CONSTI 2 CRAM REVIEWER 
TESTS FOR VALID CLASSIFICATION
Section 1: No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process
of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
Void for vagueness – lacks comprehensible standard that men of “common
intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application.
overbreadth –
Essential requirements of procedural due process in courts: (C-L-O-H) There
must be a court or tribunal clothed with judicial power to hear and determine the
matter before it
1. The jurisdiction must be lawfully acquired over the person of the defendant
or over the property which is the subject of the proceedings
2. The defendant must be given an opportunity to be heard
3. The judgement must be rendered upon lawful hearing.
Essential requirements of procedural due process in administrative agencies: (N-
O-T-F)
1. Right to actual or constructive notice of the institution of proceedings which
may affect a respondent’s legal rights
2. A real opportunity to be heard personally or with the assistance of counsel
3. A tribunal vested with competent jurisdiction
4. A finding by said tribunal which is supported by substantial evidence
Valid city ordinance:
(1) must not contravene the Constitution or any statute;
(2) must not be unfair or oppressive;
(3) must not be partial or discriminatory;
(4) must not prohibit but may regulate trade;
(5) must be general and consistent with public policy;
(6) must not be unreasonable.
Invalid city ordinance (People v Fajardo)
1. It fails to state any policy to guide or limit mayor’s discretion
2. It expresses no purpose to be attained by requiring permit
3. Enumerates no condition for its grant or refusal
4. Lacks standards, conferring upon the mayor arbitrary and unrestricted
powers.
When Classification (under EPL) is Valid: S-G-L-A
1. Must rest on substantial distinctions
2. Must be germane to the purpose of the law
3. Must not be limited to existing conditions only
4. Must apply equally to all members of the same class
a) deferential or rational basis scrutiny - the challenged classification needs only be
shown to be rationally related to serving a legitimate state interest (sedition)
b) middle-tier or intermediate scrutiny - the government must show that the
challenged classification serves an important state interest and that the classification
is at least substantially related to serving that interest.
c) strict judicial scrutiny - a legislative classification which impermissibly interferes
with the exercise of a fundamental right or operates to the peculiar disadvantage of a
suspect class is presumed unconstitutional, and the burden is upon the government to
prove that the classification is necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that
it is the least restrictive means to protect such interest. (primary rights)
writ of Amparo - remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and
security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a
public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.
Writ of habeas data – remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life,
liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act of any official or
employee, or of a private individual or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or
storing of data or information.
Section 3: (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable
except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise
as prescribed by law.
(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be
inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.
Sec. 4: No Law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of
the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government
for redress of grievances.
How does prior restraint escape unconstitutionality:
1. burden must rest on the censor
2. the requirement cannot be administered in a manner which would lend an
effect of finality to the censor’s determination
3. the exhibitor must be assured, by statute or authoritative judicial construction,
that the censor will, within a specified brief period, either issue a license or
go to court to restrain showing the film.
4. The procedure must assure a prompt judicial decision, to minimize the
deterrent effect of an interim and possibly erroneous denial of a license.

O’brien test – government regulation on speech is sufficiently justified if: (C-S-U-E)
1. It is within the constitutional power of the government
2. It furthers an important or substantial government interest
3. The governmental interest is unrelated to the suppression of free expression
4. The incident restriction on alleged First Amendment freedoms is no greater
than is essential to the furtherance of that interest.
Clear and present danger rule – there is a substantive evil that the State has a right
to be prevented. – It is a question of proximity and degree
Dangerous tendency rule – if the words or utterances create a dangerous tendency
which the state has a right to prevent, then such words are punishable. (seditious
language)
Balancing of interest test
Regulation of Commercial speech may be allowed if they fulfill the
Hudson Test: (SDE)
1. The governmental interest sought to be served by the regulation must be
substantial.
2. the regulation must directly advance the government’s interest.
3. The regulation must not be more extensive than is necessary to protect the
state interest.
Libel – a public or malicious imputation of a crime, vice or defect, real or imaginary,
or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor,
discredit or contempt of a person or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.
Elements of libel: (A-P-I-M)
1. Allegation of a discreditable act or condition concerning another
2. Publication of the charge
3. Identity of the person defamed
4. Existence of malice
Academic Freedom:
1. who may teach
2. what may be taught
3. how it shall be taught
4. who may be admitted to study
As corporate entities, educational institutions of higher learning are inherently
endowed with the right to establish their policies, academic and otherwise,
unhampered by external controls or pressure.
Miller test (for Obscenity)
1. The dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient
interest in sex (when the average person applying contemporary community
standards, the dominant theme of the work
2. The material is patently offensive because it affronts contemporary
community standards relating to the description or representation of sexual
matters
3. The material lacks serious literary, artistic, political or social value
What can prevent a person from exercising his religion? – compelling state interest
and the exercise of police power
Section 5: No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious
test shall be required for the exercise of the civil or political rights.
Sherbert Test / Compelling State Interest Test (validity of state intrusion with the
free exercise of religion) (B-S-CSI-R)
1. The court must first determine whether an individual’s right to religious
freedom has been burdened.
2. The court must determine whether an individual’s religious belief in the
matter is sincere and its centrality in his faith
3. If the first 2 inquiries prove positive, then the Court must require the State to
demonstrate a Compelling State Interest in pursuing the interference or
intrusion.
4. If such interest exists, then the State must prove that its chose course of action
is the least restrictive or least burdensome to the individual’s religious
freedom.
What qualifies religion (B-M-D-A)
1. There must be a belief in God or some parallel belief that occupies a central
place in the believer’s life
2. Must involve a moral code transcending individual belief
3. A demonstrable sincerity in belief in necessary
4. There must be some associational ties although there is also a view that
religious beliefs held by a single person rather than being part of the teachings
of any kind of groups r sect are entitled to the protection of the Free Exercise
Clause.
Lemon Test (w/n a statute violates the 1st Amendment) (SNE)
1. statute must have a secular legislative purpose
2. the principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits
religion
 3. the statute must not foster an excessive entanglement with religion owner and deprive him of all beneficial enjoyment of the property.

Just compensation – just and complete equivalent of the loss which the owner of the
thing expropriated has to suffer by reason of the expropriation.
Section 6: The liberty of abode and of changing the same without the limits prescribed
by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the
right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or Section 10: No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.
public health as may be provided by law.

Section 7: The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be
recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to
official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as
basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations
as may be provided by law.

Limitations to the exercise of the right to information and state policy of public
disclosure:
1. National security matters
2. Trade secrets and banking transactions
3. Criminal matters
4. Other confidential matters.

Section 8: The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private
sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall
not be abridged.

• gov’t employees have a right to form unions but they do not have a constitutional
right to strike.

Section 9: Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation

Requisites for the valid exercise of the power of eminent domain (PGUJD)
1. The property taken must be private property
2. There must be genuine necessity to take the private property
3. The taking must be for public use
4. There must be payment of just compensation
5. The taking must comply with due process of law

Elements of Taking
1) the expropriator must enter a private property;
(2) the entrance into private property must be for more than a momentary period;
(3) the entry into the property should be under warrant or color of legal authority;
(4) the property must be devoted to a public use or otherwise informally appropriated
or injuriously affected; and
(5) the utilization of the property for public use must be in such a way as to oust the