Constitutional Law

The Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments provide that the right to vote shall not be denied to a U.S. citizen on account of gender, age (so long as the citizen is at least eighteen years old), or the failure to pay a poll tax. The TWENTY-FIRST AMENDMENT repeals the EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT, which banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors, otherwise known as PROHIBITION. The SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT establishes the congressional power to lay and collect income taxes.

The Tenth and Eleventh Amendments attempt to preserve the federalist system created by the Constitution, whereby the state and federal governments share sovereignty and jurisdiction. Recognizing the threat presented by an omnipotent federal government, the TENTH AMENDMENT reserves to the states all powers not delegated to the federal government. The text of the ELEVENTH AMENDMENT restricts federal courts from hearing lawsuits against state governments brought by the residents of another state or the citizens of a foreign country. The Supreme Court has also interpreted the Eleventh Amendment to restrict federal courts from hearing lawsuits instituted by residents of the state being sued and lawsuits initiated by the governments of foreign countries.