BMGT380 Case Notes Gonzales v Raich Background Raich and Monson suffer from medical problems and received a medical marijuana license to buy buds DEA comes and even though legal under California law as federal agents they destroyed all the product Both women sue the Attorney General and DEA to bar the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act CSA violates the U S constitutions commerce clause and the Due Process Clause of the 5th amendment Federal courts deny 9th Circuit court accepts Commerce Clause argument Issue Rule of law Does the sale of marijuana in California and the seizure of such federally violate the Commerce Clause of the constitution Wickard v Filburn The Commerce Clause does not cover the use of an agricultural product not intended to be sold and used solely for personal use Congress rules that Filburn must destroy his excess wheat and pay a fine giving the gov t the power to regulate non commerial growth of the crop Application Court shows that the CSA is an article of commerce and as such the Filburn case works because marijuna is an economic commodity Conclusion The cultivation of personal use marijuana is unlawful because personal cultivation most likely spills out into the open market for weed Background 1989 Iowa statute authorized new forms of gambling including slot machines on riverboats Taxes would be graduated with a top rate of 20 In 1994 Iowa enacted a new law that permitted slot machines at racetracks Taxes on these machines would start at 20 with a cap at 36 while the 20 cap was left on those machines on riverboats A group of racetracks and dog owners contended that the difference in the two taxes violated the federal Constitutions Equal Protection Clause and brought suit against the state of Iowa District court upheld the suit but the Iowa Supreme Court reversed before the US Supreme Court heard the case Issue Does the varying state taxes violate the fourteenth amendment s equal protection mandate Rule of Law equal protection clause no state shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws Fitzgerald v Racing Association of Iowa Application Iowa showed justification for the difference in the taxes Court ruled that the relationship of the classification to its goal is not so attenuated as to render the distinction arbitrary or irrational Conclusion The court reversed the Iowa s Supreme Court s ruling and the case was remanded for further proceedings Kasky v Nike Background Nike launches ad campaign to refute rumors of bad overseas labor Kasky using California statues which are meant to prevent false practices advertising sues Nike The case is then taken to the California Supreme Court Are the statements made by Nike through its campaign commercial Issue speech Rule of Law Product references as identified by the court include any reference to how a product is manufactured distributed or sold Any speech with product references is considered commercial speech Product references must have 3 things 1 The speakers are engaged in commerce 2 There is an intended commercial audience 3 Representations of fact of a commercial nature Application Nike is engaged in commerce There is an intended commercial audience There is fact of a commercial nature Conclusion Nike s statements are commercial Department of Revenue of Kentucky v Davis Background Kentucky has a state income tax that affects interest on municipal bonds from other states but not its own George and Catherine Davis sued Kentucky because they had municipal bonds from another state and wished to obtain a refund The trial court ruled in favor of Kentucky but the appellate court reversed The appellate court ignored the ruling of an Ohio decision upholding a similar tax approach The Kentucky Supreme Court denied review but the US Supreme Court granted Kentucky s request for a writ of certiorari Issue Does Kentucky s taxation of interest obtained through out of state bonds and not on domestic bonds violate the Commerce Clause Rule of Law The Commerce Clause empowers Congress to regulate commerce among the several states Dormant commerce clause Application United haulers case argues that Kentucky did not violate the dormant commerce clause Conclusion Justice Holmes the mode of taxation is of long standing and upon questions of constitutional law the long settled habits of the community play a part The fact that the system has been in force for a very long time is of itself a strong reason for leaving any improvement that may be desired to the legislature Decision of court of appeals of Kentucky reversed and case remanded for further proceedings Parents Involved in Community Schools v Seattle School District No I Background Seattle and Jefferson County create a system for choosing where kids will go to school based on a binary classification of white and nonwhite to ensure that schools were racially diverse There were two cases in different counties and states which were later merged into one case brought against the Supreme Court Does the public school system have the right to classify students by race when making school assignments Issue Rule of Law The schools must display that giving such racial classifications is in the absolute best interest of the government In Grutter v Bollinger it was upheld that student diversity can be requested in the interest of higher education but that using race to find racial balance is not Constitutional The racial assignments in this case are there only to find racial balance in Application public schools Conclusion US V Morrison are not Constitutional Decision of lower courts reversed racial classifications for racial balance Background Petitioner Brzonkala filed suit against two fellow classmates at Virginia Tech alleging that they raped her and that this attack violated the VAWA Violence Against Women Act Respondents dismissed on the grounds that her complaint failed to state a claim and that the VAWA is unconstitutional The US intervened to defend its constitutionality District court held that they did in fact state a claim but that Congress lacked authority to enact 13981 because it violated 8 of the commerce clause and 5 of the fourteenth amendment Issue Can you use either 8 of the commerce clause or 5 of the fourteenth amendment to validate the constitutionality of 13981 Rule of Law The commerce clause and the fourteenth amendment Application Used Lopez to show that gender motivated crimes of violence are not economically motivated and that 13981
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