BUL 3310 Test 2 Study Guide Spring 2013 Separation of Powers constitutional mandate that requires separate branches of government with each branch charged with performing certain functions 1 The Legislative branch makes laws consists of congress house of representatives with legislative branches at both state and federal levels Their main power is the law making and creating budgets for wars and pretty much everything else 2 Executive Branch consists of the president governors and mayors etc They have the power to veto bills make executive orders and appoint cabinet members and judges 3 Judicial Branch s main jobs are Interprets the U S Constitution Judicial Review Interprets the laws Makes sure they are faithfully applied Deals with cases involving the Constitution 1 federal laws treaties and 2 disputes between states Checks and Balances Under the Constitution the process by which each branch of government restrains the power of another branch 4 Cases U S v Nixon 1974 Watergate Nixon is forced by the supreme court to relinquish tapes that incriminated him in the incident Clinton v Jones 1997 He was being sued for sexual harassment but it was put off as an order of the Judiciary in order to let him fulfill his duty as president however he did partake in the deposition interview under oath Bush v Gore 2000 Gore demanded a recount the supreme court said no Constitutional Judicial Review Determining whether laws actions violate the constitution The doctrine that allows the federal courts to determine whether acts by the federal government or the state governments conform to edicts of the constitution Judicial Review Interpreting determining the meaning of laws mostly by using semantics Federalism Doctrine under which law making is divided between a federal government and a state government Police powers Government powers including the areas of public safety health welfare and morals which are traditionally domains that are regulated by state government Interstate Commerce Commerce between 2 or more states Commerce Clause Provision of the constitution that empowers the federal divergent with the ability to regulate interstate commerce commerce clause US constitution Art 1 Sec B The congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among several states Congress through it s passage of laws can regulate business if it is within the state but can affect those of other states if not local regulators hold the power Intrastate Commerce Commerce within a state State and local government Cases 1 Wickard vs Filburn 1942 Filburn farmer was allotted 11 acres to farm so he doubled it regardless of the federal law The issue went all the way to the Supreme Court it revolved around everything being done locally intra The extra wheat was for personal use not for the market He argued it was 1 Intrastate 2 Intracounty 3 Intrafarm how much more local could it get But after arguments congress has power to regulate state or local activity if the activity substantially affects interstate commerce even if it s local because it affects supply and demand Which is absolute bullshit unnecessary govt control in my opinion it is called a free market for a fucking reason 2 Heart of Atlanta motel Vs US 1964 dealt with the civil rights act 1964 Public Accommodation you must de segregate Atlanta motel wouldn t desegregate and stated that federal govt couldn t tell them what to do because everything he does is within the state of GA therefore Intrastate WRONG Fed Govt proved substantial interstate commerce because the majority of guests were from other states Therefore the civil rights acts applied 3 Katzenbach v McClung 1964 McClung bbq owner in Birmingham Alabama argued that everything is in Alabama even 95 of customers are from Birmingham Therefore under Alabama law you can segregate Court found that the pork supply from the restaurant was from out of state and McClung lost Today Obamacare The justice department points to wickard vs filburn to prove a point Dormant Commerce Clause Judicially created doctrine that forbids states from acting in a manner that unreasonably impedes commerce among the states Supremacy Clause establishes the U S Constitution U S Treaties made pursuant to the U S Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land The text decrees these to be the highest form of law in the U S legal system and mandates that all state judges must follow federal law when a conflict arises between federal law and either the state constitution or state law of any state Book Supremacy clause constitutional provision mandating that federal law is superior to state law Federal State Regulation of Commerce State action Constitutional protections embedded in selective provisions of amendments to the constitution that apply only to instances where the government has acted Book Even where a federal action is proper under the commerce clause or where a states action is appropriate as an exercise of its police power the government s action may still be unconstitutional because the action violates the Limitation of power included in an amendment of the constitution 1 Subject Matters Exclusively Federal Any attempted state regulation is unconstitutional under the commerce and supremacy clauses I Article 1 Section 8 of the Us Constitution Congress shall have power to Regulate interstate and foreign commerce Regulate bankruptcy Fed Court Congressional Regulation Coin Money So states won t have a bunch of different currencies Establish post offices tradition Declare war raise and support armies and a navy 2 Subject Matters of possible dual regulation a Subjects preempted by federal law when congress preempts the field only federal govt is engaged to prevent chaos not in constitution Any State law is unconstitutional under the commerce and supremacy clauses Preemption Federal preemption refers to the invalidation of a US state law when it conflicts with Federal law Done when there s a desire need for uniform rule Ex bush signs an anti spam law and gives fed officials right to prosecute spammers spammers w fines for fraud there were already laws at the state level b Subjects covered by the Federal law which do not preempt the field 1 State laws which are in irreconcilable conflict are unconstitutional Garnishment People who are owed money can take a percentage of the wages from the person who owes them that money with a maximum of 25 Federal Law garnishment max 25 of wages 1 4 of wages is max so people
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