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Constitutional Law - MBE (no diagrams)
Questions with Detailed Verified
Answers
Question: JUDICIAL POWER
Article III standing
(suing on one's own behalf)
General rule
Plaintiff must prove:
injury-in-fact -
causation -
redressability -
Citizen
No standing as mere citizen
Legislator
Taxpayer
Standing to challenge taxes owed—but not government spending unless:
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Answer: General rule
Plaintiff must prove:
injury-in-fact - concrete & particularized harm (actual or imminent)
causation - harm traceable to defendant's conduct AND
redressability - favorable judicial decision can remedy harm
Citizen
No standing as mere citizen
Legislator
Must prove personal stake in dispute & concrete injury to challenge
constitutionality of government action
Taxpayer
Standing to challenge taxes owed—but not government spending unless:
challenging legislation enacted under taxing & spending power AND
legislation exceeds limits imposed by establishment clause
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Article III standing
(suing on another's behalf)
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Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Actual Case or Controversy Requirement
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Justiciability and Jurisdiction of Federal Courts
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Commerce power to regulate activities that substantially affect interstate
commerce
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Conditional federal funding
(Article I, section 8 spending clause)
Conditions must meet all the following criteria:
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Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
For a suit to be ripe for adjudication, the plaintiff must have suffered actual
harm or an immediate threat thereof. Therefore, a claim based on potential
future harm is
Answer: unripe and will be dismissed.
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Congress has plenary (i.e., exclusive) power to regulate naturalization—i.e.,
the process through which noncitizens obtain U.S. citizenship. But the
Fourteenth Amendment limits this power by prohibiting Congress from
revoking the citizenship of any U.S. citizen without
Answer: his/her consent unless that citizenship was obtained by fraud or in
bad faith.
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
A taxpayer has standing when the taxpayer's suit
Answer: (1) challenges legislation enacted under Congress's taxing and
spending power and (2) alleges a violation of a specific constitutional
limitation on that power (i.e., the establishment clause).
Constitutional Law - MBE (no diagrams)
Questions with Detailed Verified
Answers
Question: JUDICIAL POWER
Article III standing
(suing on one's own behalf)
General rule
Plaintiff must prove:
injury-in-fact -
causation -
redressability -
Citizen
No standing as mere citizen
Legislator
Taxpayer
Standing to challenge taxes owed—but not government spending unless:
, Page | 2
Answer: General rule
Plaintiff must prove:
injury-in-fact - concrete & particularized harm (actual or imminent)
causation - harm traceable to defendant's conduct AND
redressability - favorable judicial decision can remedy harm
Citizen
No standing as mere citizen
Legislator
Must prove personal stake in dispute & concrete injury to challenge
constitutionality of government action
Taxpayer
Standing to challenge taxes owed—but not government spending unless:
challenging legislation enacted under taxing & spending power AND
legislation exceeds limits imposed by establishment clause
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Article III standing
(suing on another's behalf)
, Page | 3
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Actual Case or Controversy Requirement
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Justiciability and Jurisdiction of Federal Courts
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Commerce power to regulate activities that substantially affect interstate
commerce
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Conditional federal funding
(Article I, section 8 spending clause)
Conditions must meet all the following criteria:
, Page | 4
Answer:
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
For a suit to be ripe for adjudication, the plaintiff must have suffered actual
harm or an immediate threat thereof. Therefore, a claim based on potential
future harm is
Answer: unripe and will be dismissed.
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
Congress has plenary (i.e., exclusive) power to regulate naturalization—i.e.,
the process through which noncitizens obtain U.S. citizenship. But the
Fourteenth Amendment limits this power by prohibiting Congress from
revoking the citizenship of any U.S. citizen without
Answer: his/her consent unless that citizenship was obtained by fraud or in
bad faith.
Question:
JUDICIAL POWER
A taxpayer has standing when the taxpayer's suit
Answer: (1) challenges legislation enacted under Congress's taxing and
spending power and (2) alleges a violation of a specific constitutional
limitation on that power (i.e., the establishment clause).
