Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law tests judicial review, federalism, separation of powers, due process, equal protection, and the First Amendment. The Ohio Constitution can be more protective than the federal Constitution, but federal doctrine supplies the baseline.
Justiciability and judicial review
- Standing requires injury in fact, causation, and redressability. Taxpayer standing is narrow.
- Ripeness, mootness, and the political question doctrine limit review.
- Courts may review legislative and executive action but do not decide political questions.
Federalism and separation of powers
- The Commerce Clause reaches channels of interstate commerce, instrumentalities, and activities with a substantial effect on interstate commerce.
- The Tenth Amendment bars commandeering state legislatures or executives.
- Preemption follows express, field, or conflict preemption. The Dormant Commerce Clause bars discriminatory state regulation.
Due process and equal protection
- Procedural due process balances the private interest, risk of error, and government interest.
- Substantive due process protects fundamental rights under strict scrutiny; economic regulation gets rational basis.
- Equal protection: race and national origin are suspect; sex and illegitimacy are quasi-suspect; other classifications get rational basis. Facially neutral laws need discriminatory intent.
First Amendment
- Content-based restrictions get strict scrutiny; content-neutral time, place, and manner rules get intermediate scrutiny.
- Public forums, limited forums, and nonpublic forums have different access rules.
- Overbreadth and vagueness are strong First Amendment tools.
Worked example
A city bans all signs on public property except official flags. A resident challenges the ban. The exception for flags makes the law content-based because enforcement depends on the sign's message. Strict scrutiny applies. The city cannot show a compelling interest narrowly tailored to the ban, so the law is invalid.
Traps
- State action is required for constitutional claims.
- Standing is not satisfied by a generalized grievance.
- Rational basis is deferential but not a rubber stamp.
- Do not apply strict scrutiny to every speech regulation.