Constitutional-Fact Doctrine Law and Legal Definition
Constitutional-Fact Doctrine refers to a principle that administrative action affecting constitutional rights is subject to an independent judicial determination on both law and facts. The federal courts are not bound by an administrative agency's findings of fact when the facts involve whether the agency has exceeded constitutional limitations on its power, especially regarding personal rights. This rule is not very popular now even though it has not been overruled or wholly discredited.
It also refers to a rule that a federal appellate court is not bound by a trial court's findings of fact when constitutional rights are implicated. This is specifically so in citizenship-determination and First Amendment cases.
