Constitutional Law
Structure and Justiciability
Constitutional Law questions usually turn on a threshold. Confirm judicial review, standing (injury in fact, causation, redressability), ripeness, mootness, and the political question doctrine before reaching the merits. Sovereign immunity blocks damages against states, but Ex parte Young permits prospective injunctive relief against officers. The Supremacy Clause produces preemption: express, field, or conflict.
Federalism and Individual Rights
The Commerce Clause reaches channels, instrumentalities, and activities substantially affecting interstate commerce. The Dormant Commerce Clause bars discriminatory state laws absent a legitimate local purpose; Pike balancing applies to neutral laws. Article IV Privileges and Immunities protects fundamental commercial activities of nonresidents.
Due process divides procedural (notice plus Mathews balancing) from substantive (fundamental rights get strict scrutiny; economic regulation gets rational basis). Equal protection: suspect classes strict, sex intermediate (exceedingly persuasive justification), everything else rational basis.
First Amendment: content-based regulation of protected speech gets strict scrutiny; content-neutral time/place/manner rules in a public forum need narrow tailoring and alternatives. Viewpoint discrimination is fatal. Unprotected categories include incitement (Brandenburg), true threats, fighting words, obscenity, and fraud. Commercial speech gets intermediate scrutiny. Establishment Clause analysis now emphasizes historical practices and coercion; free exercise generally applies neutrality (Smith), with strict scrutiny for individualized exemptions.
Traps
- State action is required; private conduct is not covered.
- Taxpayer standing is narrow (Establishment Clause).
- Facially neutral laws with discriminatory purpose still fail.
Worked example: a city bans all park signs except political signs - content-based, strict scrutiny, likely invalid.