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Questions tagged [constitutional-law]

Constitutional law deals with the assignment or restriction of the powers and branches of a government. If you are asking whether something is constitutional, it's helpful if you provide reasons as to why you think it is or isn't constitutional.

Note: this tag is not country specific - please add a country tag to your question as well.

Constitutional law governs the assignment and restriction of the powers of government.

A constitution will typically establish the branches of a government - the executive, judiciary, and legislature.

Beyond this, it may also state the means by which the constitution itself may be amended, and the means by which the government may legislate.

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On what basis might Trump's executive order on immigration be illegal?

On 27 January 2017, US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order entitled 'Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States'. On 30 January 2017, the acting Attorney General at the time refused to defend it in…
Patrick Conheady
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How does NC's atheism prohibition fit with the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution?

In 1971, the US State of North Carolina rewrote its constitution. According to this source, one of the purposes of this was that "Ambiguities and sections seemingly in conflict with the U.S. Constitution were either dropped or rewritten." Yet, the…
WBT
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What is the legal distinction between Twitter banning Trump and Trump blocking individuals?

For reference, this recent NPR article contains all of the information that inspired this question. The lawsuits referenced in the above article center on then-President Trump blocking individual users on Twitter from interacting with or seeing his…
Geoffrey
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Is the banning of large events in the USA constitutional?

Recently several US cities banned large gatherings of events such as listed here. Given that the 1st amendment of the US constitution states Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise…
Eric Johnson
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How is a plain-clothes officer entering your house not an unreasonable search?

In Wooden v United States: Wooden was sitting at home one evening when he heard a knock at his door. He answered to find an unknown man, who asked to speak with Wooden’s wife. Wooden invited the stranger inside while he went to get her. The…
robertspierre
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Can a US President, after impeachment and removal, be re-elected or re-appointed?

This answer in its present form states If Donald Trump were impeached and blocked from running again (which is one of the things that impeachment can do, disqualify from office)... Is that true? Does impeachment by the House of Representatives,…
WBT
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Why does the United Kingdom's handgun ban not apply to Northern Ireland?

I know that the United Kingdom banned civilian handgun ownership in 1997. I also know that the ban does not apply to Northern Ireland, and one can buy a handgun there through the same process used to buy rifles and shotguns in Great Britain. Why is…
Purple P
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Why did CJ Roberts apply the Fourteenth Amendment to Harvard, a private school?

In Justice Roberts's ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College overturning affirmative action in the United States, he holds that "Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth…
Very Tiny Brain
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Is the worst version of the accusations against President Trump impeachable?

Suppose the president of the US demands foreign leader X have X's state conduct an investigation into corrupt dealings of a family member of a former member of the previous US administration (and a potential rival presidential candidate) - and…
einpoklum
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Airport Security - advanced check, 4th amendment breach

I am a traveller, have a long Muslim name and I encounter frequent advanced searches at airports. Searching someone based solely on their name is obviously illegal as per the 4th amendment, but I assume bigotry exists so I learned to deal with it.…
Alias
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Is it against the constitution to require restaurants to only serve people with a vaccine certificate in the United States?

I heard that New York is implementing a vaccine certificate for people who want to do certain indoors activities such as going to the cinema, eating and training, so I was wondering if that was against the constitution or not since I thought only…
user25884
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Is presenting a play showing Military characters in a bad light a crime in the US? Or does the First Admendment prevent this?

This is a followup to Is it illegal to wear military surplus clothing? US Law 10 USC 771 provides that only members of the US military may wear: ...the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine…
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What is the purpose of pardoning powers?

Various countries have pardoning powers given to either the president or the governor, this is secured as a constitutional right of the president and governor. What is the purpose of such powers? Is there a special reason why are they handed to a…
user49663
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Why does the First Amendment apply to states?

The First Amendment doesn't say "No one can restrict free speech" - it says "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech." You could interpret it as saying, "Congress cannot restrict free speech, but a private company like…
SegNerd
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Is there any legal mechanism for a citizen without resources, to be able to sue the state for infringing his/her constitutional rights?

Is there any legal mechanism for a citizen without resources, to be able to sue the state for infringing his/her constitutional rights? In Argentina for example, I know there is a "defensor del pueblo" at national and provincial level, but as far as…
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