Constitutional Law I Outline

 
Constitutional Law Outline – Blackman – Fall 2015
 
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The Constitution and Its Documents
 
·         Art.1, Sect. 8: The Congress and Its Powers
·         Congress has the powers that the constitution gives them.
·         Congress votes to impeach, the senate has a trial.
·         Congress can overturn a presidential veto by a 2/3 vote.
·         Congress can declare war, but just as a declaration.
·         Art.1, Sect. 9: Writ of Habeas Corpus – you need to go to a judge to justify your imprisonment.
·         The president can only spend money the way congress says, you have to have a budget. (SOP).
·         No titles of nobility are allowed.
·         Art. 1, Sect. 10: Limitations on the states.
 
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The Judicial Power – Why is the Constitution Supreme?
 
·         Art.6, Clause 2: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The judges in every state shall be bound thereby.
·         Art.4: Supremacy Clause. The federal law is the law of the land.
·         Judges in every state shall be bound. A state judge takes an oath to the constitution.
·         To be unconstitutional a branch exceeds its bounds.
 
Federalist No. 78:
 
·         The judiciary is the weakest branch, it relies on the executive.
·         The court cannot operate on itself. They need the executive branch to enforce the law.
·         Defends lifetime tenure, so not to be swayed. They can be honest and virtuous this way.
 
1803 — Marbury v. Madison
 
·         Congress cannot expand the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
·         Writ of Mandamus: a higher court ordering a lower government entity to do something.
·         Fed. No. 78 – in defense of Judicial Review.
·         Judicial Review: authority of the courts to review decisions, actions, or omissions committed by another agency or branch of government.
 
1803 — Stuart v. Laird
 
·         Congress can eliminate whatever judge it wants.
·         The SCOTUS checks itself. It determines its own power.
·         It is better to have an imperfect Supreme Court that the alternative, chaos.
 
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The Separation of Powers
 
·         The separation of powers reduces fractions.
·         “Ambition checks ambition” and “If we were all angels we would not need government”:– Madison, Fed. No. 51.
 
1952 — Youngstown Sheet and Tube v. Sawyer
 
·         Steel needed for the Korean War. Truman makes and EO to take over the steel mills. This is domestic so it is unconstitutional.
·         President cannot usurp the lawmaking power of congress by an assertion of an unspecified aggregation of his specified powers.
·         Taking the mill would be a legislative act, he cannot do this. This is what the congress is supposed to do.
 
Three tiers:
 
1.      Maximum Authority – acting pursuant to express or implied grant of congress. “Strongest presumption of constitutionality”. Exec. And Legis. Together, courts will not poke holes.)
2.      Zone of Twilight – congress is silent and does not say anything. Power depends on “imperative events.”
3.      Lowest Ebb – President takes action incompatible with the express will of congress. Highest level of scrutiny, constitutionality presumption is flipped.
 
1819 — McCulloch v. Maryland
 
·         State cannot tax a federal bank.
·         The power to tax is the power to destroy.
·         N&P Clause. Art.1, Sect.8: enables congress to make all laws that may be necessary and proper” to execute its enumerated powers.
·         Marshall interprets necessary loosely.
·         Supremacy Clause: any law of the state against the federal government in accordance with the constitution is unconstitutional.
·         Takes Hamilton’s BROAD view.
 
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The Legislative Powers
 
·         Art. 1, Sect.7: Presentment Clause.
·         A bill must pass both houses (Bicameralism), the house and the senate, then the president must sign it.
 
1983 — INS v. Chadha
 
·         Unicameral “veto” on executive branch violates the presentment clause, thereby making it unconstitutional.
 
Non-Delegation Doctrine: Congress cannot give its legislative power to the executive branch. If power is retained in the executive or another branch, then the balance is broken.
 
1998 — Clinton v. New York
 
·         Line item presidential veto is unconstitutional. Goes against the presentment clause. President can veto it, then goes to super majority.
·         Constitutional silence – express prohibition.
·         SOP was designed to protect liberty (Kennedy)
 
1977 — Nixon v. GSA
 
·         No state shall…pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligations of contracts.
·         The statute named Nixon.
·         This gutted the Bill of Attainder.
·         Contracts Clause: You can impair contracts during things like the depression.
 
1934 — Home Building and Loan v. Blaisdell
 
·         The emergency of the great depression allowed a law in MN to allow judges to stop banks from foreclosing on mortgages for those that did not pay.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The Executive Power – The Appointment