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Standing Requirements
Injury
Causation and Redressability
No Third Party Standing
No Generalized Grievances
Standing: Injury
Plaintiff must prove that they have been or imminently will be injured
Plaintiff may only assert injuries that they personally have suffered
Plaintiffs seeking injunctive or declaratory relief must show a likelihood of future harm
Standing: Causation and Redressability
Plaintiff must allege and prove that the defendant caused the injury so that a favorable court decision is likely to remedy the injury
The injury must be traceable to the challenged government conduct
A declaration that the government conduct is illegal or unconstitutional must be capable of eliminating the harm
Standing: Third Party Standing
Close relationship between the plaintiff and the injured third party
Injured third party is unlikely to be able to assert their own rights
Organizational Standing
Individual members would have standing to sue
Interests are germane to the organization’s purpose
Neither the claim nor the relief requires individuals to participate
Standing: Generalized Grievances
Neither citizenship standing nor taxpayer standing are sufficient
Exception: Taxpayers have standing to challenge government expenditures made pursuant to statutes as violating the Establishment Clause
Ripeness
Issue: Whether a federal court may grant pre-enforcement review
Hardship that will be suffered without pre-enforcement review
Fitness of the issues and the record for judicial review
Ripeness is usually satisfied if the challenger must choose between taking steps to comply with the law or facing possible sanctions for not complying
Mootness and Exceptions
There must be a live controversy through all stages of the proceeding. If the plaintiff’s injury ends while the lawsuit is pending, the case must be dismissed as moot.
Wrongs Capable of Repetition But Evading Review
Voluntary Cessation: Defendant halts offending conduct but is free to resume it at any time
Class Actions: Class actions will not be dismissed if the named plaintiff’s claim becomes moot as long as one class member has an ongoing injury
Political Question Doctrine
Federal courts will not adjudicate issues that are (1) constitutionally committed to another branch of government or (2) inherently incapable of judicial resolution
Challenges based on the “Republican Form of Government” Clause
Challenges to the President’s conduct of foreign policy
Challenges to the impeachment and removal process
Challenges to partisan gerrymandering
Supreme Court Review
Writ of Certiorari: Virtually all cases
Appeal: Decisions of three-judge federal district courts
Original and Exclusive Jurisdiction: Suits between states
Final Judgment Rule: Supreme Court Review
Generally, the Supreme Court may hear cases only after there has been a final judgment from the highest state court, a federal court of appeals, or a three-judge federal district court
Adequate and Independent State Grounds
The Supreme Court will not review a state court decision that is supported by an adequate and independent state law ground
Adequate: Fully dispositive of the case
Independent: Decision is not based on federal interpretations of identical federal provisions
If the state court did not clearly indicate whether its decision rests on state law, the Supreme Court may hear the case
Eleventh Amendment and Sovereign Immunity
11th Amendment: Bars suits against states in federal court
Sovereign Immunity: Bars suits against states in state courts
Four Exceptions to State Sovereign Immunity
Express waiver
Congress may authorize suits against states under § 5 of the 14th Amendment
It must be unmistakably clear that Congress intended to remove the protection
Suits by the federal government and other states
Suits based on the “plan of the convention”
Bankruptcy
Federal laws adopted based on Congress’s power to raise an army and a navy
Suits Against State Officers
State officers may be sued for personal damages
State officers may be sued for injunctive relief, even if this will require prospective payment from the state treasury
A suit against a state officer is prohibited by sovereign immunity to the extent that it seek retroactive damages to be paid by the state
Abstention Doctrines
Federal courts may not enjoin pending state court proceedings
If state law is unclear and state court clarification of that law could make a federal constitutional ruling unnecessary, the federal court will abstain
Federal Police Powers
Congress has no general police power
Congress has police power type powers over:
Military bases
Indian reservations
Federal lands and territories
D.C.
Necessary and Proper Clause
Congress has the power to make all laws necessary and proper for executing any power granted to any branch of the federal government
Congress may choose any means not prohibited by the Constitution
Taxing and Spending Power
Congress has the power to tax and spend for the general welfare
Taxing and spending may be for any public purpose not prohibited by the Constitution
Taxes are generally upheld if they bear some reasonable relationship to revenue production or Congress has the power to regulate the activity taxed
Commerce Power
Channels of interstate commerce (roads, waterways, etc.)
