Constitutional Law Exam 2

What is the political question doctrine?

cases that involve "political questions" as defined by judges are deemed non-justiciable

What article is the political question doctrine based out of?

article 4

What is malapportionment?

unequal distribution of voters per representative in a district

What cases deal with malapportionment?

Calgrove v. Green (1946), Baker v. Carr (1962), Luther v. Boren

What clause did the court cite in Calgrove v. Green?

guarantee clause

What was the decision in Calgrove v. Green?

The districts were constitutional because the court deemed the case as non-justiciable

What clause was cited in Baker v. Carr?

equal protections

What was the decision in Baker v. Carr?

the supreme court could hear cases about legislative redistricting

What did Baker v. Carr set?

criteria for determining what is and is not a "political question"

What clause was cited in Luther v. Boren?

guarantee clause

What was the court's decision in Luther v. Boren?

it was deemed non justiciable, saying it was not up to them to decide what is and is not a republican form of government

Why could the guarantee clause not be used in districting cases?

The clause specifically mentions the other branches of government and not the court

What is the political question criteria?

1. textual commitment to another branch of government

2. lack of judicially manageable standards

How was the political question doctrine applied with the guarantee clause and equal protections?

under the guarantee clause there is a textual commitment to the other branches, but under the equal protections clause, there is not

What was the issue in US v. Nixon (1993)?

A Mississippi district judge was found guilty of bribery and lying to the jury, so impeachment proceedings began.

Who heard the evidence in the Mississippi district judge's impeachment proceedings?

a sub-committee appointed by the Senate

What did the court decide in US v. Nixon?

whether or not just a sub-committee hearing evidence in an impeachment trial is constitutional or not is a political question

Why was the issue in US v. Nixon deemed a political question?

the Senate trying impeachments has textual evidence and the court did not want to get involved in what is and is not a trial

What is in article 1, section 2 and 3?

the qualifications for house and senate members

What are the qualifications to serve in the house?

must be a citizen for 7 years, must be at least 25 years old, must be an inhabitant of the state they are running for

What are the qualifications to serve in the senate?

must be a citizen for 9 years, must be at least 30 years old, must be an inhabitant of the state they are running for

What clause is in article 1, section 5?

the qualifications clause

what does the qualifications clause establish?

neither congress nor the states can add to the qualifications

What was the issue in Powell v McCormack (1969)?

Powell had criminal allegations and the house said they would decide if Powell could take his seat or not

What did the court decide in Powell v McCormack?

The senate cannot add qualifications

What was the court's reasoning in Powell v McCormack?

the framers thought elected officials should be chosen freely and Congress cannot limit who can serve, it could be dangerous for members of Congress to be able to change qualifications, it is important that representatives are chosen freely, and there is a difference between the power to expel and the power to exclude

What was the issue in US Term Limits v Thornton (1995)?

Arkansas's constitution prohibited people from being on the ballot after a certain amount of time

What did the court decide in US Term Limits v Thornton?

neither states nor congress can add to the constitution without an amendment

What was the court's reasoning in US Term Limits v Thornton?

Arkansas's constitution was contrary to the belief that people should choose who they want to govern them, there must be uniformity in qualifications among states, it was not a ballot regulation

What is a recent case dealing with voting rights?

Shelby County v Holder (2013)

What was the issue in Shelby County v Holder?

it was unfair that Congress had not updates the formula in the voting rights act

What did the court decide in Shelby County v Holder?

The formula was out of date, but it was not technically overturned

What was the result of Shelby County v Holder?

the Voting Rights Act is not enforceable until Congress updates the formula

Why has congress not updated the formula in the Voting Rights Act?

they don't want to be held accountable for it

What cases deal with debates over majority-minority districts?

Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), Shaw v. Reno (1993)

What did Thornburg v. Gingles establish

majority-minority districts

What did Shaw v Reno establish?

districts cannot only be drawn based on race and strict scrutiny would be applied to race-based districts

What are current arguments about majority-minority districts?

majority-minority districts violate the equal protections of other citizens and so they should be eliminated

Where is the vesting clause found?

article 2, section 1

What is the vesting clause?

executive powers shall be vested in a president of the united states

How many electors are in the electoral college?

538 total

How many electoral votes are needed to win the electoral college?

270

How is the number of electors found?

each stat has their amount of representatives plus two more to represent their senators

How do most states delegate their electoral votes?

winner takes all

How is there malapportionment in the electoral college?

proportionally, small states have more representation than large states

What are the qualifications to be President?

must be a natural born citizen of the US, must have resided in the US for 14 years, must be 35 years old

What are significant amendments regarding the president?

12th (1803) and 22nd (1951)

What is the 12th amendment?

the president and vice president must run on the same ticket

What is the 22nd amendment?

a president cannot serve for more than 2 terms or over 10 years

Where are impeachment proceedings found?

Article 2, section 4

What are impeachment proceedings?

the house votes to impeach, then the senate votes to remove

What vote is needed in the house to impeach?

1/2

What vote is needed in the senate to remove?

2/3

Who presides over presidential impeachment trials?

the chief justice of the supreme court

What was the question in In Re Neagle?

was the president justified in assigning a marshall to protect justice Stephen Field or did he over step?

What was the question in Train v City of New York (1975)?

can the president impound money when Congress has earmarked it for something

What was the decision in Train v City of New York?

the president has an obligation to do what congress says

What are current controversies regarding impounding money?

Trump impounded money meant for Ukraine because he was not happy with Zelensky

What is veto power?

the president chooses to sign or not sign a bill

After a president choose not sign a bill, what happens in the next 10 days?

If Congress is in session, the bill can become a law, if not in session, the bill becomes a pocket law

What is a line item veto?

the president can strike out certain expenditures in legislation

What was the issue in Clinton v. New York?

president struck out expenditures to New York hospitals with line-item veto

What did the court decide in Clinton v New York?

line-item vetoing is unconstitutional because it is not consistent with veto-procedures in the constitution

Where are the powers of appointment found?

article 2, section 2

What are the powers appointment?

the president has the power to appoint judges, ambassadors and federal agencies and the senate confirms them

What is the excepting clause?

congress may vest the power of "inferior officers" as they think proper in either the president alone, in courts of law or in heads of departments

What was the issue in Morrison v. Olson (1988)?

was the independent council created to investigate wrong-doing in the executive branch was an inferior or a principle officer

What did the court decide in Morrison v Olson?

the independent council is an inferior officer

What does the court consider when deciding if an officer is inferior or principle?

who they report to

What was the issue in Meyers v. US (1926)?

the president fired the postmaster without senatorial approval

What was the decision in Meyers v US?

the statute requiring the Senate's approval for removal was unconstitutional

What was the reasoning in Meyers v US?

there is a pool of candidates for appointment, but removing someone who confidence is lost in is much more severe, the president needs to have full and complete confidence in officers and needs to have full disciplinary authority over those who act under him

What was the issue in Humphrey's executor v US (1935)?

the president removed a commissioner on the executive board of the federal trade commission

What did the court decide in Humphrey's executor v US?

the limits on presidential power in this instance were constitutional because the commissioners are not "wholly executive" they perform "quasi legislative" and "quasi judicial functions"

What are recent debates over presidential removal power?

Selia law v. consumer financial protection bureau (2020), Rebecca Slaughter

Who presides over presidential impeachment trials?