Justicia-bility
What is required to have Art. III standing, ?
1. Injury-in-fact
2. Causation
3. Redressability
What does the Necessary and Proper Clause require in order for Congress to invoke it?
To be tied to the exercise of another enumerated power.
What does a President have in regards to "civil damages liability predicated on his official acts" and what does it extend to?
Absolute Immunity
Extends to all acts within the outer perimeter of his duties of office
What does the Major Questions doctrine require?
Clear congressional authorization from a federal statute where an administrative agency action involves issues of vast economic or political significance
Supremacy Clause
The Constitution, federal law, and treaties shall be the supreme law of the land
Congress can only use its Taxing and Spending power if it is for what?
The general welfare
The case-or-controversy clause requires a prohibition on what?
Advisory opinions
What does the substantial doctrine permit Congress to do?
Regulate non-commercial economic activity that cumulatively (in the aggregate) exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commercial activity
What must a party do to make sure qualified executive privilege does NOT apply?
Party seeking disclosure makes sufficient showing that the information is essential to the proceeding.
What must an attempted delegation of legislative power establish?
Adequate rules or standards
Presentment and Bicameralism Clauses
After a bill passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is presented to the President for approval or veto.
Establishes a 2 body legislature.
What is a jurisdictional hook?
Way to limit a congressional act so that it only applies to specific activities that are directly linked to interstate commerce
What 2 things does prudential standing prohibit?
1. Third-party standing
2. Generalized grievances
What does the anti-commandeering doctrine bar the federal government from?
1. Directing state legislatures to enact certain laws;
2. Prohibit state legislatures from enacting certain laws; and/or
3. Compelling state executive officials to enforce federal laws or regulations
What is required to appoint a principal officer?
Direct presidential appointment and Senate confirmation
What does the nondelegation doctrine bar Congress from and what must Congress provide?
Bars Congress from transferring essential legislative functions without providing "intelligible principles" for implementation and execution
Case-or-Controversy Clause
Prohibits federal courts from deciding abstract or hypothetical claims
What are the Ashwander principles of judicial restraint?
1. Minimalism / winnowing
2. "Saving" constructions / constitutional avoidance canon
3. Adequate & independent state ground
What kind of challenges is the ripeness doctrine applied to?
Pre-enforcement challenges to criminal or regulatory law.
Under the Lopez test, Congress acts within its Commerce Clause power if there is a rational basis for finding the chosen regulatory scheme necessary to the protection of interstate commerce, including what?
1. Use of channels of interstate commerce;
2. Instrumentalities of, or persons or things "in," interstate commerce, even if the threat comes only from in-state activities; AND/OR
3. Non-commercial, in-state activities that in the aggregate have substantial effect on interstate commerce.
What is the difference between a treaty and an executive agreement?
Treaty requires Senate approval
Executive agreement doesn't require Senate approval
Congress cannot grant itself what type of veto?
A legislative veto over actions of the executive branch
Reception Clause
Provides President with EXCLUSIVE power to recognize or not recognize foreign states
What 2 things are required to prove a pre-enforcement challenge to a criminal / regulatory law (yet to come into effect) is still ripe?
1. Issue is fit for judicial decision; AND
2. Delaying court review until claim becomes "ripe" would work substantial hardship on plaintiff.
What is the exception to the prohibition on third-party standing?
Closeness of relationship between plaintiff and injured third party
AND likelihood 3rd party can sue on its own behalf
Under the Dole conditional spending test, a condition on a federal-state grant is a valid exercise of Congress's Spending Clause power when the condition is what?
1. Unambiguously stated
2. Reasonably related to the purpose for which the federal funds have been allocated; AND
3. NOT unduly coercive NOR would it cause the states to violate an independent constitutional bar.
The Zones of Jackson's Tripartite Test
Zone 1: When the President acts with express or implied authority from Congress, the President’s “authority is at a maximum.”
