Business Law

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Public Law

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branch of substantive which deals with the rights and
powers of government in its political or governing capacity and in its relation to
individuals or groups. It consists of constitutional law, administrative law and
criminal law, which we’ll be talking about in this chapter.

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Critical functions of constitutions:

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1. Supreme law of their respective jurisdiction.
2. Establish the structure of government and allocate power among various
levels.
3. Impose restrictions on the powers of government and enumerate the rights
and liberties of the people

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Bill of Rights

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estricts powers and authority of the federal government and
establishes many of the civil and political rights that citizens enjoy today — rights
to due process, freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly, and the right to
bear arms.

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Federalism

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the division of governing power between the Federal government
and the States. Constitution enumerates the powers of the Federal government
and reserves to the States or the people the powers not specifically delegated to
the Federal government. However, the Federal government has not been unduly
limited in the power it exercises because many of its powers, particularly
regulation of commerce, have been broadly interpreted

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Supremacy clause

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provides that within its own sphere,
Federal law is supreme, and any State law that conflicts with it, must yield.
Under the Supremacy Clause, whenever congress enacts legislation within its
constitutional powers, the Federal laws preempt or override any conflicting state
law. Likewise, where Congress doesn’t intend for Federal law to displace all State
law, that State law which doesn’t conflict with Federal law is permitted.

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Judicial Review

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escribes the process by which courts examine governmental
actions to determine whether they conform to the Constitution. If the government
action violates the Constitution, the courts may invalidate that action. Judicial
review applies to legislation, acts of the executive branch and decisions of inferior
courts. It also is applicable to actions of state and federal governments.

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Executive

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Appoints Federal Judges and also United States
Attorneys.

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Legislative

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Passes legislation that is subject to judicial review, as well
as veto power by the President

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State Action -

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any action of the State and Federal governments, as well as their political
subdivisions

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Federal Commerce Power

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Pursuant to the Commerce Clause, the federal
government has the exclusive power to regulate commerce between the U.S. and
foreign nations, and commerce among the several states. The Commerce Clause
grants the Federal Government: (1) broad power to regulate the economy; and
(2) it restricts State regulations that result in interference or obstruction with
interstate commerce.

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Federal Fiscal Powers

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The federal government exerts a dominant influence
over the national economy through its control of financial matters. In addition to
regulatory power the federal government exercises under the Commerce Clause,
it also has the following powers:

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Taxaton and Spending

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the Constitution grants Congress broad powers to tax
and spend.

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Major limitations on the Fed’s power to tax are:

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1) direct taxes other than
income taxes, must be apportioned among the states; (2) all custom duties and
export taxes must be uniform throughout the U.S.; and (3) the Fed can’t levy
duties on exports from States.

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Spending

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The Constitution authorizes the Fed government to pay debts and
spend for the common defense and general welfare of the U.S. The book points
out that through its spending power, the Fed government may accomplish
indirectly what it can’t do directly; e.g., withholding federal highway funds to states
that didn’t raise legal drinking age from 18 to 21. Louisiana held out for the
longest time before it finally raised its legal drinking age.
Needless to say, these powers to tax and spend are important to Federal
regulation of the economy.

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Borrowing and Coining Money

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The Constitution grants Congress the power to
borrow money on the credit of the U.S. and also to coin money. These two
powers have enabled the Federal government to establish a national banking
system, the Federal Reserve System, and it gives the Federal government
extremely broad control to control national fiscal and monetary policy - the
increase and decrease of interest rates, increasing/decreasing the money supply,
and setting foreign exchange rates.

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Eminent Domain

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The Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment establishes the
Federal government's inherent but limited power to take private property for public
use with the payment of just compensation. Also this Takings Clause is made
applicable to the States through the 14th Amendment