NC Bar Constitutional Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without due process. Which type of due process requires fair procedures before deprivation?
- Substantive due process
- Procedural due process (Correct answer)
- Equal protection
- Privileges or immunities
Correct answer: Procedural due process
Procedural due process requires the government to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard before depriving someone of a protected interest.
Question 2: Under the Establishment Clause, government action that endorses or coerces religious practice is:
- Permitted if religiously neutral
- Unconstitutional (Correct answer)
- Subject only to rational basis review
- Permissible when narrowly tailored
Correct answer: Unconstitutional
The Establishment Clause bars government from endorsing religion or coercing individuals to participate in religious activity.
Question 3: Congress's power to regulate activities that 'substantially affect' interstate commerce was upheld in:
- Marbury v. Madison
- McCulloch v. Maryland
- Wickard v. Filburn (Correct answer)
- Lochner v. New York
Correct answer: Wickard v. Filburn
Wickard v. Filburn held that even local, non-commercial activity can be regulated by Congress if it substantially affects interstate commerce in the aggregate.
Question 4: The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was held to apply to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment in:
- District of Columbia v. Heller
- McDonald v. City of Chicago (Correct answer)
- New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn v. Bruen
- Caetano v. Massachusetts
Correct answer: McDonald v. City of Chicago
McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010) incorporated the Second Amendment against the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Question 5: Which constitutional doctrine allows courts to avoid deciding a case by finding that the controversy has already been resolved?
- Standing
- Ripeness
- Mootness (Correct answer)
- Abstention
Correct answer: Mootness
Mootness doctrine requires dismissal when the controversy no longer exists and a live case or controversy cannot be maintained.
Question 6: Under the Takings Clause, a regulatory taking occurs when government regulation:
- Physically occupies private property permanently
- Denies the owner all economically beneficial use of the property (Correct answer)
- Increases the property's market value
- Regulates a public nuisance
Correct answer: Denies the owner all economically beneficial use of the property
A per se regulatory taking under Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council occurs when a regulation denies an owner all economically beneficial use of the property.
NC Bar Constitutional Law 2
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without due process.
Which type of due process requires fair procedures before deprivation?