Constitutional Law I Outline

SUPREME COURT’S AUTHORITY AND FEDERAL JUDICIAL POWER
I.       Nature and Scope of Judicial Review
a.      Origins
                                                              i.      Marbury v. Madison (Marshall, CJ.)
1.      BLACK LETTER:
a.      Supreme Court has the authority and duty to declare Congressional statutes unconstitutional and invalid
b.      Marbury has right to commission and is entitled to remedy
c.       Dep’t heads executing will of Pres or acting in cases where Pres possesses a constitutional or legal right these acts are only politically examinable and can’t be examined by Court.
d.      Where duty is assigned to dep’t head by Legislature and individual rights depend on performance of that duty, injured party has right to remedy
e.       Judiciary Act of 1789 conflicts with Article III which does not grant original jurisdiction to SC over cases involving executive officers
2.      ANALYSIS
a.      Established concept of Judicial Review
b.      Helped define checks and balances
c.       Marshall’s opinion was to secure himself from impeachment
d.      Not exceeding judicial bounds or else other branches may do the same
e.       Originalism: belief that worst thing a judge can do is inject personal beliefs into a case. Must rely on plain meaning of Constitution
                                                            ii.      Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (Story, J.) – VA Ct. App. Refused to follow USC order and claimed that the law that extended SC’s appellate jurisdiction to state courts (§ 25 of Judiciary Act) was unconstitutional
1.      BLACK LETTER:
a.      Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to review all state court decisions under the Constitution, laws and treaties of the United States
b.      Final word rests with Supreme Court; Constitution assumes state judges are more affected by prejudices and interests than federal gov’t
2.      ANALYSIS
a.      Appellate Jurisdiction: SC’s power to review decisions of other courts in cases arising, among other things, the Constitution, laws, and treaties. Source is Art. III
b.      Original Jurisdiction: SC’s power to be original court in certain cases; affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, where state is a party. Source Art. III
b.      Political Questions
                                                              i.      Pacific States Tel. v. Oregon – Republican Guarantee Clause
1.      BLACK LETTER:
a.       
2.      ANALYSIS
                                                            ii.      Baker v. Carr (Brennan) – suit challenging TN’s legislative apportionment scheme under which some districts had vastly larger populations than others presented a justiciable question under the Equal Protection Clause
1.      Six Part Test for Determining Political Question
a.      Textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department
                                                                                                                                      i.      Brennan cited issues of foreign affairs and executive war powers
b.      Lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it
c.       Impossibility of deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for non judicial discretion
d.      Impossibility of a court’s undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the respect due coordinate branches of government
e.       An unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political decision already made
f.       The potentiality of embarrassment from multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question
2.      DISSENT:
a.      Frankfurter & Harlan: This case is a Guarantee Clause case masquerading under different label
b.      Cannot make case more fit for judicial action that appellants invoke Fourteenth Amendment rather than Art. IV, § 4 where gist of complaint is the same
                                                          iii.      Gilligan v. Morgan (Berger, Blackmun, & Powell) – Students at Kent State sought relief against gov’t to prevent repetition of Nat’l Guard shooting on campus
1.      Relying on Art. I, § 8, cl. 16: grants Congress “responsibility for organizing, arming and disciplining the Militia with certain responsibilities being reserved to the respective States”
2.      Clearly, Constitution intended for certain gov’t actions to be left to the political branches…in which courts have less competence
3.      Blackmun & Powell concurrence: case seeks relief in form of judicial surveillance of highly subjective and technical matters involving military training and command; presents “inappropriate subject