NH Bar Constitutional Law 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Commerce Clause, Congress may regulate which of the following?
- Any activity that substantially affects interstate commerce (Correct answer)
- Only goods that physically cross state lines
- Only commercial activity that is explicitly national in character
- Any intrastate activity regardless of its economic nature
Correct answer: Any activity that substantially affects interstate commerce
Under the Commerce Clause as interpreted in cases like Lopez and Morrison, Congress may regulate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce, even if the activity is local.
Question 2: Which standard of review applies to a law that discriminates based on race under the Equal Protection Clause?
- Strict scrutiny — the government must show a compelling interest and narrowly tailored means (Correct answer)
- Intermediate scrutiny — the government must show a substantial interest and substantially related means
- Rational basis — the law must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest
- Heightened scrutiny — the government must show an important interest and a close fit
Correct answer: Strict scrutiny — the government must show a compelling interest and narrowly tailored means
Racial classifications trigger strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause, requiring the government to prove a compelling interest achieved through narrowly tailored means.
Question 3: A city ordinance prohibits all leafletting in a public park. Under the First Amendment, this ordinance is most likely:
- Unconstitutional because it is not a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction (Correct answer)
- Constitutional because the government may restrict all speech in public parks
- Constitutional because leafletting creates litter, a compelling government interest
- Unconstitutional only if the restriction targets a specific viewpoint
Correct answer: Unconstitutional because it is not a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction
A total ban on leafletting in a traditional public forum fails the time, place, and manner test because it does not leave open adequate alternative channels of communication.
Question 4: The Supremacy Clause provides that when federal law and state law conflict, which law prevails?
- Federal law prevails under the doctrine of preemption (Correct answer)
- State law prevails because states retain police power
- The more recently enacted law prevails regardless of source
- The law that is more specific to the subject matter prevails
Correct answer: Federal law prevails under the doctrine of preemption
Article VI's Supremacy Clause makes federal law the 'supreme Law of the Land,' preempting conflicting state law whether expressly or by implication.
Question 5: Under the Fourth Amendment, which of the following searches is generally permissible without a warrant?
- A search incident to a lawful arrest (Correct answer)
- A search of a home based solely on probable cause
- A search of a hotel room when police have a hunch of illegal activity
- A wiretap of phone conversations between private parties
Correct answer: A search incident to a lawful arrest
A search incident to a lawful arrest is a recognized exception to the warrant requirement, allowing police to search the arrestee's person and area within immediate control.
Question 6: Substantive due process protects which type of rights from government interference?
- Fundamental rights deeply rooted in the nation's history and traditions (Correct answer)
- Any right that a majority of the legislature deems important
- Only rights explicitly enumerated in the Bill of Rights
- Rights that have been judicially recognized within the last 50 years
Correct answer: Fundamental rights deeply rooted in the nation's history and traditions
Substantive due process protects fundamental rights that are deeply rooted in history and tradition, requiring strict scrutiny when the government interferes with them.
Question 7: The doctrine of separation of powers prevents which of the following?
- Congress from vesting executive power directly in itself (Correct answer)
- The President from negotiating treaties with foreign nations
- Courts from reviewing the constitutionality of legislation
- Congress from creating administrative agencies with rulemaking authority
Correct answer: Congress from vesting executive power directly in itself
Separation of powers prohibits Congress from aggrandizing its own power by directly exercising executive functions, as executive power is vested in the President.
NH Bar Constitutional Law 1
Under the Commerce Clause, Congress may regulate which of the following?