The City Council of Grass Pants in West Oregifornia passes the following statute in 1979:

• Sec. 1.  The Council finds that vehicles create safety problems when they are operated in parks.  We, therefore, find that the best solution is to ban all vehicles from parks in the town of Grass Pants, West Oregifornia.
• Sec. 2.  No vehicles of any kind shall be allowed in any town park.  Any person who brings or drives a vehicle into one of the city parks in Grass Pants, West Oregifornia, will be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable by a $200 fine or one-day of incarceration in the city jail.
• Sec. 3.  For purposes of this ordinance, "vehicle" shall mean any mechanism for conveying a person from one place to another, including automobiles, trucks, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and motor scooters.  Provided that bicycles shall be allowed in the park, so long as they are being pushed or carried and not ridden.

In 1988, the newly elected sheriff, Draco Malfoy, decides to strictly enforce the statute.  He arrests the following five people: 

• Harry Potter—A teenage boy riding a skateboard through the park.
• Mrs. Weasley—A mother pushing a baby jogging stroller
• Luna Lovegood—A 4 year-old riding a tricycle
• Hermione Granger—A 7 year-old girl wearing roller shoes.
• Neville Longbottom—A 11 year-old using a remote controlled car in the park.

These five individuals challenge their arrest based on the argument that the ordinance does not apply to them. Use concepts from the reading assignments in this Unit to support your answers in each question (focus on methods of statutory interpretation):

Question 1: Choose two of the defendants above and explain: How should the judge rule in their cases? Ignore any issues of age or the like, focus on analyzing the language in the statute and using the concepts from the reading. Be thorough in this answer especially!

Question 2:  Assume the same facts as above.  However, the judge now has a past precedent to rely on.  In 1985 another judge in the same court interpreted "vehicle" to apply to a battery-operated Barbie Jeep driven by a Ginny Weasley, 6 year-old girl.  Does your answer change with respect to any of the people above (the two that you previously chose)? 

Question 3:  Assume that the same facts as in Question 1 & 2.  After the conviction of Ginny Weasley, the City Council amended the ordinance to include the following:

• Sec. 3.  For purposes of this ordinance, "vehicle" shall mean any mechanism for conveying a person from one place to another, including automobiles, trucks, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and motor scooters.  Provided that bicycles shall be allowed in the park, so long as they are being pushed or carried and not ridden.  Furthermore to be prosecuted under this ordinance the vehicle must be capable of conveying a person faster than 5 mph.

A Barbie jeep can go a max speed of 5 mph.  Does your answer change with respect to any of the people above (the same two people you chose)?