Con Law

Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548 (1937)

"Application of Rational Basis Test - The courts role is examining the spending power is limited, as in the courts role in CC delineated in Darby and Wickard"

Metro Broadcasting v. FCC (1990)

"FCC created preference for minorities in granting new broadcast licenses. Court used Fullilove ""intermediate scrutiny"" of ""important"" GI and ""substantially related"" MC. Intermediate is appropriate standard for federal ""benign"" racial classifications, regardless of ""remedial"" or ""forward-looking"" nature. Dissent argues for strict scrutiny following Croson and said htat only ""compelling"" interest could be remedying effects of identified discrimination."

Baker v. Carr (1962)

"One man, one vote." Ordered state legislative districts to be as near equal as possible in population; Warren Court's political judicial activism.

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

"One person, one vote" upheld for state elections; all voting districts must be approximately equal in population

Slaughter-House Cases (SupCt, 1873)

(1873) - The Court ruled that the privileges and immunities clause protected only certain narrow federal rights, such as the right to travel, to petition Congress, and to vote in national elections - not the protections found in the Bill of Rights.

Wickard v. Filburn

(1942) The federal government has the power to regulate interstate commerce through the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. In Filburn the Court unanimously reasoned that the power to regulate the price at which commerce occurs was inherent in the power to regulate commerce. The issue was not how one characterized the activity as local, but rather whether the activity "exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce" Could be in the aggregate

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S.

(1964) Congress has the right to prohibit racial discrimination in places of public accommodation through the Commerce Clause because the interstate because the interstate movement of people is "commerce." Even if the public accommodation is of a purely "local" character, Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce extends to local incidents thereof which might have a substantial and harmful effect on the commerce.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

(1965) a Connecticut statute forbidding use of contraceptives violates the right of marital privacy which is within the penumbra of specific guarantees of the Bill of Rights

Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966)

(1966) Poll taxes were made illegal for state elections, as they violated the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

(1978) Government may take race into account when it acts not to insult any racial group but to remedy disadvantages cast on minorities by past racial prejudice.

Fullilove v. Klutznick (1980)

(1980) Congressional bill used a 10% rule for hiring minority forms in federal construction projects. Policy allowed with Commerce Clause.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

(1995) - The court stated that Congress exceeded its authority under the commerce clause and struck down a federal law that barred handguns near school. Congress had exceeded its commerce clause power by prohibiting guns in a school zone

Printz v. United States (1997)

(1997) the Court found that Congress lacks the authority to compel state officers to execute federal laws, specifically relating to background checks on handgun purchasers.

Nebbia v. NY (1934)

-"Equally fundamental with the private right is that of the public to regulate in the common interest

The Antelope Case

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The Case of Myra Bradwell

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Fletcher v. Peck

..., (1810) the Supreme Court struck down a state law as unconstitutional. In the Yazoo Land Fraud Georgia claimed a bunch of land from the Louisiana Purchase that it had no right to claim. Georgia then sold the land to speculators who sold it to farmers. The Federal government stepped in and takes back the land and tells Georgia to give back the money but the money will just end up with the speculators and not the farmers. The Federal government says that the farmers must be paid. This was asserting federal power over state power. UPHOLDS SANTICTY OF CONTRACTS

Civil Rights Act of 1964

..., This act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights, including desegregation of schools and public places.

Carrington v. Rash

..., decided that members of the military could have full suffrage rights in texas

Equal Protection clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)

14th amendment negates a federal law that allowed a woman in the armed forces to claim her husband as a dependant only if he depended on her for 50% + of his support, while a serviceman could claim dependent status for his wife regardless of actual dependency

Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)

1842 - A slave had escaped from Maryland to Pennsylvania, where a federal agent captured him and returned him to his owner. Pennsylvania indicted the agent for kidnapping under the fugitive slave laws. The Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional for bounty hunters or anyone but the owner of an escaped slave to apprehend that slave, thus weakening the fugitive slave laws. FEDERAL LW SUPERSCEDES STATE LAW

Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell, (1934)

1934; held that a state imposed moratorium on mortgage payments was not a violation of the contract clause

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 to each survivor., WWII Internment of Japanese-Americans on national security grounds IS Constitutiona

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

1964; banned discrimination in public acomodations, prohibited discrimination in any federally assisted program, outlawed discrimination in most employment; enlarged federal powers to protect voting rights and to speed school desegregation; this and the voting rights act helped to give African-Americans equality on paper, and more federally-protected power so that social equality was a more realistic goal

Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan (1982)

1982. Women's university refused to allow a man, only nursing school nearby, violation of equal protection because not substantially related to important government objective.

Johnson v. Transportation Agency (1980)

1987 Supreme Court Case. Johnson sued Agency over hiring a women, strictly because she was a women. Gender preferance. Supreme Court ruled it was appropriate because no women ever had a higher position than men in the company.

U.S. v. Paradise

1987. Quotas are only acceptable if there is evidence of clear and outright racism which requires a quota system to remedy.

City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. (1989)

1989 Court ruling that the numerical quota system of Richmond, Virginia, was unconstitutional because the city had not laid the proper groundwork and had not adequately identified or documented discrimination.

Romer v. Evans

1996; A Colorado amendment banning gay and lesbian marraige is ruled unconsititutional by the supreme court because it violates the EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE

Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995)

A 1995 Supreme Court decision holding that federal programs that classify people by race, even for an ostensibly benign purpose such as expanding opportunities for minorities, should be presumed to be unconstitutional.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

A Missouri slave sued for his freedom, claiming that his four year stay in the northern portion of the Louisiana Territory made free land by the Missouri Compromise had made him a free man. The U.S, Supreme Court decided he couldn't sue in federal court because he was property, not a citizen.

Lawrence v. Texas

A Texas law classifying consensual, adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy violated the privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct under the 14th amendment.

Fourteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment giving full rights of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, except for American Indians.

Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972)

Ban on distribution of contraception to unmarried couples ruled unconstitutional by the courts. Ct avoided extending Griswold; relied on equal protection clause.

Palmore v. Sidoti (1984)

COURT INVALIDATED STATE COURT TAKING AWAY INTERRACIAL COUPLE'S CUSTODY OF MOM'S CHILD. The custody ruling was based wholly on race and you can't classify based on race unless there's a compelling interest. While the child would face racial prejudice, it is insufficient to justify removal.

National League of Cities v. Usery (1976)

Case which gave the 10th amendment practical significance and held that it barred congress from making federal minimum wage and overtime rules applicable to state and municipal employees. It was later overruled in garcia v. san antonio metro transit authority.

Perez v. U.S. (1971)

Congress can restrict credit extortion activities even if intrastate because of the spillover effect of organized crime between states. Such activity is a "federal problem."

Coyle v. Oklahoma (1911)

Congress can't tell a state where to locate its capital (BLBA 563).

Daniel v. Paul (1969)

Congress could prohibit discrimination in an Arkansas amusement park because it had a covered snack bar that sells interstate goods and that interstate travelers bought food from it. Black dissents and says this is a stretch of the commerce idea. Would have preferred 14th, §5.

Watkins v. United States Army

Congressional committees are required to uphold the Bill of Rights and must grant citizens the freedom of speech and no witness can be made to testify on matters outside those areas.

Davis v. Bandemer (1986)

Court held that challenges to gerrymandering are justiciable.

Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit (1985)

Court overturned the National League of Cities decision; it was up to Congress, not the courts, to decide which actions of the states should be regulated by the national government

Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15 (1969)

Court removed ownership or rental of property as a requirement on voting on certain property tax issues. Strict Scrutiny applied.

U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton (1995)

Court ruled that a state law restricting the # of terms a Senator or House member can run for, is unconstitutional because it overrides the Congressional standards stated in the Constitution

United Steelworkers v. Weber (1979)

Court ruling dealing with reverse discrimination charges; upheld that Title VII allows for voluntary, private, race-conscious programs aimed at eliminating racial imbalance in traditionally segregated categories.

Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

Decided that Mexican Americans and all other racial groups in the United States are equally protected under the 14th Amendment which should've been obvious but apparently wasn't.

Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)

Declared unconstitutional to prevent blacks from serving on juries. Establishes the classification on the face, motivation and effects categories.

Reed v. Reed

Equal protection: the Supreme Court engaged in independent judicial review of a statute which discriminated between persons on the basis of sex, making it clear that the Supreme Court would no longer treat sex-based classifications with judicial deference.

Garrett v. Board of Education for the School District of the City of Detroit

Federal district court rules that City of Detroit must admit female students to new male "academies." The exclusion of girls is not substantially related to the Board's objectives of addressing the "crisis facing African-American males."

New York v. United States (1992)

Federal law that states have to get rid of their own toxic waste or face penalties. Fed gov. can offer incentives but not force state legislatures to comply. Or state executive officials (see Prinz), "We conclude that while Congress has substantial power under the Constitution to encourage the States to provide for the disposal of the radioactive waste generated within their borders, the Constitution does not confer upon Congress the ability simply to compel the States to do so."

INTERSTATE COMMERCE CLAUSE

Former independent agency of the U.S. government, established in 1887; it was charged with regulating the economics and services of specified carriers engaged in transportation between states. Surface transportation under the it's jurisdiction included railroads, trucking companies, bus lines, freight forwarders, water carriers, oil pipelines, transportation brokers, and express agencies. After his election in 1904, Theodore Roosevelt demonstrated support of progressive reforms by strengthening this.

Whitcomb v. Chavez

Gerrymandering question: Multi-member districting is not a per se violation of the Equal Protection clause, but may be subject to challenge when the circumstances operate to minimize or cancel out the voting strength of racial or political elements of the voting population.

Hopwood v State of Texas (5th Cir. 1996)

In his ruling, he noted that while it was "regrettable that affirmative action programs are still needed in our society," they were still "a necessity" until society could overcome its legacy of institutional racism. Thereupon, the four plaintiffs appealed the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (which heard appellate oral arguments in the case on August 8, 1995).

Gregory v. Ashcroft (1991)

Issue. Whether the federal statute prohibiting age discrimination may prevent a state from requiring its judges to retire at a certain age; Held. No, without clear intent Congressional interference with this type of decision cannot upset the balance of federal and state powers

South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (1987)

It is permissible to withhold Federal highway funds to encourage states to meet a federal standard setting the minimum legal age for purchasing and possessing alcoholic beverages.

Washington v. Davis (1976)

LAWS THAT ARE NEUTRAL ON ITS FACE IS NOT INVALID UNDER EPC JUST BECAUSE IT AFFECTS A GREATER PROPORTION OF ONE RACE. Police dept's qualifying test constitutional where more black applicants failed than whites. Discriminatory purpose may be inferred from effect, but disproportionate impact alone doesn't trigger strict scrutiny.

NLRB v. Friedman-Harry Marks

NLRB only has restriction it places on itself, same as Jones and Laughlin

United States v. Virginia [The VMI Case] (SCt., 1996)

Q: Does Virginia's creation of a women's-only academy, as a comparable program to a male-only academy, satisfy the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause? A: No. The Court held that VMI's male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional. Because it failed to show "exceedingly persuasive justification" for VMI's gender-biased admissions policy, Virginia violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Race can be used as a factor for admission into a public law school as long as the policy is "narrowly tailored"

Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education (1986)

Race-based layoff program. Remedying past societal discrimination not compelling reason. Remedying past or present discrimination by the state actor would be compelling, if narrowly tailored means. However, use of layoff plan was not narrowly tailored/least restrictive.

Alden v. Maine (1999)

State employees in Maine were not getting overtime pay so they sued their state, however the Supreme Court ruled that under the 11th amendment states cannot be sued because they maintain powers of sovereignty which they enjoyed before the Constitution.

