MBE Rules · Constitutional Law
14A §5 — congruence and proportionality
City of Boerne
The rule
Congress may enforce 14A rights, but enforcement legislation must show congruence and proportionality between the injury to be prevented and the means adopted. Cannot create new substantive rights or alter the substantive content of 14A protections (Boerne).
In plain English
Congress can pass laws to protect rights under the 14th Amendment, but those laws must directly address and fit the problem without overreaching or changing the original rights.
Worked example
Congress passes a law requiring all public buildings to have ramps for disabled access, aiming to prevent discrimination. This law is valid because it directly addresses and matches the issue of accessibility.
Memory hook
Boerne: Bridge, not a bulldozer. Congress enforces 14A, but can't rewrite rights.
The trap
Students think: Congress can expand 14A rights. Wrong, because Boerne limits to enforcement, not creation. The actual test is congruence and proportionality.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: Congress passes broad law under 14A. Question: valid? Trap: students miss that it must align with existing rights, not create new ones.
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