Legal Regulatory Environment of Business Chapter 6 The Constitution Key Concepts Federalism The powers not delegated to the United States i e the federal government by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively or to the people 10th Amendment U S Constitution Supremacy Clause This Constitution and the laws of the United States i e the federal government shall be the supreme law of the land any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding U S Constitution Article 6 Arizona Immigration Law The Congress shall have power t o establish an uniform rule of naturalization i e the process by which U S citizenship is granted to a foreign born person U S Constitution Article 1 Section 8 Arizona s S B 1070 Required immigrants to have their federal registration papers with them at all times Authorized jail time for illegal immigrants seeking work Allowed warrantless arrests if police officers had probable cause to believe that a person suspected of a crime is an illegal immigrant Required police officers to check the immigration status of persons they detain arrest or stop for a traffic violation Arizona Immigration Law On July 6 2010 the U S Department of Justice filed a lawsuit challenging S B 1070 In this action the United States seeks to declare invalid and preliminarily and permanently enjoin the enforcement of S B 1070 because S B 1070 is preempted by federal law and therefore violates the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution A state may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws On June 25 2012 the U S Supreme Court upheld some portions of the law while invalidating others Amendments Basic Protections 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech 14th Amendment Due Process of Law Equal Protection Freedom of Speech To whom does it apply Every level of government What types of speech are protected Written speech verbal symbolic Unpopular and minority speech are what really needs to be protected What types of speech aren t protected Fighting words words that create imminent lawlessness stirring up a mob KKK Neonazi rallies Obscene speech child pornography vague after that Indecent speech vulgar profane South Park restrictions and limitations Corporations don t have freedom of speech corporate speech is limited when there s reason to do so Warning labels on cigs Due Process of Law N or shall any State deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of law 14 th Amendment Passed right after the Civil War Due Process Clause Procedural Due Process what people talk about when they say due process Before the government can do something bad they must first give you notice provide you with a hearing to defend yourself Notice and hearing before government deprives you of life liberty or property Substantive Due Process Constitutional right to privacy Controversial to critics because judges are making stuff up and from the fact that the cases decided on SDP were on controversial subject matters Birth control Roe vs Wade Homosexuality Equal Protection Nor shall any State deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws 14 th Amendment Law is enforced and applied equally to every citizen Requires that similarly situated persons be treated alike on the theory that the U S Constitution neither knows nor tolerates classes among its citizens An allegedly discriminatory law will be evaluated under one of three tests Rational Basis Strict Scrutiny Quasi Strict Scrutiny Equal Protection Rational Basis Laws analyzed under this test often involve economic issues Usually revolve around tax issues Georgia has tax credits to promote business growth Film Television and Digital Entertainment Tax Credit Court would apply rational basis test if someone were to say these credits are disadvantaging them Laws analyzed under this test are typically upheld as constitutional i e do not violate the Equal Protection Clause Under this test laws must have a rational connection to a permissible government objective Lawmakers cant be making arbitrary laws to single anybody out Person challenging the law has the burden of proof i e proving that the law does not have a rational connection to a permissible government objective the individual must show there is no rational connection and is not meeting a permissible gov objective standard has not been met Weakest and easiest of 3 tests Will ultimately be upheld with constitution 95 or more of the time Equal Protection Strict Scrutiny Toughest test for a law to survive Used for classifications based on race or national origin Also used for classifications burdening the exercise of a fundamental right such as voting Laws analyzed under this test are typically struck down as unconstitutional i e found to violate the Equal Protection Clause Under this test laws must be necessary to achieve a compelling government objective Huge distinction between rational and permissible of rational basis Once someone claims violation of equal protection under strict scrutiny the burden is taken off of the challenger and onto the government who then will have to protect and defend the law Government defending the law has the burden of proof i e proving that the law is necessary to achieve a compelling government objective School integration and Brown vs Board of Education Equal Protection Quasi Strict Scrutiny In between strict scrutiny and rational basis Used for classifications based on gender Laws analyzed under this test may be upheld as constitutional or struck down as unconstitutional Under this test laws must be substantially related to an important government objective Government defending the law has the burden of proof i e proving that the law is substantially related to an important government objective One way alimony laws Majors at university accounting men nurses women education women