Constitutional Law Exam Guides

Benefits

• The Judicial Review mnemonic helps you memorize standing, associational standing, ripeness and mootness, the federal jurisdiction, SCOTUS jurisdiction (original and appellate), and abstention. Legislative power mnemonic helps you memorize commerce clause, amendments, taxing power, revenue, necessary and proper clause, and enabling clauses in the amendments to the US Constitution. State power mnemonic helps you memorize the dormant commerce clause, amendments, Bill of Rights extended to the States through the 14th Amendment due process clause, and the 11th Amendment which prohibits citizens from suing States.

• The Individual Guarantees mnemonic helps you memorize trial by jury, privileges and immunities clause, procedural due process, substantive due process (5th and 14th amendments), equal protection clause (14th amendment), and then has in depth memory aids for the 1st Amendment freedoms (speech, press, religion, assembly and petitioning) and amendments 2 through 9.

• This constitutional law checklist will take you through standing, mootness, and ripeness and then asks who is the defendant? An individual (look for some kind of state action), state or local government (look for police power, commerce clause, interstate privileges and immunities, and pre-emption), or the federal government (look for whether an executive infringement occurs with foreign or domestic issues, judicial article 1 bankruptcies or article 3, legislative powers (look for interstate commerce, necessary and proper, foreign affairs, tax and spend, and enabling clauses of 13th, 14th and 15th amendments).