Zone 2: When the President acts in the absence of Congress’s grant or denial of authority, President may rely on an independent power, or may have concurrent power w/Congress (a.k.a., "zone of twilight“), in which President may derive support only from Congress’s “inertia” or “indifference.”
Zone 3: When the President “defies the express or implied will of Congress,” presidential power is “at its lowest ebb,” and the courts can only sustain the President’s measure if Congress acted unlawfully.
What are the only 3 types of delegations that are constitutionally permissible according to Justice Gorsuch's proposed non-delegation test?
1. Legislations in which Congress makes the important policy decisions but leaves it to the executive to "fill up the details;"
2. Legislation in which Congress prescribes the rule but leaves it to the executive to conduct fact-finding when the rule is applied; and
3. Legislation that allows the executive broad discretionary power concerning matters that also fall within a zone of executive power
Interstate Commerce Clause
Congress shall have power to regulate commerce among the several states
Presidential immunity does NOT protect a sitting President from what kind of civil litigation?
Civil litigation in which liability is predicated on actions committed BEFORE taking office.
What are the 3 exceptions to mootness?
1. Capable of repetition, yet evading review
2. Voluntary cessation
3. Class actions
What is Congress's Enforcement Clause power limited to and what are the 3 exceptions to this limitation?
Power extends only to "state action" and not purely private action
1. 14th Amendment power to regulate discrimination by private actors acting in concert with state actors
2. 13th Amendment power to prohibit "badges or incidents" of slavery even with private actors; AND
3. May regulate private discrimination if using a valid exercise of another enumerated power (like Commerce Clause).
What must a court balance when deciding whether to approve congressional subpoenas for a President's personal information?
1. Whether request warrants involvement of President, and if other sources can reasonably provide Congress the same information;
2. Whether the subpoena is no broader than reasonably necessary to support the legislative objective;
3. Whether the nature of the evidence requested will advance a valid legislative purpose; AND
4. Whether the subpoena burdens the President and may be a result of partisan politics.
Congress can only override actions through what?
A two-House majority, followed by presentment of the bill to the President subject to veto (and if / when vetoed, then overriding by 2-3 supermajority).
Elections Clause
Demonstrably commits to state legislatures the power to prescribe the "Times, Places, and Manner" of congressional elections, and commits to Congress the power to make alter such regulations (applied when discussing the political question doctrine)
What are the 2 most important factors in the Baker v. Carr test to identify is a dispute constitutes as a non-justiciable political question?
1. Textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of issue to coordinate political department
2. Lack of judicially manageable standards for resolution
In what type of situations has the court declared a dispute is a non-justiciable political question?
1. Bipartisan gerrymandering
2. Issues of congressional self-governance
3. Foreign policy
4. Impeachment and removal
Under the substantial effect test, the factors for determining if non-commercial activity substantially affects / relates to interstate commerce and is therefore a valid exercise of Congress's interstate commerce power include what?
1. Whether the regulated activity is non-economic as opposed to economic activity;
2. Whether the regulated item / activity actually moved in interstate commerce;
3. Whether there had been congressional findings / legislative record of economic link between regulated activity and Congress's goal in regulating it; AND
4. How attenuated the link between the regulated activity and interstate commerce.
The war powers resolution provides that the President can send armed forced into foreign action only upon what?
1. Declaration of war by Congress;
2. Statutory authorization of the use of military force; OR
3. National emergency created by attack upon the U.S., its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
President MUST notify Congress within 48 hours of committing forces, and armed forces prohibited from remaining for more than 60 days without statutory authorization or Congress's declaration of war.
To be a valid delegation of legislative power, what must Congress identify and set?
Identify the policy to guide the discretion of implementing government officials, and
Set outer boundaries on that discretion
Enforcement Clause
Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
What is the 4 factor test to determine whether or not an individual is an inferior officer?
1. Subject to removal by higher-up executive official.
2. Empowered only to conduct limited duties
3. Limited in jurisdiction
4. Limited in tenure