Business Law

The Constitution consists of 7 Articles, the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) as wellas 17 additional amendments, enacted through 1992.

1) Standing

n Standing asks whether the plaintiff is the proper party to bring a

matter to court for adjudication.

n Requirements to have standing:

n Injury

n Causation

n No third-party standing

n No generalized grievances

No Third Party Standing

n Plaintiffs cannot assert claims of other parties.

n Exceptions:

n Close relationship – doctor/patient, parent/child

n Third-party unable to assert own rights – potential discrimination by jury

members, etc.

n Associational standing – individual members would have standing and the

claim is related to the associational purpose.

2) Ripeness

n Asks whether a federal court may grant pre-enforcement review of a

statute or regulation.

n Normally, a law is challenged by violating that law, being prosecuted

for it, and arguing that it is unconstitutional.

n Ripeness refers to challenges to law prior to violation of that law.

These are generally rejected by courts.

3) Mootness

n If the injury to the plaintiff ends after a lawsuit is filed but before it is

decided, the case becomes moot and will be dismissed.

n Exception:

n Injury is likely to repeat

n Defendant voluntarily ceases the action

n Class action suits where injury still occurs to at least one class member

4) Political Question Doctrine

n A political question will not be heard by a federal court. The

following are considered political questions:

n The “republican form of government clause”

n Challenges to the President’s choice of foreign policy

n Challenges to the impeachment and removal process

Bringing a case to the U.S. Supreme

Court

n Discretionary Review

n If at least 4 Supreme Court Justices vote to grant certiorari, a case will be

heard. This is called the “rule of four”. To seek review, a petitioner

must exhaust all lower-level appeals and then file a...