New Mexico Law School 1L Study Guide for Constitutional Law

The Constitution of the United States

Overview

• Structure and Contents: Preamble, seven Articles, and 27 Amendments.
• Federalism: Division of power between the federal government and the states.
• Supreme Law: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

The Judicial Branch (Article III)

• Establishes the Supreme Court and permits Congress to create lower federal courts.
• Judicial Review: The power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional, established by Marbury v. Madison (1803).

Separation of Powers

• Three branches of government: Legislative (Article I), Executive (Article II), and Judicial (Article III).
• Checks and Balances: Each branch has certain powers to check the other branches.

The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments

First Amendment

• Freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.
• Notable Cases: Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) – Established the imminent lawless action test for free speech restrictions.

Second Amendment

• Right to keep and bear arms.

Fourth Amendment

• Rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.
• Exclusionary Rule: Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is generally inadmissible at trial.

Fifth Amendment

• Rights in criminal cases, including due process, self-incrimination, and double jeopardy.

Fourteenth Amendment

• Equal Protection Clause: No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
• Due Process Clause: Extends the Fifth Amendment’s due process guarantees to the states.

Significant Constitutional Doctrines and Concepts

Judicial Review

• Marbury v. Madison (1803): Established the Supreme Court’s authority to review and invalidate government actions that violate the Constitution.

Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3)

• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824): Broad interpretation of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce.

Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18)

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): Affirmed the federal government’s implied powers and upheld the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.

Federalism

• Dual sovereignty between the state and federal governments.
• New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe (1983): Reinforced the principle that state laws can apply to tribal lands only if Congress has clearly allowed such application.

Equal Protection and Due Process

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954): Racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.
• Roe v. Wade (1973): The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects a woman’s right to an abortion.

First Amendment Jurisprudence

• New Mexico-specific: The New Mexico Constitution provides broader protection of free speech than the U.S. Constitution. For instance, in City of Albuquerque v. Soto-Lerma (2005), the New Mexico Supreme Court struck down a city ordinance that attempted to restrict panhandling, citing the state constitution’s free speech protections.

Incorporation Doctrine

• The process by which the Bill of Rights has been made applicable to the states.
• Selective Incorporation: Certain protections found in the Bill of Rights are fundamental and are applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

New Mexico State Constitution

• It is important to understand the interplay between the U.S. Constitution and the New Mexico State Constitution.
• The New Mexico Constitution can provide more expansive rights than the U.S. Constitution, but it cannot provide fewer rights.

The Right to Privacy

• Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): Established the constitutional “right to privacy” through various amendments implying privacy protections.

Key Legal Concepts and Principles

Doctrine of Original Intent

• Judicial philosophy that interprets the Constitution based on the intent expressed by the framers at the time of its enactment.

Stare Decisis

• The doctrine of adhering to precedent when making judicial decisions.

Strict Scrutiny

• A standard of judicial review for legislation that affects fundamental rights or involves suspect classifications.

Rational Basis Review

• A standard of judicial review that assumes the constitutionality of reasonable legislative or executive enactments.

Intermediate Scrutiny

• A standard of judicial review that is less stringent than strict scrutiny but more rigorous than rational basis.

Preparing for the Final Exam

• Review the text of the U.S. Constitution and the New Mexico State Constitution.
• Understand key constitutional doctrines and how they apply to landmark cases.
• Compare and contrast federal constitutional law with New Mexico state constitutional law.
• Be familiar with the major cases, their facts, holding, reasoning, and significance.
• Practice writing concise case briefs using the IRAC format (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion).
• Engage in discussions and study groups to explore different perspectives on the material.
• Take practice exams to hone your issue-spotting and essay-writing skills.

This study guide provides a general overview of constitutional law as it applies to the United States and specifically New Mexico. To prepare thoroughly for a final exam, students should delve deeper into each topic, read and brief all assigned cases, and stay updated on any changes or recent developments in the law.