3/26 Readings and Class Notes

Identify the author and source, “Emergency does not create power. Emergency does not increase granted power or remove or diminish the restrictions imposed upon power granted or reserved. The Constitution was adopted in a period of grave emergency. Its grants of power to the federal government and its limitations of the power of the States were determined in the light of emergency, and they are not altered by emergency. …

Chief Justice Hughes, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell

Identify the author and source, “With a growing recognition of public needs and the relation of individual right to public security, the court has sought to prevent the perversion of the clause through its use as an instrument to throttle the capacity of the states to protect their fundamental interests. … An emergency existed in Minnesota which furnished a proper occasion for the exercise of the reserved power of the state to protect the vital interests of the community. …

Chief Justice Hughes, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell

Identify the author and source, “The present exigency is nothing new. From the beginning of our existence as a nation, periods of depression, of industrial failure, of financial distress, of unpaid and unpayable indebtedness, have alternated with years of plenty. The vital lesson that expenditure beyond income begets poverty, that public or private extravagance, financed by promises to pay, either must end in complete or partial repudiation or the promises be fulfilled by self-denial and painful effort, though constantly taught by bitter experience, seems never to be learned; and the attempt by legislative devices to shift the misfortune of the debtor to the shoulders of the creditor without coming into conflict with the contract impairment clause has been persistent and oft-repeated.”

Justice Sutherland, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell

Identify the author and source, “I think it is the Court’s duty to face up to the dilemma posed by the conflict between the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution and the Establishment Clause as interpreted by the Court. … For so long as the resounding but fallacious fundamentalist rhetoric of some of our Establishment Clause opinions remains on our books, to be disregarded at will as in the present case, … so long will the possibility of consistent and perceptive decision in this most difficult and delicate area of constitutional law be impeded and impaired. And so long, I fear, will the guarantee of true religious freedom in our pluralistic society be uncertain and insecure.”

Justice Stewart, Sherbert v. Verner

What was Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell about?

During the Great Depression, many homeowners fell behind on mortgage payments. Minnesota passed the Moratorium Law of 1932, which allowed courts to extend the "redemption period" to prevent foreclosures as long as homeowners paid a fair rental value. John Blaisdell used this law to save his home, but the lender appealed, arguing the state couldn't interfere with a private contract

Question of the court in Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell?

Does a state law that extends the time to pay off a mortgage violate the Constitution’s prohibition against states impairing the "obligation of contracts"?

Relevant Provisions in Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell?

Contract Clause (Article I, Section 10)

What is the Contract Clause (Article I, Section 10)

no state shall pass any law "impairing the obligation of contracts

Who was the majority in Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell?

Justice Hughes

Who was the dissent in Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell?

Justice Sutherland

True or False the Court sustained the Minnesota law in Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell?

True

What test is used all the time in court after the decision in Sherbert v. Verner?

The Strict Scrutiny

Who invented the Strict Scrutiny test in courts?

Justice Stone

What was West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish about?

Elise Parrish, a chambermaid at the Cascadian Hotel in Washington, sued for back pay because she was paid less than the state-mandated minimum wage for women ($14.50/week).

What was the question of the court in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

Does a state minimum wage law for women violate the "freedom of contract" protected by the Due Process Clause?

Relevant Provision in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

True or False the court struck down the law in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

False

Who wrote the majority in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

Justice Hughes

Who wrote the dissent in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

Justice Sutherland

What was Justice Hughes reasoning in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

The Constitution does not speak of freedom of contract" but rather of liberty, which is subject to the restraints of due process and reasonable regulation for the community's interest

What was Justice Sutherlands reasoning in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish?

argued that women had attained legal and political equality and should not be treated as a "special class" requiring wage protection

What was the case Engel v. Vitale about?

The New York Board of Regents composed a "nonsectarian" prayer for students to recite daily in public schools. Steven Engel and other parents sued, claiming this violated their religious freedom, even though students weren't forced to say the prayer

Question before the court in Engel v. Vitale?

