigation and held televised hearings where Americans learned the truth about the corruption and the cover-up.

Watergate - The Tapes

• The biggest shock came during the Senate hearings: someone revealed that Nixon secretly recorded all conversations in his Oval Office. Investigators fought to get these tapes.

Watergate - The Resignation

• The tapes proved that Nixon had actively participated in the cover-up and obstructed justice. Facing certain impeachment and removal from office, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, becoming the first and only U.S. president to ever do so.

Executive Privilege

• implied presidential power to withhold sensitive communications, documents, or testimony from Congress and the judiciary

Executive Privilege - Nixon

tried to claim this when the tapes were being subpoenaed - president needs candid and private advice

Unitary Executive Theory

• Article 2 - argument that power of the executive branch rests solely on elected president, one person embodies the entire executive branch - President is the exclusive manager of all parts of the executive branch

“Constitution-in-Exile”

• Conservative ideology

• Original Constitution had been replaced through liberal decisions  Conservative justices needed to go “revive” the constitution - Proponents argue for returning to a "pre-New Deal" interpretation of limited government

• Proponents sought to revive a strict reading of the Constitution that imposed strict limits on federal and state regulatory power.

Selective Incorporation

the most important provisions of the BOR "preferred freedoms” - the Supreme Court applies, on a case-by-case basis, most of the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights to the states via the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment

Southern Manifesto (on integration)

• response to Brown decision 

  • Reaffirms states’ rights and dual federalism, Appeals to the democratic process, Asks for judicial restraint, Rejects judicial supremacy

  • decried forced integration, pledged to use "all lawful means" to reverse the ruling, and fueled the era's "Massive Resistance" 

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Title II of Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination in public accommodations - Overcoming state action doctrine (not being able to regulate private discrimination)

• President Lyndon B. Johnson - outlawed systemic discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, effectively ending legal segregation across public accommodations, schools, and the workplace

"All Deliberate Speed"

• (Brown II) - Rather than setting a strict federal deadline, Brown II tasked local federal district courts and school authorities with developing and managing desegregation plans.

  • Does not require full integration, but steps toward desegregation - No deadline BUT…

Massive resistance

• a coordinated, white supremacist campaign to block the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education desegregation ruling. Led by Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd, it utilized state laws to cut funding and close schools that integrated, delaying desegregation for over a decade

Judicial Activism

• not partisan, courts using their power to shape politics 

  • interpret the Constitution or laws loosely to strike down legislation, reverse precedents, or shape public policy

Judicial Restraint

• urges judges to defer to elected lawmakers and stick to strict precedent

Stare Decisis

• “letting the decision stand” rely on previous decisions 

  • Not sticking with decisions could go against legitimacy 

  • Reliance - people can base their decisions around the law 

Federalist Society

Road to a Conservative Court

• powerful and highly influential organization of conservative and libertarian lawyers, judges, and law students founded in 1982

Organized Special-Interest Litigation

• Challenge the equality prong of separate but equal (e.g. NAACP)

• Establish precedents, starting with graduate education

• advocacy groups initiate or join lawsuits to achieve systemic policy, civil rights, or social change

Shadow Docket

• the U.S. Supreme Court's emergency and non-merits docket. It involves time-sensitive requests—such as stays, injunctions, or summary rulings—that are decided without traditional, full briefing or oral arguments, and often lack detailed public explanations or recorded vote counts.

Earl Warren

• as a politician: Achieves unanimity, Avoids blame, Delays specifics 

  • Cases: impartial jury (1961), exclusionary rule (1961), cruel and unusual punishment (1962), right to petition (1963), right to counsel (1963), warrant requirements (1964), confrontation of witnesses (1965), right to subpoena (1967), speedy trial (1967), jury trial (1968), double jeopardy (1969)

Richard Nixon

• watergate president in 1969 until his resignation in 1974 - Imperial Presidency: Rationalization of illegal activities on the grounds that they were in the interest of the nation

Ronald Reagan

• important figure in the Growth of Conservatism (1980-present)

  • served as president from 1981 to 1989

Brown v. Board of Education I

refers to two landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that dismantled legalized racial segregation in public schools.

• declared state laws establishing separate schools to be unconstitutional

Brown v. Board of Education Holding

• separate but equal educational facilities are inherently unequal - violates the 14th Amendment equal protections

  • Separate but equal educational facilities are inherently unequal

  • Focuses on social and psychological evidence 

    • Doll color - even young children were being taught a racial hierarchy learned inferiority complex  

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

• Crisis at Central H.S. (Little Rock, Ark.)

• The Supreme Court orders that the desegregation plan could not be delayed and Ark. Could not pass laws against integration

• Unanimous and signed by every justice

• Court’s strongest statement of judicial supremacy

• Supreme court interpretation is the supreme law of the land 

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

• Expanding role of Commerce clause 

  • Title II of Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination in public accommodations - Overcoming state action doctrine (not being able to regulate private discrimination)

  • Relied mainly on the interstate commerce clause - economic regulation (barring one demographic from being able to travel/buy things influences the growth of the economy/interstate commerce)

  • a privately-owned business that did not rent rooms to POC

  • BUT they engaged in interstate commerce because they allowed out of state guests, were on main highway, and advertised nationally 

  • Nationalization of rights - they should apply wherever you live 

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

• a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to privacy

• Struck down a Connecticut law prohibiting contraception use. The 7-2 ruling determined that married couples have the right to access birth control, with the Court arguing that the Bill of Rights implies a "zone of privacy"

• Right to privacy provided in the Bill of Rights (2nd, 4th, 14th)

