NYLE Constitutional Law 3

Question 1

The constitutional right to privacy, as recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut, is derived from:

Accepted Answer

Penumbras and emanations of specific Bill of Rights guarantees

Answer

In Griswold, Justice Douglas located the right to privacy in the penumbras and emanations of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments.

Question 2

Strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause is triggered by a classification based on:

Accepted Answer

Race, national origin, or alienage (with limited exceptions)

Answer

Race, national origin, and most alienage classifications are suspect and subject to strict scrutiny; gender and illegitimacy receive intermediate scrutiny.

Question 3

Intermediate scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause requires that the government show its classification is:

Accepted Answer

Substantially related to an important government interest

Answer

Intermediate scrutiny—applied to gender and legitimacy classifications—requires the government to show a substantial relationship to an important (not merely legitimate) interest.

Question 4

Under the void-for-vagueness doctrine, a criminal statute is unconstitutional if it:

Accepted Answer

Fails to give persons fair notice of the prohibited conduct or invites arbitrary enforcement

Answer

The void-for-vagueness doctrine requires that statutes provide fair notice of what conduct is prohibited and contain sufficient standards to prevent arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement.

Question 5

The state action doctrine provides that the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses apply only to:

Accepted Answer

Actions by state or local governments, not private actors

Answer

The Fourteenth Amendment constrains only state (governmental) action; private conduct, even if discriminatory, is generally not subject to constitutional challenge absent a recognized exception.

NYLE - New York Law Exam Practice Test

NYLE - New York Law Exam Practice Test

NYLE Constitutional Law 3