MO Bar Constitutional Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which clause of the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce?
- Necessary and Proper Clause
- Supremacy Clause
- Commerce Clause (Correct answer)
- General Welfare Clause
Correct answer: Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8 grants Congress power to regulate commerce among the several states.
Question 2: Under the Free Exercise Clause, a neutral law of general applicability that incidentally burdens religion is subject to which review?
- Strict scrutiny
- Rational basis (Correct answer)
- Intermediate scrutiny
- Compelling interest
Correct answer: Rational basis
Under Employment Division v. Smith, neutral, generally applicable laws that incidentally burden religion need only satisfy rational basis review.
Question 3: Which constitutional doctrine holds that the federal government's enumerated powers are supreme over conflicting state laws?
- Federalism
- Preemption (Correct answer)
- Sovereign immunity
- Non-delegation
Correct answer: Preemption
The Supremacy Clause establishes federal preemption, meaning valid federal law overrides conflicting state law.
Question 4: The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was held to apply to the states through which constitutional provision?
- Fifth Amendment
- Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause (Correct answer)
- First Amendment
- Tenth Amendment
Correct answer: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause
In McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court incorporated the Second Amendment against the states via the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
Question 5: What is the constitutional minimum for standing to sue in federal court?
- A statutory cause of action
- Injury in fact, causation, and redressability (Correct answer)
- Political question involvement
- Congressional authorization
Correct answer: Injury in fact, causation, and redressability
Article III standing requires the plaintiff to show a concrete injury in fact, causation by the defendant, and redressability by a favorable ruling.
Question 6: Under the Establishment Clause, which test historically asked whether a law had a secular purpose, neither advanced nor inhibited religion, and avoided excessive entanglement?
- The balancing test
- The Lemon test (Correct answer)
- The endorsement test
- The coercion test
Correct answer: The Lemon test
The Lemon test from Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) set a three-part framework for evaluating Establishment Clause challenges, though recent decisions have moved away from it.
MO Bar Constitutional Law 2
Which clause of the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce?