OK Bar Constitutional Law Flashcards
7 cards from real OK BAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 OK Bar Constitutional Law flashcards as text
Under the Dormant Commerce Clause, a state law that discriminates against interstate commerce on its face will be upheld only if:
Answer: It serves a legitimate local purpose that cannot be achieved through non-discriminatory alternatives
Facially discriminatory state laws are subject to a near-per-se rule of invalidity and will only survive if the state shows a legitimate local purpose with no nondiscriminatory alternatives.
The Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as interpreted after the Slaughterhouse Cases, protects:
Answer: Rights of national citizenship, such as access to federal offices and interstate travel
After Slaughterhouse Cases (1873), the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause was narrowly interpreted to cover only rights of national citizenship, not the broad set of civil rights.
A law conditioning a government benefit on the recipient's agreement not to engage in constitutionally protected speech is best analyzed under which doctrine?
Answer: Unconstitutional conditions doctrine
The unconstitutional conditions doctrine prohibits the government from conditioning a benefit on the waiver of a constitutional right it could not otherwise abridge directly.
Which standard applies when a state law regulates commercial speech?
Answer: The Central Hudson four-part test requiring a substantial government interest and reasonable fit
Central Hudson Gas v. Public Service Commission established a four-part test: the speech must concern lawful activity and not be misleading, the government interest must be substantial, the regulation must directly advance that interest, and must be no more extensive than necessary.
Under the Establishment Clause, the Lemon test requires that a government action:
Answer: Have a secular legislative purpose, neither advance nor inhibit religion, and avoid excessive entanglement
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) established the three-pronged Lemon test: secular purpose, primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion, and no excessive government entanglement with religion.
The Eleventh Amendment bars suits in federal court against a state by:
Answer: Citizens of another state or foreign nation, absent the state's consent or congressional abrogation under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment
The Eleventh Amendment bars suits by citizens of other states or foreign nations against a state in federal court, but states may consent to suit or Congress may abrogate immunity via valid Section 5 legislation.
A city ordinance requires all parades to obtain a permit from the mayor, who has absolute discretion to deny permits. This ordinance is most likely unconstitutional because it:
Answer: Constitutes an impermissible prior restraint that vests unfettered discretion in a government official
An unbounded licensing scheme for expressive activity is an unconstitutional prior restraint because it gives officials unlimited discretion to suppress speech based on content or viewpoint.