South Dakota v. Dole

Following is the case brief for South Dakota v. Dole, Supreme Court of the United States, (1987) Case summary for South Dakota v. Dole: A South Dakota state statute permitted the sale of beer containing up to 3.2 percent of alcohol to those 19 and older. Congress passed legislation limiting highway funding to states by five percent when states did […]

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Hammer v. Dagenhart

Following is the case brief for Hammer v. Dagenhart, United States Supreme Court, (1918) Case summary for Hammer v. Dagenhart: After Congress passed the Keating-Owen Act (the Act), which prevented the sale of goods made by children under a certain age, Dagenhart, a father of two minor boys, brought suit claiming the Act was unconstitutional. Specifically, Dagenhart alleged that Congress did […]

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Schenck v. United States

Following is the case brief for Schenck v. United States, United States Supreme Court, (1919) Case summary for Schenck v. United States: Schenck mailed out circulars criticizing draft supporters and informing draftees of their rights to oppose. In response, Schenck was indicted for violating the Espionage Act (the Act) which made it a crime to interfere with military success or […]

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Necessary and Proper Clause

In framing the U.S. Constitution, the leaders of the time gave certain specific powers to Congress, reserving all other powers to the individual states. This was done in order to ensure the new government would not become an oppressive entity, such as the government they had left behind in England. These men knew, however, that they could not foresee the […]

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