# data[].attributes.body
Nice job

# data[].attributes.body
Plessy v. Ferguson was the first major inquiry into the Fourteenths equal protection clause which prohibits the states from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person within jurisdictions. Even though the majority opinion did not contain the phrase “separate but equal,” it gave constitutional laws designed to reach racial segregation by means of separate and supposedly equal public facilities and services for African Americans and whites. Henry Brown rejected Plessy’s arguments that the act violated the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited slavery and the Fourteenth Amendment which granted full and equal rights of citizenship to African Americans. The Separate Car Act did not conflict with the Thirteenth Amendment according to Brown, because it did not reestablish slavery or constitute a “badge” of slavery or servitude.

# data[].attributes.body
Ferguson
7-1

# data[].attributes.body
Baltimore
5-2

# data[].attributes.body
John Barron was the co-owner of a profitable wharf in the harbor of Baltimore. As the city developed and expanded, large amounts of sand accumulated in the harbor, depriving Barron of the deep waters which had been the key to his successful business. He sued the city to recover a portion of his financial losses. The Court announced its decision in this case without even hearing the arguments of the City of Baltimore. Marshall argued that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction in this case since the Fifth Amendment was not applicable to the states.

# data[].attributes.body
Morrison
5-4

# data[].attributes.body
Christy Brzonkala filed a complaint against Morrison and Crawford under Virginia Tech's Sexual Assault Policy. After a hearing Morrison was found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to immediate suspension for two semesters. Crawford was not punished. A second hearing found Morrison guilty, after an appeal through the university's administrative system Morrison's punishment was set aside because it was found to be "excessive." Brzonkala then sued Morrison, Crawford, and Virginia Tech in Federal District Court alleging that Morrison's and Crawford's attack violated the part of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 which provides a federal civil remedy for the victims of gender motivated violence. Morrison and Crawford moved to dismiss Brzonkala's suit on the ground that section 13981's civil remedy was unconstitutional. In dismissing the complaint the District Court found that that Congress lacked authority to enact section 13981 under either the Commerce Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment which Congress had explicitly identified as the sources of federal authority for it. The Court held that Congress lacked the authority to enact a statute under the Commerce Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment since the statute did not regulate an activity that substantially affected interstate commerce nor did it redress harm caused by the state.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1994 Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act, the first state law authorizing physicians to prescribe lethal doses of controlled substances to terminally ill patients. Attorney General John Ashcroft declared in 2001 that physician assisted suicide violated the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Ashcroft threatened to revoke the medical licenses of physicians who took part in the practice. Oregon sued Ashcroft in federal district court. The court held Ashcroft''s directive illegal. The courts held that the CSA did not authorize the attorney general to regulate physician assisted suicide, which was the sort of medical matter historically entrusted to the states. the court ruled that then-U.S. attorney general John D. Ashcroft overstepped his authority in 2001 by trying to use a federal drug law to prosecute doctors who prescribed lethal overdoses under the Oregon Death With Dignity Act, the only law in the nation that allows physician-assisted suicide. The measure has been approved twice by Oregon voters and upheld by lower court rulings.

# data[].attributes.body
Oregon
6-3