🦢Constitutional Law I Unit 21 – Constitutional Law: Current Issues & Challenges

Key Constitutional Principles

• Separation of powers divides government into three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) with checks and balances to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful
  • Executive branch enforces laws, legislative branch makes laws, judicial branch interprets laws
• Federalism establishes a system of shared power between the federal government and state governments
  • Federal government has enumerated powers (expressly granted in the Constitution) while states have reserved powers (not prohibited by the Constitution)
• Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land
  • State laws in conflict with federal law are generally invalid under the Supremacy Clause
• Due Process Clause (5th and 14th Amendments) protects individuals from arbitrary government action and ensures fair legal proceedings
  • Substantive due process protects fundamental rights from government infringement
  • Procedural due process requires fair procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property
• Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment) prohibits states from denying any person equal protection under the law
  • Strict scrutiny applied to suspect classifications (race, national origin) and fundamental rights
  • Intermediate scrutiny applied to quasi-suspect classifications (gender)
  • Rational basis review applied to most other classifications

Historical Context and Evolution

• Federalist Papers (1787-1788) were a series of essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, with Federalist No. 10 (Madison) and Federalist No. 51 (Madison or Hamilton) being particularly influential
• Bill of Rights (1791) added the first ten amendments to the Constitution to protect individual rights and limit federal power
  • Initially only applied to the federal government, but later incorporated to the states through the 14th Amendment
• Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) passed after the Civil War to abolish slavery, establish birthright citizenship, ensure equal protection, and protect voting rights
• New Deal era (1930s) saw expansion of federal power and the Supreme Court's acceptance of broader congressional authority under the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause
• Warren Court (1953-1969) issued landmark decisions expanding civil rights and liberties, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), and Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
• Modern era has seen debates over originalism vs. living constitutionalism, federalism, and the scope of individual rights

Major Supreme Court Cases

• Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to strike down laws as unconstitutional
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) upheld broad congressional power under the Necessary and Proper Clause and established federal supremacy over the states
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) interpreted the Commerce Clause broadly, allowing Congress to regulate interstate commerce
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine
  • Overturned by Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which held that segregated schools are inherently unequal
• Lochner v. New York (1905) struck down a state labor law under a theory of economic substantive due process, ushering in the "Lochner era" of judicial activism
• Korematsu v. United States (1944) upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, applying strict scrutiny but finding a compelling government interest
• Roe v. Wade (1973) recognized a constitutional right to privacy that includes the right to abortion
  • Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) reaffirmed the central holding of Roe but modified the legal standard
• Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) held that the fundamental right to marry extends to same-sex couples under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses

Current Constitutional Debates

• Abortion rights and the future of Roe v. Wade, particularly after the appointment of conservative justices to the Supreme Court
• Second Amendment rights and gun control measures, with debates over the individual right to bear arms and the scope of permissible regulations
• Affirmative action in education and employment, with challenges to race-conscious admissions policies and diversity initiatives
• Voting rights and election integrity, including debates over voter ID laws, gerrymandering, and the Voting Rights Act
• Religious liberty and accommodations, with conflicts between religious freedom and anti-discrimination laws (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission)
• Presidential powers and impeachment, particularly in the context of the Trump presidency and the January 6th Capitol riot
• Police misconduct and qualified immunity, with calls for reform in the wake of high-profile police killings (George Floyd, Breonna Taylor)

Civil Liberties and Rights

• First Amendment protects freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition
  • Some categories of speech have less protection (obscenity, defamation, fighting words, true threats)
  • Government can place reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on speech
• Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense (District of Columbia v. Heller)
  • Right is not unlimited and can be subject to reasonable regulations
• Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires probable cause for warrants
  • Exceptions include exigent circumstances, plain view, and searches incident to arrest
• Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive fines
  • Proportionality analysis applied to non-capital sentences (Solem v. Helm)
  • Evolving standards of decency used to evaluate capital punishment (Roper v. Simmons, Kennedy v. Louisiana)
• Fourteenth Amendment incorporates most of the Bill of Rights to apply to the states and protects substantive and procedural due process rights
  • Substantive due process protects fundamental rights (privacy, marriage, contraception, abortion)
  • Procedural due process requires notice and a hearing before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property

Separation of Powers

• Legislative power vested in Congress (Article I), which has the power to make laws, declare war, and control the budget
  • Bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives and the Senate
• Executive power vested in the President (Article II), who serves as head of state, commander-in-chief, and chief law enforcement officer
  • President has the power to veto legislation, make treaties, and appoint federal judges and executive officials
• Judicial power vested in the Supreme Court and lower federal courts (Article III), with the power to interpret laws and exercise judicial review
  • Judges appointed by the President with Senate confirmation and serve life tenure during good behavior
• Checks and balances ensure no one branch becomes too powerful
  • Congress can override presidential vetoes, impeach federal officials, and control the budget
  • President can veto legislation and appoint federal judges
  • Supreme Court can strike down laws and executive actions as unconstitutional

Federalism Issues

• Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce
  • Expansive interpretation during the New Deal era (Wickard v. Filburn) but some limits recognized in recent cases (United States v. Lopez, United States v. Morrison)
• Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people
  • Anti-Commandeering Doctrine prohibits the federal government from compelling states to enforce federal laws (Printz v. United States, New York v. United States)
• Eleventh Amendment grants states sovereign immunity from lawsuits by citizens of other states or foreign countries
  • Exceptions include suits by the federal government, suits by other states, and suits against state officials for prospective relief (Ex parte Young)
• Preemption occurs when federal law supersedes conflicting state law under the Supremacy Clause
  • Express preemption when a federal statute explicitly preempts state law
  • Implied preemption when state law conflicts with or impedes federal objectives
• Cooperative federalism involves federal-state collaboration and shared responsibility in areas like education, healthcare, and environmental protection
  • Grants-in-aid and conditional spending encourage state compliance with federal priorities

Constitutional Interpretation Methods

• Originalism interprets the Constitution based on its original meaning at the time of ratification
  • Textualism focuses on the plain meaning of the constitutional text
  • Original intent looks to the intentions of the Framers
  • Original public meaning examines how the public would have understood the text at the time
• Living constitutionalism views the Constitution as a dynamic document that adapts to changing times and values
  • Considers evolving social, political, and economic conditions
  • Looks to contemporary norms and the practical consequences of decisions
• Structural interpretation derives meaning from the Constitution's structure and the relationships it creates between government institutions
  • Separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism principles
• Precedent and stare decisis give weight to prior Supreme Court decisions and promote stability in the law
  • Horizontal stare decisis binds the Supreme Court to its own precedents
  • Vertical stare decisis requires lower courts to follow Supreme Court precedent
• Balancing tests weigh competing interests and consider factors like government purpose, means-end fit, and burdens on individual rights
  • Strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and rational basis review