Constitutional Law Flashcards

Under the First Amendment, which category of speech receives no constitutional protection?

Answer: True threats and incitement to imminent lawless action

True threats and speech directed to inciting imminent lawless action (Brandenburg test) fall outside First Amendment protection.

The doctrine of incorporation applies which provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states through which amendment?

Answer: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause

Selective incorporation uses the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause to apply most Bill of Rights guarantees to state action.

Under the Eleventh Amendment, a private citizen generally cannot sue a state in federal court without which condition?

Answer: Congressional authorization under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment or state consent

Sovereign immunity bars suits against states in federal court unless Congress validly abrogated immunity or the state consented.

The non-delegation doctrine holds that Congress cannot delegate its legislative power to an executive agency without providing which element?

Answer: An intelligible principle

Courts require an intelligible principle to guide agency discretion; without it, a delegation of legislative power is unconstitutional.

Which clause of the Constitution requires states to give full credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states?

Answer: Full Faith and Credit Clause

Article IV's Full Faith and Credit Clause obligates states to honor judgments and official acts of sister states.

Under the Fourth Amendment, the exclusionary rule primarily serves which purpose?

Answer: Deterring police misconduct

The exclusionary rule deters law enforcement from conducting unconstitutional searches by suppressing illegally obtained evidence.