BLAW Final Exam Guide.docx - Chapter 4 ● Constitutional...

Chapter 4
● Constitutional Powers of Gov
○ Fed gov and states share sovereign power
● Fed form of gov
○ Tenth amendment reserves all power to the states that have not been expressly
delegated to the national government
○ States have inherent police power including right to regulate health, safety,
morals and general welfare, licensing, building codes, parking regulations, and
zoning restrictions
● Commerce Clause
○ Us gives congress power to: “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several states, and with the indian tribes (art. 1 sec 8)
○ Greatest impact on business than any other constitutional provision
● Landmark in the Law
○ Gibbons V. Ogden (1824)
○ To chief justice marshall, commerce meant all business dealings that
substantially affected more than one state.
■ The national government had the exclusive power to regulate interstate
commerce
■ This case gave the congress more power over state governments
● Commerce Clause
○ Applies to virtually all commercial transactions
○ Only occasionally has the supreme court curbed the national governments
regulatory authority under the commerce clause
● Dormant Commerce Clause
○ National government has exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce
○ States only have a dormant (negative) power to regulate interstate commerce
○ Courts balance states interest vs. national interest
○ Gonzales v Raich
■ Congress was allowed to regulate interstate commerce of marijuana use
if they think its gonna interfere with the control of commerce amongst
states
● The Supremacy Clause
○ Article VI of the constitution provides that constitution, laws and treaties of the US
are the “supreme” law of the land”
○ Preemption: A doctrine under which certain federal laws preempt, or take
precedence over, conflicting state or local laws
○ Congressional intent
■ What the congress intended to do when they made the law
● Business and the Bill of Rights
○ First Amendment – freedom of religion, freedom of speech
○ Second Amendment – right to keep and bear arms
○ Third Amendment – prohibits lodging of soldiers in any house without owner’s
consent during peacetime

○ Fourth Amendment – unreasonable search and seizure
○ Fifth Amendment – rights to indictment by grand jury
○ Sixth Amendment – right to speedy and public trial
○ Seventh Amendment – right to trial by jury in civil cases
○ Eighth Amendment – prohibits excessive bail/fines and cruel/unusual punishment
○ Ninth Amendment – establishes people have rights in addition to those specified
in Constitution
○ Tenth Amendment – establishes powers reserved for states
● Levels of Constitutional Review
○ Strict Scrutiny: if a law or action prohibits or inhibits some persons from
exercising a fundamental right, the law or action will be subject to “strict scrutiny”
by the courts.