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Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law. Part 4: The Federal Judicial Power Lecture 5: Justiciability – Ripeness. Ripeness. Ripeness is the determination of whether a matter is premature for review because the injury is speculative and may never occur.

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Constitutional Law

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  1. Constitutional Law Part 4: The Federal Judicial Power Lecture 5: Justiciability – Ripeness

  2. Ripeness • Ripeness is the determination of whether a matter is premature for review because the injury is speculative and may never occur. • Standing is concerned with who may bring a case, and ripeness is concerned with when a case may be brought. • In effect, ripeness usually means that people cannot challenge the legality of a statute or regulation until they are prosecuted for violating it. • Is this fair? • It might incentivize people to break the law if that is the only way to find out whether the law is validly enforceable. • It could also unnecessarily chill conduct by making people comply with laws that are actually unconstitutional.

  3. Rationale for Ripeness • In spite of these fairness concerns, the ripeness doctrine may still be justified because it: • advances separation of powers by avoiding judicial review in situations where it is unnecessary for the federal courts to become involved because there is not a substantial hardship to postponing review • prevents the courts from entangling themselves in abstract disagreements • enhances judicial economy by limiting the occasion for federal court jurisdiction and the expenditure of judicial time and revenues • enhances the quality of judicial decision making by ensuring that there is an adequate record to permit effective review

  4. Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner (1967) Background: • The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires manufacturers of prescription drugs to print the established name of the drug prominently on labels and other printed material. • A group of drug manufacturers challenged the Act as exceeding the Food and Drug Administration’s authority.

  5. Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner Issue: Is the case ripe until a drug company was prosecuted for violating the regulation? • Two part test for ripeness: • Evaluate the hardship to the parties of withholding court consideration and • The fitness of the issues for judicial decision

  6. Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner Holding: The controversy satisfies the requirement for ripeness even though it is a pre- enforcement review. • As to the first part of the test, the Court concluded that the issue was currently fit for judicial decision. • “The issues presented are appropriate for judicial resolution at this time . . . The issue tendered is purely a legal one.” (CB 84) • For the second part, the Court said that there would be a substantial hardship on the parties if they denied pre-enforcement review. • “[T]he impact of the regulations upon the petitioners is sufficiently direct and immediate . . . either they must comply with the [label] requirement and incur the costs . . . or they must follow their present course and risk prosecution . . .[for] serious and criminal and civil penalties.” (CB 85)

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