Hypotheticals Brian Short v. State of Florida

Hypotheticals

Brian Short v. State of Florida

Is it legal for the State of Florida to prohibit the marriage of two very short people to each other, using the rationale that two short people are likely to produce short children and short children are less likely to help maintain dominance in state athletic programs and in more danger of falling into holes and not fitting properly into seatbelts?

Relevant Legal Concepts from Text

The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the making or enforcing of any laws "which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States" (U.S. Const. amend. XIV).

Relevant Case Law from Text

"Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival" (Loving v. Virginia). "To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law" (Loving v. Virginia).

Rationale

Being short is either an immutable characteristic, much like race or country of origin, or a suspect classification . Any law that restricts a fundamental freedom, such as marriage, needs to have a supportable basis. Discrimination on the basis of height is not a supportable basis.

Ruling

The court should strike down the State of Florida law prohibiting the marriage of two very short people to each other.

2. Michael v. University

Main Issue

Is it legal for a University to dismiss a student, fail to refund his tuition, and delete his transcripts because of a professor's unproven suspicion that the student was cheating on an exam? Relevant Legal Concepts from Text

The Fifth Amendment, which is made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, provides that no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation" (U.S. Const amend. V).

Relevant Case Law from Text

While due process generally only applies to government processes or decisions, even private actions can be subject to due process if the state is involved in those actions (Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority).

Rationale

Even if the University is a private educational institutes, it almost certainly relies upon some type of federal or state funding for its operations. Therefore, its policies and procedures can be considered state policies and procedures.

Ruling

The University's procedures allowing a student suspected of cheating to be discharged, not refunded his tuition, and have his transcript deleted violates due process of law.

3. Taylor Lautner v. Taylor Swift

Main Issue

Can a person who cohabited with another outside of marriage and while holding all resources separate receive half of his partner's earnings during the period of cohabitation.

Relevant Legal Concepts from Text

Community property laws apply to married couples. Common law marriages are possible but vary on a state-by-state basis. Without knowing the state where they cohabitated, it is impossible to definitively answer this concept. However, common law marriage generally requires that the couple act like a married couple.