Key Concepts of Powers and Legal Cases in Government

Inherent Powers

• Definition: Powers that automatically belong to the government of every sovereign state.

• Focus: Primarily concerned with the ability to interact with foreign governments.

Delegated Powers

• Definition: Powers of the national government that are connected to the constitution.

• Categories:

  • Expressed Powers:

  • Definition: Powers that are explicitly listed in the constitution.

  • Implied Powers:

  • Definition: Powers not listed in the constitution but necessary to exercise an expressed power.

  • Authorization: Constitutionally authorized by the Necessary and Proper Clause or Elastic Clause.

  • Enumerated Powers:

  • Synonymous with expressed powers; specifically listed in the constitution.

Necessary and Proper / Elastic Clause

• Definition: Clause that constitutionally authorizes implied powers.

• Function: Mentions the existence of implied powers without listing them explicitly.

Reserved Powers

• Definition: Powers of state governments that are not listed in the constitution but existed prior to it.

• Acknowledgment: The Tenth Amendment acknowledges the existence of these powers.

Police Power

• Definition: The power of a state to enact laws to promote public health, safety, morality, peace, and order in society.

Concurrent Powers

• Definition: Powers shared by both the national and state governments.

• Example: The power to collect taxes, regarded as a reserved power for states and an expressed power for the national government.

Supremacy Clause

• Definition: Clarifies the hierarchy of legal authority when conflicts arise between federal and state laws.

• Hierarchy:

  • US Constitution (supreme law of the land)

  • Federal law and treaties

  • State constitutions and laws

Full Faith and Credit Clause

• Definition: Requires each state to recognize and respect the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

• Definition: Mandates that states should not unreasonably discriminate against the citizens of other states.

Key Supreme Court Cases

• McCulloch v. Maryland:

  • Significance: Confirmed that the national government could charter a bank even without explicit authorization.

  • Impact: Assured the upholding of implied powers.

• Gibbons v. Ogden:

  • Significance: Affirmed that the national government could license steamships, extending the interstate commerce power significantly.

• Wickard v. Filburn:

  • Significance: Dramatically expanded the interstate commerce power to include cases where activities aren't directly linked to buying or selling as long as they have a substantial economic effect.

• United States v. Lopez:

  • Significance: Restricted the interstate commerce power by limiting it to activities not significantly removed from actual commerce, exemplified by the case involving gun possession at schools.

• Printz v. United States:

  • Significance: Reinforced that the federal government cannot compel state governments to enforce federal laws, including requirements for running background checks for gun purchases.