  • No explicit right, but zone of privacy implied by multiple amendments

• A “zone of privacy” is created by the “penumbras” of several fundamental guarantees

U.S. v. Carolene Products Co. (1938)

• Upheld the constitutionality of the Filled Milled Act of 1923 – outlawed interstate shipment of skimmed milk products made to resemble 

• Holding: Congress is free to regulate any product it reasonably perceives to be harmful 

• Courts won’t second-guess Congress’ economic regulations (EXCEPT in certain circumstances —> enter here Footnote 4)

Footnote 4

• Setting a new agenda for the court origin of strict scrutiny analysis In the future, the court may scrutinize certain cases more closely:

1. Laws that are inconsistent with the explicit text of the Constitution (especially the Bill of Rights) 

2. Laws that interfere with democratic processes (voting rights, freedom of speech)

3. Laws that violate the rights of discrete and insular minorities (especially racial and religious

Part of United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938)

Roe v. Wade (1973):

• Not a Warrant court decision, but the epitome of legal liberalism

• “The right to privacy is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy” 

• Issue: Texas had limited right to abortions only to if a doctor deemed it essential to  save the life of the mother 

• Constitutional claim: violating right to privacy of the mother 

Trimester Framework

• The Supreme Court established this in Roe v. Wade (1973) to balance a woman's constitutional right to privacy (bodily autonomy) against the state's interest in protecting health and potential life. 

Trimester Framework - 1st Trimester

No restrictions

Trimester Framework - 2nd Trimester

Restrictions to protect life or health of the mother

Trimester Framework - 3rd Trimester

• Restrictions including complete bans to protect fetus 

• At point of viability (could survive outside womb)

• Did not provide women complete access to abortion 

  • Allowed women to have options– almost like a man would (equality)

  • Allowed women to have the choice to have children

U.S. V. Nixon (1974)

• Executive privilege is not absolute 

  • He tried to claim absolute executive privilege when the tapes were being subpoenaed - president needs candid and private advice  

• Need for relevant evidence in a criminal proceeding outweighs general executive interest in confidential advice 

• Trial judge will conduct an in camera investigation to determine which documents may remain confidential

United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Assessing constitutionality of Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990: federal offense to possess a firearm in a school zone 

• Holding: The commerce clause was not unlimited (which they acted like it was for a while), Possession of a gun in a local school zone is in no sense an economic activity

United States v. Lopez - Dissent

• Breyer

  • Acts of violence have a disruptive potential effect on commerce 

  • Connection between education and national economic well-being 

  • Guns near schools have a disruptive effect on education 

  • Wickard (growing wheat) rule - cumulative effect on commerce counts, even if it not directly related

Casey v. Planned Parenthood - Question

• Did PA’s requirement of a waiting period, spousal notification, and parental consent violate Roe v. Wade? 

  • The Court overturned the Roe trimester framework in favor of a viability analysis

  • Applying this new standard of review, the Court upheld four provisions of the Pennsylvania law, but invalidated the requirement of spousal notification.

Casey v. Planned Parenthood Holding

• “The essential holding of Roe v. Wade should be retained and once again reaffirmed” 

• Reliance and legitimacy

• Replaced the trimester framework with the “undue burden” 

  • Only the spousal notification provision imposed an undue burden

  • Narrowing of the right to an abortion 

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. (2022)

• Case eliminated the federal constitutional right to an abortion, overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, returning the authority to regulate abortion entirely to individual states

  • “not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and tradition” 

Trump v. United States (2024)

• A former U.S. President has

  • absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive constitutional authority

  • presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts

  • no immunity for unofficial acts.

Louisiana v. Callais (2026)

• Louisiana's congressional map, which included a second majority-Black district, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Court found that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act did not require the state to draw the district, making the state's reliance on race unjustified.

  • The majority's new standards make it nearly impossible to use Section 2 to remedy racial discrimination in redistricting.

Legal Liberalism

• Judicial monopoly on constitutional review (Cooper v. Aaron)

• Living Constitution

  • Meaning is not fixed and must change with society - rejection of originalism 

• Litigation as the most effective avenue for social change

• Nationalization of constitutional rights

• Equality is the primary value of democratic government

Watergate and the Imperial Presidency

• Rationalization of illegal activities on the grounds that they were in the interest of the nation

• “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal”

• Must be understood in the context of Vietnam and the Cold War/presidential power in foreign affairs

• He lost when it came to seem more like an effort to protect his political career

War on Terror Expansion

• In the 21st century, executive power expanded further via the USA PATRIOT Act and the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). This modern era brought forth complex constitutional battles surrounding indefinite detention, military tribunals, targeted drone strikes, and access to habeas corpus for detainees

Conservative Impact on Precedent

• early conservative courts narrowed Warren Court precedents without completely overturning them (e.g., Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirming the essential holding of Roe via stare decisis) , a modern conservative majority has increasingly dismantled previous rulings.

• Under this framework, rights like abortion have been rejected as "not deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition" , and gun restrictions are deemed valid only if supported by historical tradition.

Brown v. Board of Education II

• (1955) issued the guidelines for how and when integration should be implemented - “all deliberate speed”

NAACP Legal Strategy

• Challenge the equality prong of separate but equal

• Establish precedents, starting with graduate education

• Gradually expand the criteria for measuring equality 

The Road to Brown

• Teacher salary cases

• Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1938) equal options must be available within the state 

• Sipuel v. Oklahoma immediate admission 

• McLaurin v. Oklahoma separate treatment is not equal 

• Sweatt v. Painter (1950) law student pursuing admission at white university, “intangible” (alumni, employment opportunities) qualities must be equal