¶ … Confusion: Trailer Hitches
Facts: The state of Confusion enacted a statute requiring all trucks and towing trailers that use its highways to use a B-type truck hitch, which is manufactured by only one manufacturer in confusion. As a result, truckers either have to avoid Confusion or have the hitch installed. The federal government has not attempted to regulate truck hitches on the nation's highways. Tanya Trucker, a trucking company owner in the state of Denial, intends to file suit against Confusion to overturn the statute.
What court has jurisdiction over the dispute? Is the Confusion state statute Constitutional?
Reasoning: Determining the court of original jurisdiction is a matter of examining the applicable statutes. Under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1332(a)(b), the federal courts have original jurisdiction over lawsuits where the parties are citizens of different states, if the amount in controversy is at least $75,000. Under 28 U.S.C.S. § 1331, the district courts have original jurisdiction over all actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. However, Tanya's lawsuit is against the state. U.S. Const. amend. XI prohibits lawsuits by citizens against states in federal court without a waiver by the state. The stripping doctrine permits those suits if they are against a named official, rather than against the state itself. Therefore, determining jurisdiction is actually very complex.
Turning to the constitutional issue, one must look at whether the state has the right to require those trailer hitches. Under U.S. Const. art. I, § 8(3), commonly known as the Commerce Clause, states' rights to enact laws are limited if those laws would impact commerce. The...
Confusion Hypothetical: Can the State Enact a Statute Requiring a Specific Tow Hitch? Facts: Tanya Trucker is a trucking company owner who resides in and/or operates her business in the state of Denial. Her trucking business operates in the state of Confusion as well as other states. The state of Confusion enacted a statute requiring all trucks and towing trailers that use its highways to use a B-type truck hitch,
The discovery includes: depositions, answers to written interrogatories, production of documents and evidence, court-ordered examinations, and requests for admissions (Mann, R. & Roberts, B. 2009. p.53). The final step of the pretrial procedure is the pretrial conference between judge and the parties' attorneys which serves to "simplify the issues in dispute and encourage settlement of the dispute without trial" (Mann, R. & Roberts, B. 2009. p.53). Directly before a
Tanya Trucker and Confusion Tanya Trucker and the State of Confusion In the State of Confusion, trucks that travel through must use a B-type hitch on all trucks and towing trailers, however, Tanya Trucker, who lives in another state, Denial, but must have her trucks travel through Confusion, does not like the added expense the B-type hitch law requires. She wants to take the State of Confusion to court and challenge the
However, where a state statute exerts control over matters capable of being regulated by Congress under the Commerce Clause, those statutes are invalid because they conflict with a concept that is generally referred to as the "dormant Commerce Clause" (Dershowitz, 2002; Friedman, 2005). In modern application, federal courts apply a three-pronged test to determine whether or not a given state statute is invalid by virtue of a conflict with Congressional
Business Law The federal district court for the district in which the State of Confusion resides will have jurisdiction over the constitutionality of the B-Hitch Statute. The lawsuit by Tanya Trucker will be heard in federal court because the federal courts have jurisdiction over issues of federal questions. This suit concerns a matter for the federal courts because the issue is "whether a state statute which interferes with commerce in the
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