Constitutional Law Flashcards
7 cards from real TX 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 Constitutional Law flashcards as text
Under substantive due process, which standard of review applies to economic regulations that do not affect fundamental rights?
Answer: Rational basis review
Economic regulations that do not burden fundamental rights or suspect classes are reviewed under rational basis, meaning they must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest.
The Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that the right to marry is a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment. This holding was based on:
Answer: Both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses
Obergefell rested on both the Due Process Clause (fundamental right to marry) and the Equal Protection Clause (prohibition on unequal treatment of same-sex couples).
Which clause prohibits states from denying 'any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws'?
Answer: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment expressly limits state action to ensure all persons are treated equally under state law.
Procedural due process requires the government to provide notice and a hearing before depriving someone of a protected interest. Which case established a balancing test to determine what process is due?
Answer: Mathews v. Eldridge
Mathews v. Eldridge established a three-factor balancing test: the private interest at stake, the risk of erroneous deprivation and value of additional safeguards, and the government's interest.
Under equal protection doctrine, a law classifying individuals based on race receives:
Answer: Strict scrutiny because race is a suspect classification
Racial classifications are subject to strict scrutiny—the government must prove the law is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest.
The 'fundamental fairness' approach to due process incorporation held that the Fourteenth Amendment absorbs only those Bill of Rights guarantees that are fundamental to ordered liberty. This approach was most associated with:
Answer: Justice Felix Frankfurter's selective incorporation view
Justice Frankfurter advocated selective incorporation, holding that only rights fundamental to ordered liberty and rooted in the Anglo-American legal tradition are incorporated.
A state law classifying based on sex (gender) is reviewed under what level of scrutiny after Craig v. Boren?
Answer: Intermediate scrutiny
After Craig v. Boren, sex-based classifications are reviewed under intermediate scrutiny: the law must be substantially related to an important government interest.