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)

State's legislature amended its abortion control law. Law required informed consent and a 24 hour waiting period prior to the procedure. A married woman must notify husband. A minor must receive parental consent. Court upheld most procisions, but made the "undue burden test" to test validity of laws restricting abortions.

Lochner v. New York, (SupCt. 1905)

Struck down a state law setting a 10-hour day for employees because the law interfered with an employee's right to contract with an employer and violated the protection of liberty guaranteed under the 14th Amendment.

United States v. Darby

Supreme Court called the 10th Amendment a Constitutional truism, a mere assertion that the states have independent powers of their own - not a declaration that state powers are superior to those of the national government

NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp

The Act was upheld by Congress because Congress has the power to regulate any activity, even intrastate production, if the activity has an appreciable effect, either direct or indirect, on interstate commerce.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests for regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting the mother's health.

The Civil Rights Cases (1883)

The Court ruled that private groups and businesses could deny services to individuals because of their race. The 14th Amendment applied only to state governments.

Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

The Supreme Court prohibited using peremptory challenges to systematically exclude potential jurors because of their race or gender.

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

The Supreme Court upheld a Georgia law that criminalizes homosexual sodomy even between consenting adults in private, reasoning that the right to privacy as construed in constitutional law did not extend to actions that are not widely accepted by the public as moral. Reversed this decision in Lawrence v. Texas.

Katzenbach v. McClung (1964)

The power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce extends to a restaurant not patronized by interstate travelers, as it served food that has moved in interstate commerce. This ruling makes the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply virtually all business

Plessy v Ferguson (1896)

Upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses (particularly railroads), under the doctrine of "separate but equal".

J.E.B. v. Alabama

Was a case in which the Supreme Court of the U.S. held that making peremptory challenges based solely on prospective juror's sex is unconstitutional. ______ extended the court's existing precedent in Batson v. Kentucky, which found race-based peremptory challenges in criminal trials unconstitutional.

Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney (1979)

civil service employment preference for veteran. Most veterans are men. Court chooses narrow definition of purpose. Gov has to enact legislation in order to achieve the effects that are happening.

United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938)

established a three-part "rational basis" test for determining whether or not the rights of groups were being infringed

Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886)

even a law fair and impartial on its face was unconstitutional if it was administered in such a way as to deprive citizens of the equal protection of the laws as required by the 14th Amendment.

Craig v. Boren (1976)

gender discrimination can only be justified if it serves "important governmental objectives" and be "substantially related to those objectives"

Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)

held that racial segregation in the public schools of the District of Columbia is a denial to Negro children of the due process of law guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

laws against interracial marriage constitute invidious racial discrimination; protected equal rights under the 14th Amendment.

PUMPELLY v. GREEN BAY COMPANY (1871)

o Action for the recovery of damages for the overflowing of plaintiff's land by water, resulting from the construction of a dam across a river. This dam constituted a part of the system adopted by the State for improving the navigation of Fox and Wisconsin rivers. [court ruled that plaintiff was entitled to compensation because there was a "permanent flooding of private property" a "physical invasion of his private property" and it was essentially a "practical ouster of his possession", his property was in effect, required to be devoted to the use of the public].

United States v. Morrison (2000)

overturned the Violence Against Women Act of 1994; attacks against women are not interstate commerce, and hence Congress cannot constitutionally pass such a law

Groves v. Slaughter

state control over slavery was exclusive of all federal power

Griggs v. Duke Power Co (1971)

supreme court case which prohibited devices that excludd minorities or women from jobs, that the only protection against charges of discrimination was to hire minority workers or admit minority students in proportion to their presence in the population

Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., (1955)

up held an Oklahoma law regulating opticians and optometrists well demonstrates the distance the court moved from Lochner

Sozinsky v. United States, 300 U.S. 506 (1937)

• representative of long trend of deferring to legislative tax and spend power • upheld law requiring persons dealing w/certain firearms to pay annual tax • petitioner argued act was designed to prohibit transfer of such weapons, not raise revenue • ct. said every tax is regulatory and ct. will not make inquiry into hidden motives of tax