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The United States was involved in a dispute with a small island nation over the ownership of an archipelago. On discovering that the archipelago was rich in oil, the President announced that he would appoint an ambassador to negotiate a treaty with the island nation to jointly exploit the oil reserve. A majority of Senators believed that the island clearly belonged to the United States and did not want to negotiate with the island nation. They passed a resolution requiring the President to include a Senator in his diplomatic mission to ensure that the Senate’s view was presented in any negotiation with the island nation. What is the strongest constitutional ground for the President’s refusal to do so?

Your client was subpoenaed to appear before the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee and answer certain questions. When the client appears, he refuses to answer and is cited for contempt of Congress. Which of the following should you raise as the client’s best defense to the charge of contempt of Congress?

Scientific studies indicate that emissions from gasoline combustion engines contribute to a reduction in the health and growth rate of trees. To protect trees in the national forests, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), a federal agency, enacted stringent new fuel emission standards that apply to motor vehicles operating inside or within a 10-mile radius of all federal parks. The EPA regulations expressly preempt any conflicting state or local regulations, unless the state or local regulations require an even greater reduction in automobile emissions.A shuttle service operator transports tourists from hotels to the front entrance of a federal park. If the EPA regulation applies to her shuttle service, the operator will have to spend several thousand dollars for each shuttle to modify the engine exhaust system. The operator brings suit to challenge the validity of the federal regulation as applied to her.How will the court likely rule on the shuttle operator’s challenge?

A package delivery service that operates throughout the United States is based in a southwestern state. The company specializes in transporting packages to airports, where air freight companies or commercial airlines transport the packages to their cities of destination. However, the company’s entire fleet of trucks operate only in the state in which it is based. The company purchased the trucks from dealers within the state. The company’s drivers pick up packages from shippers within the state and the packages are then delivered to an airport located in the state, where employees of the airlines load the packages onto their planes. Each shipper is charged a service fee by the company. The state wishes to impose a 5% transaction tax on each of the fees collected by the company for the services that the company renders in the state. Would the federal courts probably rule that such a tax is constitutional?

Thomas Quill calls the White House switchboard and threatens to kill the President of the United States. After an investigation by the Secret Service, Quill is charged with and convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 871(a), which prohibits “knowingly and willfully . . . mak[ing] [a] threat against the President . . . .” Facing a fine and up to five years’ imprisonment, Quill appeals his conviction, claiming that Congress lacks the authority to criminalize threats against the President. Having read the Court’s disposition of Robin Weathers’s case, Quill points out that there is no power in Article I, § 8 to which criminalizing threats to the life of the President could be considered “necessary and proper.” How should a reviewing court rule?

Eager to accommodate CarCo, a large employer that plans to build an enormous assembly plant, Motor City condemns an entire neighborhood, displacing its residents, and turns the property over to CarCo to build its facility. In its decision to condemn the neighborhood, Motor City found that it is “blighted” and that redevelopment will bring jobs and other economic benefits—not only to the soon-to-be former residents of the neighborhood, but to all residents of Motor City. David, a resident, sues to stop the condemnation, claiming that it is not for public use. After Kelo, a federal district court would likely:

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has promulgated a regulation that bans the sales of vapor products and e-cigarettes within 1,000 feet of a school, and “any other location where minors under the age of 18 years traditionally gather.”  The purpose of the regulation is to discourage school-age children from smoking. The affected retailers located within 1,000 feet of a school, and “any other location where minors under the age of 18 years traditionally gather” have joined together to oppose the regulation since they are no longer able to sell vapor products or e-cigarettes. The regulation has already gone into effect. The retailers want to file a complaint for injunctive relief against the FDA in federal district court.   What arguments could the retailers reasonably make in their complaint? Consider all forms of justiciability. Discuss.

You will be given a quiz over the lectures at the beginning of each lab meeting (with the exception of test weeks).

Why is it important to confirm or revise your predictions after you finish reading a nonfiction text?

You are reading a science article about the Arctic and you encounter the word ‘permafrost.’ You don’t know the word, but the paragraph mentions ‘frozen ground that is melting.’ What can you predict ‘permafrost’ means?