Exam 4: Constitutional Law

Eminent domain is not one of the recognized inherent powers of government.

The State where Laura's father had lived passes a statute which requires that male heirs be preferred over female heirs in selecting an executor of an estate.Laura,a lawyer,would like to be the executor of her father's estate,but so would her eighteen-year-old brother who just flunked out of college.She challenges the provision as being a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.The case is now under consideration by the United States Supreme Court.In deciding the constitutionality of the provision,the Court will:

For the purposes of procedural due process,____ includes certain entitlements conferred by government,such as social security payments and food stamps.

Since the Supreme Court's abandonment of substantive due process as a critical check on legislation involving individual rights,the ____ Clause is now the most important clause in this regard.

The federal government's power to tax is subject to the limitation that all custom duties and excise taxes must be uniform throughout the United States.

The federal government has no restrictions under the Constitution on its power to impair contracts since the Contract Clause restricts only actions of the states.

Powers given exclusively to the federal government under the U.S.Constitution include the power to establish laws governing bankruptcy and to coin money.

Procedural due process would require the government to establish a set of fair procedures in all but which of the following cases?

A public figure who brings a defamation suit against a newspaper which prints a false story about her must prove actual malice to win the suit.

Identify the federal commercial and fiscal powers and give the source in the Constitution where the power is granted to the federal government.Explain what is meant by each.

A classification based on gender or "legitimacy" for a governmental action:

The Contract Clause prevents a state from:

The Supreme Court has defined the scope of the Commerce Clause narrowly and,therefore,has restricted the powers of the federal government to regulate business.

The ____ case declared the authority of courts to examine governmental actions to determine whether they conform to the U.S.Constitution.

States have powers to enact regulations if Congress has not preempted state regulation by enacting legislation within its constitutional powers.

The Contract Clause of the Constitution applies only to the actions of state governments and not to the federal government.

The Bill of Rights was included in the U.S.Constitution when it was originally ratified by the states.

Which of the following is correct with regard to the powers of government in the United States?

Substantive due process addresses the fairness of the process by which a legal rule is applied.

A classic and important example of strict scrutiny of classifications based upon race is the desegregation case of: