Deck 9: Property Rights and the Development of Due Process

Question 1

In _____, the Supreme Court held that businesses "clothed in the public interest" could be regulated by the states.

A) Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. (1837)
B) Munn v. Illinois (1877)
C) Lochner v. New York (1905)
D) West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1934)

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Dartmouth College v. Woodward involved ____.

A) the due process clause
B) the commerce clause
C) the contract clause
D) presidential power

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The opinion of the Court in Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. was written by ____.

A) Chief Justice Marshall
B) Justice Story
C) Andrew Jackson
D) Chief Justice Taney

Answer 3

D

Question 4

As a result of the decision in Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. shareholders of the Charles River Bridge Co. were jubilant. ____

Question 5

The holding in Calder v. Bull stated that the Constitution's ban on ex post facto laws was limited to certain kinds of retroactive _____.

A) tax legislation
B) wills and estates
C) criminal legislation
D) civil issues

Question 6

According to Justice Iredell in Calder v. Bull, the "ideas of natural justice" are______.

A) regulated by no fixed standard
B) enforceable by the Supreme Court
C) are followed by the most able jurists
D) none of the above

Question 7

The decision in Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. rejected the idea that the Constitution protected _____.

A) implied contracts
B) paper money
C) federal contracts
D) state contracts

Question 8

Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell involved a challenge to statute in ___.

A) Michigan
B) Minnesota
C) Wisconsin
D) Missouri

Question 9

The majority opinion in Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell was written by _____.

A) Chief Justice Hughes
B) Justice McReynolds
C) Justice Cardozo
D) Chief Justice Taft

Question 10

In his speech in 1893, Justice David J. Brewer advocated ____.

A) strengthening the judiciary
B) judicial restraint
C) stronger labor unions
D) a vigilant public opinion

Question 11

In his article of 1893, Professor Thayer advocated ____.

A) judicial activism
B) selection of judges who walk in the shoes of lawmakers
C) more efficient courts
D) judicial restraint

Question 12

In Lochner v. New York, Justice Peckham spoke of _____.

A) the contract clause
B) liberty of contract
C) the public interest
D) the Fifteenth Amendment

Question 13

Munn v. Illinois involved _____.

A) butchers
B) grain warehouses
C) hotel workers
D) bakery employees

Question 14

United States v. Carolene Products Co. involved _____.

A) a milk product
B) a textile product
C) an automotive product
D) a petroleum product

Question 15

The setting for Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren Bridge Co. was _____.

A) Ohio
B) New York
C) Massachusetts
D) Illinois

Question 16

Suppose Waite and Peckham had been on the Supreme Court that decided Nollan v. California Coastal Commission as well as Kelo v. City of New London. How would Waite and Peckham have probably voted in each of these contemporary cases? Why? (Make sure that your essay demonstrates an understanding of both Nollan and Kelo.)

Question 17

According to Justice Samuel Miller's opinion for the Court in the Slaughterhouse Cases, why did the New Orleans butchers fail to make a credible claim under the recently ratified Fourteenth Amendment?

Question 18

For health reasons New York City has banned the serving of food containing high concentrations of corn-based sweeteners in restaurants within the city. Suppose that a group of restaurant owners files suit claiming that the new ordinance violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. How would a U.S. Supreme Court justice approach such a case from the perspective of:
a. Chief Justice Morrison Waite's opinion of the Court in Munn v. Illinois;
b. Justice Stephen Field's dissent in Munn v. Illinois;
c. Professor James Bradley Thayer's 1893 Harvard Law Review article;
d. Justice Rufus Peckham's opinion of the Court in Lochner v. New York
e. Justice Hugo Black's opinion of the Court in Ferguson v. Skrupa.

Question 19

In what ways does Calder v. Bull anticipate both Marbury v. Madison and Cohens v. Virginia that were decided some years after Calder v. Bull? Explain. Be sure that your essay demonstrates a full understanding of both Calder and Cohens.

Question 20

Opinions filed in Lochner v. New York reveal different ways of judging state laws claimed to be in violation of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
a. What approach is illustrated by Justice Peckham's opinion for the majority? Explain.
b. What approach is illustrated by the dissents of Justices Holmes and Harlan? Explain

Question 21

Based on his opinion for the Court in Ferguson v. Skrupa (1963), would Justice Black have looked favorably or unfavorably on Chief Justice Waite's majority opinion in Munn v. Illinois (1877)? Why? Make sure your essay demonstrates an understanding of both cases.

Question 22

Use of the due process clause to protect property may have represented an effort to amend the Constitution judicially, to add to the document protections that the framers failed to include. Is there evidence to support this statement in the Slaughterhouse Cases, Munn v. Illinois, and Lochner v. New York?

Question 23

In 1893, Justice David J. Brewer and Professor James Bradley Thayer spoke out on judicial activism versus judicial restraint. What did they recommend concerning the Court's role?

Question 24

What two changes in the Court's role are suggested by the decision in the Carolene Products case?

Question 25

What are the ideas contained in Justice Stone's Footnote Four in Carolene Products?

Question 26

How does Footnote Four purport to offer a solution to the counter-majoritarian difficulty?

Question 27

Chief Justice Waite (in Munn v. Illinois, 1877) and Justice Peckham (in Lochner v. New York, 1905) had very different views regarding (1) the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, and (2) the Court's role in American government. Explain.

Question 28

According to Justice Miller's (majority) opinion for the Court in the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873), what protections did the Fourteenth Amendment provide against abuses of individual rights by the states? Was Miller's message one that the New Orleans area butchers wanted to hear? Explain.

Question 29

In his dissenting opinion in the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873), Justice Field insisted that had the majority adopted his interpretation of the privileges and immunities clause, the "inhibitions" of the recently ratified Fourteenth Amendment would have "a profound and significant consequence." Explain.

Question 30

Discuss briefly the constitutional and economic significance of Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819).

Question 31

What is there about the Court's decision and majority opinion in Kelo v. City of New London that has provoked such a sharp negative reaction in many states?

Question 32

In what way is Footnote Four an attempt to justify the use of judicial review? Does it help to resolve what Alexander Bickel called the countermajoritarian difficulty? Explain.