Instrumentalities of interstate commerce (trucks, planes, etc.) and persons or things in interstate commerce
Activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce
Noneconomic Activity: Cannot be based on cumulative impact
Regulation of Intrastate Activity Under the Commerce Clause
Economic Activity: The court will uphold the regulation if there is a rational basis for concluding that the activity has a substantial affect on interstate commerce in the aggregate
Noneconomic Activity: The regulation will only be upheld if Congress can show a direct substantial economic effect on interstate commerce
Courts will not aggregate the effects
Tenth Amendment: Anti-Commandeering Principle
Congress cannot compel state regulatory or legislative action
Through its spending power, Congress can induce state and local government action by putting conditions on the grant of money that are:
Expressly stated
Relate to the purpose of the program
Not unduly coercive
Do not otherwise violate the Constitution
Congressional Power Under the Fourteenth Amendment
§ 5 gives Congress power to adopt laws to enforce the 14th Amendment
Congress cannot create new rights or expand the scope of rights
Congress can only act to prevent or remedy violations of rights already recognized by the courts
Laws must be proportionate and congruent to remedying constitutional violations
Delegation of Legislative Power
There is practically no limit on Congress’s ability to delegate legislative power
Congress can delegate regulatory authority as long as intelligible standards are set and the power isn’t uniquely confined to Congress (e.g., power to declare war)
Major Questions: A federal agency cannot act on a major question of economic or political significance without clear congressional authorization
Bicameralism and Presentment
For Congress to act, there must always be bicameralism and presentment
Bicameralism: Passage by both the House and the Senate
Presentment: Giving the bill to the President to sign or veto
Legislative vetoes are unconstitutional: Congress cannot overturn an executive action without bicameralism and presentment
Line-item vetoes are unconstitutional: President cannot veto part of a bill while signing the rest into law
Delegation of Executive Power
Congress may not delegate executive power to itself of its officers
Treaties
Negotiated by the President and ratified by two-thirds of the Senate
Treaties prevail over conflicting state laws
If a treaty conflicts with a federal statute, the one adopted last in time controls
Executive Agreements
Effective when signed by the President (Senate approval is not required)
Executive agreements prevail over conflicting state laws but never over conflicting federal laws
Recognition Power
The President has the power to recognize foreign governments
Congress cannot pass a statute designating the capital of a foreign country
President’s War Powers
Only Congress has the power to declare war
The President, as commander-in-chief, has broad powers to use troops without a congressional declaration of war
Congress may limit the President by refusing to appropriate money
Challenges to the President’s conduct as commander-in-chief are likely to be viewed as nonjusticiable political questions
Appointment Power
The President appoints ambassadors, federal judges, and officers of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate
Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President, the heads of departments, or the lower federal courts
The President may not make recess appointments (which don’t require Senate approval) during intrasession recesses that are less than 10 days
Removal Power
Unless removal is limited by statute, the President may fire any executive branch officer
For Congress to limit removal of an executive officer, the office involved must be one for which independence from the President is desirable
Congress cannot prevent removal, but can limit removal to good cause
Congress cannot limit the President’s authority to remove a single person who heads an agency and exercises substantial discretion
Impeachment
The President, VP, federal judges, and U.S. officers can be impeached and removed from office for treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors
Impeachment doesn’t remove a person from office (conviction is required)
Impeachment by the House of Representatives requires a majority vote
Conviction in the Senate requires a 2/3 vote
Executive Immunity
Absolute immunity to civil suits for money damages for actions while in office
No immunity for actions that occurred prior to taking office
Executive Privilege
The President has executive privilege over presidential papers and conversations
The privilege must yield to other important government interests (e.g., a need for the information in criminal trials)
President’s Financial Records
The President has no special protection when the President’s financial records are subpoenaed by a state grand jury
If the financial records are subpoenaed by a congressional committee, the court must balance the competing interests
Pardon Power
The President has the power to pardon those accused or convicted of federal crimes
Pardons cannot be for state crimes or civil liability
The pardon power cannot be limited by Congress
Veto Power
If the President vetoes an act of Congress, the act may still become law if the veto is overridden by a 2/3 vote of each house
Presidential Powers: Tripartite Framework
If the President acts with the express or implied authority of Congress, the President’s authority is at its maximum and the President’s actions are likely valid
If the President acts where Congress is silent, the action will be upheld unless it usurps the power of another governmental branch or prevents another branch from carrying out its tasks
If the President acts against the express will of Congress, the President has little authority, and the action is likely invalid
The President has no power to refuse to spend appropriated funds