Does state-sponsored, voluntary prayer in public schools violate the Establishment Clause?

Relevant Provisions in Engel v. Vitale?

The Establishment Clause of the 14th Amendment

True or False the court rules the prayer to be unconstitutional in Engel v. Vitale?

True

Who wrote the majority in Engel v. Vitale?

Justice Black

Who wrote the dissent in Engel v. Vitale?

Justice Stewart

Who wrote the concurring argument in Engel v. Vitale?

Justice Douglas

What was Justice Blacks reasoning in Engel v. Vitale?

The First Amendment was intended to prevent a union of Church and State. Noting that “the constitutional prohibition against laws respecting an establishment of religion must at least mean that it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers”

What was Justice Stewarts reasoning for dissenting in Engel v. Vitale?

Argued that prayer didn’t establish an “official religion” but merely recognized our nation’s spiritual heritage

What was the case Williamson v. Lee Optical about?

In 1953, Oklahoma passed a law that made it illegal for opticians to provide or even repair eyeglass lenses or frames without a new prescription from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist. The Lee Optical Company sued, arguing this was "needless" and "wasteful" because it forced customers to pay for an expensive eye exam even when they just needed a simple repair or a duplicate of their current glasses.

What was the question of the court in Williamson v. Lee Optical?

Did the Oklahoma law violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by placing an unreasonable and arbitrary burden on the business of opticians?

True or False the court upheld the law in Williamson v. Lee Optical?

True

Was the court unanimously or non-unanimously in the case Williamson v. Lee Optical?

unanimously

What does unanimously mean in court?

the court reaches a vote where everyone agrees

Who was famous for the Rational Basis Rule in the case Williamson v. Lee Optical?

Justice Douglas

What was the impact of the case Williamson v. Lee Optical?

It solidified the end of the era where the Court protected "freedom of contract.

Why did the court uphold the law in the Williamson v. Lee Optical case?

Justice Douglas reasoned that the legislature might have believed that requiring a prescription would force more people to see an optometrist or ophthalmologist. This, in turn, could lead to the early detection of serious eye diseases and also implied the Rational Basis Rule.

Who said, “if the people do not like these laws, they should resort to the polls, not the courts.”

Justice Douglas, Williamson v. Lee Optical

What was the Rational Basis Rule in Williamson v. Lee Optical?

The Court didn't need to prove that the law actually helped; they only had to find a conceivable reason why the legislature might have think it did/would help

What was the case Sherbert v. Verner about?

Adell Sherbert, a Seventh-Day Adventist, was fired from her textile mill job because she refused to work on Saturdays, her Sabbath. When she couldn't find other work, she was denied unemployment benefits because she was "available" for work but refused it

What was the question before the court in the case Sherbert v. Verner?

Does denying unemployment benefits to someone who refuses work for religious reasons violate the Free Exercise Clause?

Relevant Provision in the case Sherbert v. Verner?

Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment

Who did the court rule in favor of in Sherbert v. Verner?

Sherbert

Who was the majority in Sherbert v. Verner?

Justice Brennan

Who was the dissent in Sherbert v. Verner?

Justice Harlan

What was Justice Brennan reasoning in Sherbert v. Verner?

the state must show a "compelling state interest" to justify a law that burdens religious exercise and that forcing her to choose between her religion and her benefits was a "substantial infringement" on her rights

What was Justice Harlan’s reasoning in Sherbert v. Verner?

the state should not be forced to carve out special exceptions for religious residents from general welfare laws

Whhat was the Relevant Precedant in Sherbert v. Verner?

Brennan had to distinguish this from Braunfeld v. Brown, where the Court had upheld "Sunday Closing Laws" that also burdened religious minorities

You can’t have the scuritiny test without __________ from ________ by ________?

Footnote 4, Carolene, Justice Stone