1). Assume Congress enacted a statute making it a federal crime to have an abortion. Assume further that the U.S. Supreme Court declared the statute to be unconstitutional because it interfered with a woman's constitutional right to privacy. If it wanted to do so, could the executive branch prosecute women for violating the statute? In other words, does Congress or the Supreme Court have the final word on what is constitutional? Why?

2).1. Arguably, if Congress passes a statute, it means that the majority of both the House and the Senate believed it was not in conflict with the Constitution. Why should the decision of the people's elected representatives be overridden by unelected, appointed judges?

3. The licensing of lawyers is a power granted to the states through the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Each state has created an administrative agency to create rules and regulations regarding the licensing of lawyers in that state. These agencies are generally made up of practicing lawyers. Is there a conflict of interest for lawyers to self-regulate? Could non-lawyers understand issues that lawyers face well enough to create informed licensing requirements? What other rules and regulations are necessary for the practice of law in each state?

4). If Congress and state legislatures have given administrative agencies the ability to create rules and regulations, why do presidents create executive orders? Some executive orders can be controversial. Should the president, or a governor, have the power to issue unpopular executive orders? Are the current mechanisms for challenging an executive order sufficient to maintain the checks and balance between the branches of government?

5). For each of the following, which source of lawa constitution, a statute, an administrative regulation, or the common lawwould be best able to handle the problem and why? Before answering, keep in mind that constitutional provisions generally cover the most general, basic rights, such as freedom of speech. Statutes are more detailed, and administrative regulations are even more specific, often going into great detail as to what is to be regulated. Statutes and regulations are forward looking; that is, legislatures enact statutes and administrative agencies issue regulations with an eye to what they expect to happen in the future. On the other hand, court decisions are designed to address something that has already happened; by their nature, they are very fact specific.

a. A requirement that all motorcycle riders wear helmets.

b. A rule making a bar owner liable for any injuries caused by a patron to whom the bar sold drinks.

c. A rule that all semi-trailers traveling on interstate highways use concave mud flaps.

d. A requirement that employers not discriminate on the basis of religion or sexual orientation.

e. A requirement that no more than a certain percentage of a known pollutant be released by factory smokestacks.

f. A question as to whether a person not wearing a seat belt should be able to recover for injuries that person sustained in an automobile accident that was not his fault.

g. A law prohibiting government from interfering with an individual's right to pray before a soccer game.