OK Bar OK Bar Constitutional Law 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the non-delegation doctrine, Congress may delegate legislative power to an executive agency only if it:
- Provides an intelligible principle to guide the agency's exercise of the delegated authority (Correct answer)
- Retains a legislative veto over agency rulemaking
- Limits the delegation to a period not exceeding two years
- Grants the agency power only to promulgate interpretive, not substantive, rules
Correct answer: Provides an intelligible principle to guide the agency's exercise of the delegated authority
The non-delegation doctrine requires that Congress provide an intelligible principle constraining the agency's discretion; without it, the delegation is an unconstitutional transfer of legislative power.
Question 2: When the government seeks to introduce evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the exclusionary rule's primary purpose is to:
- Deter future police misconduct by removing the incentive to conduct unconstitutional searches (Correct answer)
- Compensate defendants for the violation of their constitutional rights
- Preserve the integrity of the judicial process by punishing the government
- Enforce the constitutional requirement that warrants be based on probable cause
Correct answer: Deter future police misconduct by removing the incentive to conduct unconstitutional searches
The Supreme Court has consistently held that the primary, and essentially sole, purpose of the exclusionary rule is deterrence of future Fourth Amendment violations by law enforcement.
Question 3: The Contracts Clause of Article I, Section 10 prohibits states from passing laws that impair the obligation of contracts. Modern doctrine applies this clause to state impairment of:
- Both private contracts and contracts to which the state itself is a party, with greater scrutiny for impairment of private contracts (Correct answer)
- Only contracts to which the state is a party, because private contract disputes are matters of state law
- Only contracts formed after the enactment of the impairing law
- Only express written contracts, not implied or quasi-contractual obligations
Correct answer: Both private contracts and contracts to which the state itself is a party, with greater scrutiny for impairment of private contracts
The Contracts Clause applies to both private contracts and state contracts, but the Court applies more exacting scrutiny when the state impairs its own contractual obligations because of the self-interest concern.
Question 4: A federal statute pre-empts state law under the Supremacy Clause when:
- Congress expressly pre-empts state law, federal law impliedly occupies the field, or state law conflicts with federal law (Correct answer)
- Congress has enacted legislation on a topic traditionally within state police power
- The President issues an executive order addressing the same subject matter
- A federal agency's informal guidance documents address the regulated activity
Correct answer: Congress expressly pre-empts state law, federal law impliedly occupies the field, or state law conflicts with federal law
Federal pre-emption occurs through express pre-emption clauses, field pre-emption (pervasive scheme implying exclusivity), or conflict pre-emption (impossibility or obstacle to federal objectives).
Question 5: Under the equal protection analysis for sex-based classifications, the government must show that the classification:
- Is substantially related to an important government interest (Correct answer)
- Is rationally related to a legitimate government interest
- Is necessary to achieve a compelling government interest
- Passes the balancing test weighing government need against individual liberty
Correct answer: Is substantially related to an important government interest
Sex-based classifications are subject to intermediate scrutiny: the government bears the burden of showing the classification is substantially related to an important governmental interest.
Question 6: The political question doctrine requires federal courts to dismiss a case when:
- The Constitution commits the issue to a coordinate political branch, or there are no judicially manageable standards for resolution (Correct answer)
- The plaintiff lacks standing because the injury is shared by all citizens equally
- The case is not ripe because the harm is speculative
- Congress has expressly excluded the subject matter from judicial review
Correct answer: The Constitution commits the issue to a coordinate political branch, or there are no judicially manageable standards for resolution
Baker v. Carr identified factors for political questions, chief among them textual commitment to another branch and the lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards.
Question 7: A state passes a law giving in-state businesses a 10% preference in all state government contracts. Under the Dormant Commerce Clause, this law is:
- Valid because the market participant exception allows states to favor their own citizens when acting as buyers in the marketplace (Correct answer)
- Invalid because it discriminates against interstate commerce on its face
- Valid because it passes the Pike balancing test given its economic benefits
- Invalid because the state failed to obtain congressional approval for the preference
Correct answer: Valid because the market participant exception allows states to favor their own citizens when acting as buyers in the marketplace
Under the market participant exception, when a state acts as a buyer or seller rather than as a regulator, it may favor in-state businesses without violating the Dormant Commerce Clause.
OK Bar OK Bar Constitutional Law 5
Under the non-delegation doctrine, Congress may delegate legislative power to an executive agency only if it: