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Constitutional Law • Individual Liberties
CONLAW#053
Legal Definition
The constitution applies only to government action. Generally, private conduct need not comply with the Constitution. However, Congress, by statute, may apply constitutional norms to private conduct (it may use the 13th Amendment to prohibit race discrimination, and use its commerce power). Note that Congress may not use Section 5 because it regulates only state and local governments.
Plain English Explanation
You've likely heard this argument play out before, where a private company like Facebook or Twitter censor someone's comments and people erupt into falsely claiming that their "First Amendment rights were violated." At this point in your legal career, you should recognize that those arguments are dumb. The Constitution is a limit on the government, not private parties. This is why public areas generally must allow protests (though we will cover specifics in other cards), but no one has a right to enter your private home or property to protest. There are some Constitutional rules that Congress may create specific laws for in order to govern non-government actions that we will discuss in other cards. For now, what you should understand is that the Constitution itself only applies to government actions, which means if you are trying to examine a non-government action on an exam, you'll need to look for some other method to scrutinize it that isn't just "It violates the Constitution!"
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob owns a restaurant in Hypofornia that refuses to serve customers from New Hypoland because of their state of origin. Sam, a New Hypoland resident, is denied service and decides to sue. Result: Bob's actions could be challenged under the commerce power of Congress, as it involves interstate relations and potentially affects commerce between states. However, the Constitution directly does not apply to Bob's private business unless specific legislation under the commerce power addresses such discrimination.
Hypo 2: Bob refuses to let Sam, his neighbor in Hypofornia, walk across his yard to get to the public park because Sam is from New Hypoland. Result: In this scenario, the Constitution does not directly apply to Bob's actions since this is a matter of private property rights and not government action. Unless there's a specific law addressing this form of discrimination, Sam may not have a constitutional claim against Bob.
Hypo 2: Bob refuses to let Sam, his neighbor in Hypofornia, walk across his yard to get to the public park because Sam is from New Hypoland. Result: In this scenario, the Constitution does not directly apply to Bob's actions since this is a matter of private property rights and not government action. Unless there's a specific law addressing this form of discrimination, Sam may not have a constitutional claim against Bob.
