MD Bar Constitutional Rights and Liberties 2

Question 1

A city ordinance bans all leafleting in the downtown business district to reduce litter. A political activist is cited for handing out campaign flyers. Is the ordinance constitutional?

Accepted Answer

No, because a complete ban on leafleting in a public forum is not narrowly tailored to the litter interest

Answer

Under Schneider v. State, a total ban on leafleting in public forums fails narrow tailoring because litter can be addressed by punishing litterers directly.

Question 2

A state law requires all public school teachers to begin each day with a moment of silence 'for meditation or voluntary prayer,' enacted with the express purpose of returning prayer to schools. Under the Establishment Clause, the law is most likely:

Accepted Answer

Unconstitutional, because its legislative purpose was to endorse religion

Answer

In Wallace v. Jaffree, the Supreme Court struck down a moment-of-silence statute enacted with the sole purpose of promoting prayer.

Question 3

Police obtain a valid warrant to search a house for stolen televisions. While searching a kitchen drawer, an officer finds a small bag of narcotics. The narcotics are:

Accepted Answer

Inadmissible, because a television could not fit in a kitchen drawer

Answer

A warrant search is limited to places where the named items could reasonably be found, and a television cannot fit in a kitchen drawer, so the drawer search exceeded the warrant's scope.

Question 4

A state statute grants a property tax exemption only to residents who have lived in the state for at least ten years. A three-year resident challenges the law. The strongest constitutional argument against the statute is that it:

Accepted Answer

Penalizes the right to interstate migration in violation of equal protection and the right to travel

Answer

Durational residency requirements that allocate benefits based on length of residence penalize the fundamental right to travel and trigger strict scrutiny.

Question 5

A public university expels a student for academic dishonesty without any notice of the charges or an opportunity to respond. The student's best constitutional claim is a violation of:

Accepted Answer

Procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment

Answer

A student at a public institution has a protected interest in continued enrollment, and expulsion requires at least notice and an opportunity to be heard.

(MD Bar) Maryland Bar Exam Practice Test

(MD Bar) Maryland Bar Exam Practice Test

MD Bar Constitutional Rights and Liberties 2