PO321: U.S. Constitutional Law Fall 2021 Final Exam Professor Austin Gray
Part 1: Significance of Cases (25 points, 5 points
each) Identify the significance of 5 of the following cases (pick 5 from the
list below). Your response should highlight the legal doctrine, standard, or
policy the Court announced, as well as the specific constitutional provision(s)
at issue. Helpful Hint: Make sure not to simply describe the facts of the
case but instead focus on the bigger picture and how the policy the Court
announced in the case shaped the landscape of constitutional law. Your
response to EACH case identification should be a solid short essay. Hammer v.
Dagenhart (1918) United States v. Darby Lumber (1941) National League of Cities
v. Usery (1976) Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985)
Wickard v. Filburn (1942) National Labor Relations Board v. Jones &
Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937) Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923) West
Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937) South Dakota v. Dole (1987) Hawaii Housing
Authority v. Midkiff (1984) 2
Part 2 (25 points) – FEDERALISM Your response should
not exceed 2 single-spaced pages. Use complete citations. Answer the following
question: Using examples of Court eras and cases decided, explain the
differences between dual and cooperative federalism. Which view of federalism
do you find most appealing? Why?
Part 3 (25 points) – COMMERCE CLAUSE Your response
should not exceed 2 single-spaced pages. Use complete citations. Answer the
following question: The Supreme Court has gone through a long and cyclical
relationship concerning the federal government’s use of the commerce clause. In
other words, at some points in history the federal government has been granted
wide discretion in its use of the commerce power, while at others it has been
“reigned in” by the Court. Using the major cases that you have explored this
semester, explain how the federal government’s power to control commerce has
changed from Gibbons v Ogden (1824) through National Federation of Independent
Business v. Sebelius (2012). Be sure to include a discussion of the
different ways the Court has defined commerce. Finally, in light of the most
recent commerce clause cases you read, what do you think is the current state
of commerce clause powers?
Part 4 (25 points) – TAKINGS CLAUSE Your response
should not exceed 2 single-spaced pages. Use complete citations. Explain the
expansion and contraction of the Court’s Takings Clause jurisprudence from U.S.
v. Causby (1946) through Kelo v. City of New London (2005). What are the major
changes that took place in the Court’s focus.
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