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There are 4 questions. You can answer all of them or just one of them, but it must not be longer than 6 pages of work!!
POLI 213: State and Local Government, Mid-term exam
· Submit your paper via email to feltsa@cofc.edu in either , x. or format no later than 6 PM Monday, Feb 25th. Late papers will be penalized.
· On the subject line, put POLI 213 MT (Your last name)
· Name your paper (file name) with your last name only. Put your name on the actual document
· Instructions:
· I realize you are going to go online in assessing your answer—so I encourage you to do so and find data (not just opinion) that support your answer. Your argument can count of course, but it should be based on sound reasoning.
· The questions below do not directly reflect our discussion on Wednesday but I hope (with the exception of #1) capture their spirit. In a paper no longer than 5-6 pages (double-spaced, one inch margins, Times or Times New Roman 12 pt. font) tackle 1, 2, 3, or all 4 of them. That is, you can choose to answer 1 question exclusively, or 2 questions or 3 questions, or all 4. Proper grammar will influence my grade—in particular, employ paragraphs for what they were meant to do.
1.
Read
this
article on the Supreme Court’s decision today (Feb 22nd) to issue a writ of certiorari for the case of Shelby County v. Holder. Using data (not just opinion) explain what grounds you think Shelby County is employing to oppose Section 5 as unconstitutional rather than seeking an individual exemption from it. (You may not be able to find Shelby County’s argument, but you can certainly find other data—but see if you can find more specifics on their argument per se.)
2. In class, we touched a couple of times on the thinking of some that we should ‘get politics out of city hall.’ Certainly the adoption of a council-manager form of government by many local governments reflects that sentiment—at least in part if not in whole. Assessing this assertion critically, what are two strong points you think would support it and what two points do you think should be considered against it. Use the ‘ideal form’ of the council-manager system.
3. In Article VI, Section 2, the Constitution clearly states that when the Constitution and laws passed under the authority of the United States will prevail over any state law or constitution (we call it the Supremacy Clause). I suspect most of you, if not all, would support the decisions of voters in Washington and Colorado to legalize marijuana in their states. Yet marijuana possession is still a federal offense and it is a Class 1 drug. At the same time, in District of Columbia v Heller (2007) and McDonald v Chicago (2009) SCOTUS struck down local laws that severely restricted hand guns (and only handguns, not long guns). Since DOJ is not actively bringing a case against CO and WA, the suggestion is perhaps that the Constitutional right to bear arms is a superior claim than mere federal statute to make it illegal to possess marijuana. In a reasoned argument, explain why this does or does not make sense to you. Use data if you can.
4. What explains why some states trust their local governments and give them power and discretion to do as they think best and other ones don’t? Use data if you can.
