NYLE Constitutional Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A content-based restriction on speech in a traditional public forum must survive:
- Strict scrutiny — narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest (Correct answer)
- Intermediate scrutiny — substantially related to an important government interest
- Rational basis review — rationally related to a legitimate government interest
- Compelling interest balancing — weighing speech harm against government benefit
Correct answer: Strict scrutiny — narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest
Content-based speech restrictions are presumptively unconstitutional and must survive strict scrutiny, requiring the government to prove a compelling interest and narrow tailoring.
Question 2: Under the Establishment Clause, a government action is most likely unconstitutional if it:
- Endorses or coerces participation in religious activity (Correct answer)
- Provides neutral benefits that happen to flow to religious organizations
- Allows religious speech in public forums open to all private speakers
- Permits employees to take religious holidays under general leave policies
Correct answer: Endorses or coerces participation in religious activity
After Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the core Establishment Clause concern is government endorsement of or coercion toward religion.
Question 3: Under the Fourth Amendment, a warrantless search of the curtilage of a home is generally:
- Presumptively unconstitutional unless a recognized exception applies (Correct answer)
- Permissible because the curtilage is outside the home
- Permissible when officers have reasonable articulable suspicion
- Unreviewable if the information gathered is later corroborated
Correct answer: Presumptively unconstitutional unless a recognized exception applies
The curtilage immediately surrounding a home receives Fourth Amendment protection equivalent to the home itself, and warrantless searches there are presumptively unreasonable.
Question 4: The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protects against compelled disclosure of:
- Testimonial or communicative evidence only (Correct answer)
- Any evidence, including physical samples such as blood or DNA
- Statements made voluntarily to law enforcement
- Documents prepared by a defendant that are responsive to a subpoena
Correct answer: Testimonial or communicative evidence only
The Fifth Amendment only protects testimonial or communicative evidence; physical evidence such as blood draws or handwriting exemplars is not protected.
Question 5: Under the Sixth Amendment, the right to counsel attaches at:
- The initiation of formal adversarial judicial proceedings (Correct answer)
- The moment a person becomes the focus of a criminal investigation
- The point at which police take a suspect into custody
- Arrest, regardless of whether charges have been filed
Correct answer: The initiation of formal adversarial judicial proceedings
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is offense-specific and attaches at the initiation of formal charges, such as indictment, arraignment, or preliminary hearing.
Question 6: The Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for:
- Crimes committed by defendants who were under 18 at the time of the offense (Correct answer)
- All first-degree murder convictions absent a finding of special circumstances
- Any crime in which the victim survives the offense
- Crimes committed by defendants with an IQ below 80
Correct answer: Crimes committed by defendants who were under 18 at the time of the offense
In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court held that executing individuals for crimes committed as juveniles (under 18) constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
Question 7: Substantive due process protects against government interference with fundamental rights by requiring:
- Strict scrutiny — a compelling interest and narrow tailoring (Correct answer)
- Rational basis review — any legitimate government purpose
- Intermediate scrutiny — an important interest and substantial relation
- A balancing test weighing the government interest against the right burdened
Correct answer: Strict scrutiny — a compelling interest and narrow tailoring
Government infringement on a recognized fundamental right under substantive due process triggers strict scrutiny, demanding a compelling state interest and a narrowly tailored law.
NYLE Constitutional Law 2
A content-based restriction on speech in a traditional public forum must survive: