Constitutional Law Lecture Notes (CH 2-3)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

FACTS

• Jefferson won elections against Adams so Adams fill spot with federalists

• Judiciary Act (expanded original jurisdiction)

• William Marbury appointed as justice of peace by judicial commission but commission not delivered the night before and Maddison (secretary of state) did not deliver it

QUESTIONS

1. does the plaintiff have the right to receive the commission?

2. can they sue for their commission in court?

3. does the USSC have the authority to order the executive to give the commission by the Writ of Mandamus?

ANSWERS

• Y, N, N

• Unanimous decision for Marbury

• Maddison should hand over the commission [but SCOTUS cannot force him to give it (executive’s job) and cannot change a law to clarify that (legislative’s job)]

• HOWEVER, Judiciary Act unconstitutional so the court could not do anything over this

• Judiciary Act was passed as a law and it contradicted the Constitution BUT the Constitution is higher so SUPREMACY CLAUSE

JUDICIARY REVIEW ESTABLISHED BECAUSE OF THIS

US v. Nixon (1974)

FACTS

• 7 people who worked with Nixon convicted with crimes related to the Watergate Scandal

• Defendants wanted videotape recording but Nixon said he was immune from the subpoena because of EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE

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QUESTION

1. Is the president’s executive power and confidentiality immune from judicial review?

ANSWER

• N

• Unanimous decision against Nixon

• no separation of powers or need for confidentiality can be an absolute presidential privilege

• Nixon turned in the recordings (Court had offered option of listening to the tape themselves and seeing if theres a national threat by releasing these tapes)

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

FACTS

• NY monopoly by Robert Livington and Fulton

  • navigation of water by steamboat

  • Aaron Ogden assigned a piece under this

• Thomas Gibbons was licensed federally and did jobs between NY and NJ

• Ogden sued in NY courts and got a permanent injunction (a court order to stop Gibbons)

• Gibbon appealed in SCOTUS

QUESTIONS

1. Does the commerce clause give congress authority over interstate navigation?

ANSWERS

• Y

• Unanimous for Gibbons

• This power is reserved for Congress under the commerce clause

• NY law conflicted with Constitutional/Federal law so invalidated

SUPREMACY CLAUSE
COMMERCE CLAUSE

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

• Section 1: Bans any contracts, deals, or plots that unfairly restrain trade or limit commerce between states.

• Section 2: Makes it illegal to monopolize, or try to monopolize, any part of trade.

• Enforcement: Is handled by the U.S. Department of Justice to protect consumers from high prices and fixed markets.

US v. Lopez (1995)

FACTS

• Congress passes Gun Free Zone Act (GFZA) which prohibits the possession of guns within a 1,000 foot radius of schools

• Lopez brings gun to school and was originally charged under Texas laws but then escalated to Federal crime

QUESTION

1. Is the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act, forbidding individuals from knowingly carrying a gun in a school zone, unconstitutional because it exceeds the power of Congress to legislate under the Commerce Clause?

ANSWERS

• Y

• 5-4 for Lopez

• The fact that “guns in school disrupt learning, which stops the student from becoming civilly productive and thus affecting commerce” is too much of a stretch

• law is unconstutional

Wickard v. Filburn (1942)

FACTS

• Filburn was a small farmer in Ohio who harvested nearly 12 acres of wheat above his allotment under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938

• Filburn was penalized under the Act

• argued that the extra wheat that he had produced in violation of the law had been used for his own use

QUESTION

1. Did the Act violate the Commerce Clause?

ANSWERS

• N

• Unanimous for Wickard

• these individual actions build up and congress then has the right to regulate it since it affects commerce on a scale

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v Sawyer (1952)

FACTS

• during Korean War

• President Truman issued an executive order directing Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer to seize and operate most of the nation's steel mills

• avoid the expected effects of a strike by the United Steelworkers of America

QUESTIONS

1. Did the President have the constitutional authority to seize and operate the steel mills?

ANSWERS

• N

• 6-3 for Youngstown

• no congressional statute that authorized the President to take possession of private property

• President's military power as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces did not extend to labor disputes

Roe v. Wade (1973)

FACTS

• Roe sues Wade (General Attorney of Texas) because of law stating that abortions can only happen with a doctor’s note to save a woman’s life

• claimed that this violated her right to privacy in the 4th, 5th, 9th and 14th

QUESTIONS

1. Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?

