Google+

Constitutional Law

by Daniel Edelson and Professor Eugene Volokh

What is the Bill of Rights? This video discusses the first Ten Amendments to the United States Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.

Why did a federal court dismiss Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta? A Washington D.C. federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit against federal officials in connection with a drone strike that killed three Americans in Yemen including Al-Aulaqi (also sp. Al-Awlaqi). This video discusses why the court dismissed the case, principles of separation of powers, and Bivens Actions.

Wolf v. Walker: Why did a federal court decide banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional? This video discusses why a Wisconsin federal court recently determined that a ban on homosexual marriage violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

What are the strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and rational basis tests? This video discuss the differences and similarities among three commonly used tests by United States courts to determine whether a law is constitutional.

What is the Lemon Test? This video discusses the so-called Lemon Test to determine whether a law violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. 

What is the Commerce Clause? This video introduces the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution which provides Congress with the power to pass laws.

What is the Dormant Commerce Clause? This video discusses the doctrine that states may not discriminate against other states in interstate commerce. 

What is standing? This video discusses the principle that only a plaintiff who has standing --legal capacity---may challenge a law (or government action) as unconstitutional. 

What is a test for constitutionality? This video introduces tests that courts apply to determine whether a law is constitutional or not.

When do courts apply strict scrutiny? This video introduces circumstances where courts typically apply the struct scrutiny test to determine whether a law is constitutional. 

When do courts apply intermediate scrutiny? This video introduces circumstances where courts typically apply the intermediate scrutiny test to determine whether a law is constitutional.

Professor Eugene Volokh, UCLA School of Law: Is Money Speech?