constitutionality

Examples of constitutionality in the following topics:

• The 10th Amendment

  • The Tenth Amendment states the Constitution's principle of federalism by providing that powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States or the people.

• The Last Days of the Federal Presidency: The Midnight Judges

  • Chief Justice Marshall's decision about "midnight judges" gave the Court authority to declare the constitutionality of congressional and presidential acts.
  • However, Marshall had established the foundational concept of judicial review—the power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of congressional legislation and presidential acts.

• Informal Methods of Amending the Constitution: Societal Change and Judicial Review

  • In the United States, federal and state courts at all levels, both appellate and trial, are able to review and declare the constitutionality of legislation relevant to any case properly within their jurisdiction.
  • In American legal language, "judicial review" refers primarily to the adjudication of constitutionality of statutes, especially by the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • In these systems, no other courts are competent to question the constitutionality of primary legislation.

• Judicial Federalism

  • This provision gave the Supreme Court the power to review state court decisions involving the constitutionality of both federal and state statutes.
  • Judicial review in the United States refers to the power of a court to review the constitutionality of a statute or treaty or to review an administrative regulation for consistency with a statute, a treaty, or the Constitution itself.
  • Madison (1803) , in which the Supreme Court ruled that the federal courts have the duty to review the constitutionality of acts of Congress and to declare them void when they are contrary to the Constitution.
  • Although the Supreme Court continues to review the constitutionality of statutes, Congress and the states retain some power to influence what cases come before the Court.

• Constitutional Limits

  • The United States adheres to the principles of a constitutionally limited government in the three branches of government.
  • A constitutionally limited government is a system of government that is bound to certain principles of action by a state constitution.
  • An example of a constitutionally limited government is the United States of America, which is a constitutionally limited republic.
  • Correspondingly, constitutionalism has a variety of meanings.

• The First National Bank

  • While there was little objection to other aspects of Hamilton's recommendations, as outlined in the Second Report (such as the establishment of the US Mint), there was a heated debate between Democratic-Republicans and Federalists over the constitutionality of a National Bank.
  • The debate over the National Bank also raised early questions of constitutionality in the new government.
  • Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson argued that the Bank violated traditional property laws and that its relevance to constitutionally authorized powers was weak.
  • Additionally, his belief was that if the Constitution's writers had wanted Congress to have such power they would have made it explicit.
  • While Jefferson and Randolph proclaimed the Bank unconstitutional, Hamilton, in his Defense of the Constitutionality of the Bank, explicated a broad constructionist interpretation of the Constitution that argued that any congressional actions not specifically prohibited by the Constitution could be employed by Congress to achieve an end for the common good.

• Freedom of Religion

  • Freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right, established in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
  • In the United States, freedom of religion is a constitutionally guaranteed right , laid out in the Bill of Rights.

• Hamilton's Achievements

  • Hamilton justified the Bank and the broad scope of congressional power necessary to establish it by citing Congress' constitutional powers to issue currency, regulate interstate commerce, and enact any other legislation "necessary and proper" to enact the provisions of the Constitution.This broad view of congressional power was enshrined into legal precedent in the Supreme Court case McCulloch v.
  • Maryland, which granted the federal government broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers.

• Presidential Action

  • The Constitution's Ineligibility Clause prevents the President from simultaneously being a member of Congress.
  • The president can further influence the legislative branch through constitutionally mandated, periodic reports to Congress.

• Preamble

  • The Preamble to the Constitution is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles.