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A state that is subject to severe winters generally allows the use of studded tires between October 1 and March 31. However, the legislation allows counties to opt out and prohibit the use of studded tires year round, because studded tires tend to tear up pavement more than nonstudded tires, thus necessitating more frequent road repairs. No other state in the region allows use of studded snow tires at all. The state law contains one exception: it excludes “doctors” from any county ban on the use of snow tires because they might have to cross county lines in emergencies. After the passage of the legislation, only one county in the state invoked its right to ban the use of studded snow tires. A lawyer who lives in the state was angered that the legislature had given special privileges to doctors but not to lawyers. One January day, with studded tires on his car, he drove from his home county, which allowed use of studded tires, into the county that banned them. A sheriff’s officer noticed the lawyer’s studded tires and cited him. After being convicted and fined, the lawyer appealed. What is the lawyer’s best argument for getting the ban invalidated?

A person’s belief in secular humanism as a religion be protected by the First Amendment.

A state statute discriminating against men can violate equal protection.

Sunnyvale grants funds to organizations with playgrounds whose lights are powered exclusively through solar energy. Son Rise Church (SRC) installed solar panels for its playground and then applied for the grant. Sunnyvale denied SRC’s grant because its state’s constitution forbids the use of money in the public treasury to aid any church. SRC sues and argues the denial violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The court will find that the denial of the grant violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.

A federal statute provides for subsidized health care benefits for all full-time college students who are also unemployed. The benefits terminate automatically if the recipient fails to enroll in college full-time in any two consecutive semesters or takes a job working more than 15 hours per week. A college student who had previously received the benefits was denied coverage when he reported that he had taken a full-time student teaching job his senior year, a requirement for his degree. The student did not receive health care benefits through his employer and was left with no coverage. The student filed suit in federal court to compel the government to continue providing him with the subsidized benefits while he finished his degree. He asserts, among other things, that there is no logical reason why he should be deprived of benefits when students in other fields who are not required to work as part of their degree program continue to receive them.Which of the following is the strongest ground for the government to defend the constitutionality of the federal statute in question?

Derby State University is a four-year public institution of higher education that features a robust and award-winning STEM curriculum.  Located in the Southern United States, the heritage of educational segregation – though no longer legal – still casts a long shadow, but DSU has bucked that cultural inertia. Derby employs an aggressive recruiting and diversity policy for its STEM program aimed at providing admission to those applicants whose applicant profiles had historically been foreclosed because of unlawful discrimination or social impediments.  In order to remediate for prior discrimination in admissions, the policy requires that admission percentages for historically disadvantaged groups (Black and Hispanic) meet or exceed the proportion that those particular groups comprise among today’s general population.  Asians and Jewish are classified as “white” under the policy. Today, DSU’s Freshmen STEM enrollment reflects 51% Black students, 34% Hispanic students, 12% white students, and 2% Asian/Pacific students and 1% Jewish students. Admission criteria under the policy includes high school GPA, SAT scores, the applicant’s family structure, and other “soft criteria” focusing on “social fitness” factors, including the applicant’s “DSU community fit,” personality factors (all applicants must take a Myers/Briggs assessment and an Enneagram assessment in addition to standardized college admission tests), the applicant’s social context and “lived experience,” including neighborhood and housing, elementary education, and other “life experience.” Three American men of Chinese ancestry, who applied to DSU’s STEM program, yet were rejected, have initiated civil litigation against DSU in federal court prior to the commencement of the Fall semester citing its admission policy. They seek injunctive relief and civil damages.   They contend that despite having attended objectively better prep schools and despite having objectively better GPAs and standardized test scores, particularly as geared toward STEM success, they were denied admission due to racial discrimination and racial stereotypes (“Asians are not social and are passive book worms”) based on the policy’s “soft criteria” which they contend were designed to and did in fact skew admissions against better qualified Asian applicants, all in violation of the 14th Amendment.  What is the likelihood of the Plaintiffs prevailing on equitable and civil damage claims predicated on violations arising under the 14th Amendment? Discuss fully, including any potential defenses available to the defendant, but there is no need to discuss potential common law pendent or ancillary claims or defenses.

To reduce incidents of violence among male gang members at a youth center, a city passed an ordinance forbidding any male between the ages of 13 and 19 to enter the center unless accompanied by a female.An 18-year-old male who was refused admission at the center because he was not escorted by a female filed suit in federal court to strike down the ordinance as unconstitutional.Should the court find the city ordinance constitutional?

State’s legislators are considering passage of a statute which would allow purchase and consumption of alcohol by females who are at least 19 years of age while maintaining the minimum age for purchase and consumption of alcohol by males at 21 years of age.  The most accurate statement of the applicable Constitutional principle is:

Ames City, a city in the State of Ames, historically compiled jury pools using the state’s list of registered drivers. Recently, however, it began to use voter registration records as a basis for selecting jurors. As a result, the number of African American jurors fell by over 80 percent. Which of the following would allow for an inference of racial discrimination?

The State of Ames bars opticians from the manufacture of eyeglasses unless pursuant to a prescription from either an optometrist (who has a doctor of optometry degree) or an ophthalmologist (who has a medical degree). McGoo, an optician (who has neither degree), sues, claiming that the law simply places low-cost providers at a disadvantage relative to the other eye doctors. A reviewing court would likely: