Constitutional Law Flashcards
7 cards from real IN BAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Constitutional Law flashcards as text
Under the First Amendment, which standard of review applies to a content-neutral government regulation of speech?
Answer: Intermediate scrutiny
Content-neutral regulations are subject to intermediate scrutiny, requiring the regulation to be narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest and leave open alternative channels of communication.
The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause requires strict scrutiny when a law discriminates on the basis of which classification?
Answer: Race
Race is a suspect classification that triggers strict scrutiny, requiring the government to show the law is necessary to achieve a compelling governmental interest and is narrowly tailored.
Under the Commerce Clause, Congress may regulate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. Which Supreme Court case established the 'substantial effects' test?
Answer: Wickard v. Filburn
Wickard v. Filburn (1942) established that even purely local activities can be regulated by Congress under the Commerce Clause if they have a substantial effect on interstate commerce in the aggregate.
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from doing which of the following?
Answer: Establishing an official state religion
The Establishment Clause's core prohibition is against government establishing an official state religion or giving preference to one religion over others.
Under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which of the following is NOT considered a fundamental right requiring strict scrutiny?
Answer: Right to education
The Supreme Court has not recognized education as a fundamental right under the Constitution, so laws affecting access to education are generally reviewed under rational basis.
The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, incorporated against the states, requires just compensation when the government takes private property. A regulation that denies an owner all economically beneficial use of land is called a:
Answer: Per se taking
Under Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, when a regulation deprives an owner of all economically beneficial use of land, it constitutes a per se taking requiring just compensation.
Which doctrine allows federal courts to decline to exercise jurisdiction over a case involving an unsettled question of state constitutional law?
Answer: Abstention doctrine
The abstention doctrine (particularly Pullman abstention) allows federal courts to defer to state courts on unresolved questions of state law that might make a federal constitutional ruling unnecessary.