ANSWERS

• Y

• 7-2 for Roe

• right of a woman to get an abortion is balanced against the government’s interests in protecting women's health and protecting “the potentiality of human life”

• fetus is not a human thus does not get due process and other constitutional rights

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s health organization (2022)

FACTS

• Mississippi passed Gestational Age Act which prohibits all abortions after 15 weeks’ gestational age

• Dr from Jackson Women’s Health Organization sued and asked for a temporary removal of the law until litigation over

• Court decided that it was unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade precedent so Appeal

QUESTION

1. Is Mississippi’s law banning nearly all abortions after 15 weeks’ gestational age unconstitutional?

ANSWER

• N

• 6-3 for Dobbs

• Abortion is not a right in the constitution

• Roe v Wade and Cassey v. Planned Parenthood overturned

• in Roe they were “legislating from the bench”

Goldberg v. Kelly (1970)

FACTS

• John Kelly (on behalf of NY citizens) challenged constitutionality of terminating benefits without fair notice or hearing (AKA due process)

QUESTION

1. Does a state's termination of public aid, without affording the beneficiary a hearing prior to termination, violate notions of procedural due process as set out in the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause?

ANSWERS

• y

• 5-3 for Kelly

• welfare benefits are statutory rights not ‘privileges’ thus are entitled to that protection

• state interests in conserving administrative costs are not sufficient to override public aid recipients interest in procedural due process

• found NY new system deficient insofar as they did not permit recipients to present evidence, be heard orally in person or through counsel, or cross-examine adverse witnesses

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

FACTS

• FEC stopped publication of Hillary: The Movie because it expressed an opinion on if she would be a good president

• It was within the timeframe of the elections were companies were not allowed to advertise a candidate

• Citizen United said that law unconstitutional

QUESTIONS:

1. Did the Supreme Court's decision in McConnell resolve all constitutional as-applied challenges to the BCRA when it upheld the disclosure requirements of the statute as constitutional?

2. Do the BCRA's disclosure requirements impose an unconstitutional burden when applied to electioneering requirements because they are protected "political speech" and not subject to regulation as "campaign speech"?

3. If a communication lacks a clear plea to vote for or against a particular candidate, is it subject to regulation under the BCRA?

4. Should a feature length documentary about a candidate for political office be treated like the advertisements at issue in McConnell and therefore be subject to regulation under the BCRA?

ANSWERS:

• NNYY

• 5-4 for Citizens United

• Overruled Austin

• Political speech is needed for democracy

• Political speech from person is same as from companies/corporations

• Is a government interest and providing the electorate with information

• Dissidents argued that corporation are not equal to people

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

FACTS

• Johnson burned a flag to protest the Reagan administration

• Did this infant of Dallas City Hall

• Charged under Texas law and convicted

• Appealed and taken to SCOTUS
  
  

QUESTIONS

1. Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning or otherwise, a form of speech that is protected under the First Amendment?

ANSWERS

• Y

• 5-4 for Johnson

• Flag burning is expressive conduct

Heckler’s veto: The government cannot shut down lawful speech just because an audience or opposing group reacts with anger, hostility, or threats of violence

Kennedy v Bermerton School District (2022)

FACTS

• Kennedy (coach) prayed with students before and after games

• Bremerton fired him because of fear of violation of establishment clause

• Kennedy sued and district court upheld the school’s actions

• Kennedy appealed and taken to SCOTUS

QUESTIONS

1. Is a public school employee’s prayer during school sports activities protected speech, and if so, can the public school employer prohibit it to avoid violating the Establishment Clause?

ANSWERS

• Y, N

• First amendment protects the people and allows them to exercise their religion

• The school had disciplined the coach 3 times previously for private prayers

• This was suppressing his free speech and religion

• There is no compelling purpose

• Lemon test abandoned and replaced by historical practices and understanding