Woll 15 (Gonzales v.
Raich), 16 (Derthick),
and News Summary
Assignment #1 articles
Friday, February 25
MODERN JUDICIAL FEDERALISM – Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
This case is an important recent Supreme Court decision
defining the limits of federal power and thus the boundaries between federal
and state power.
On what basis does
the majority decision (Justice Stevens) rule that Congress is within its power
to prohibit the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana? What concerns do the dissenting justices
(Justice O’Connor here) raise about this ruling?
FEDERALISM TODAY
1. Martha Derthick
reflects on the evolution of the system of federalism, with particular
attention to James Madison’s views on it.
In
what ways would Madison be disappointed with modern federalism, according to this author,
and why?
2. You also have some insights into federalism
today, from the articles you have collected for News
Summary #1. With a small set of your neighbors, address these questions
together:
2A. Discuss
something in one or more of your articles that you found particularly
surprising, interesting, outrageous, or encouraging. Explain why you had this reaction as well.
2B. Make
a brief evaluation of how well the federal
government is handling the issues and situations described in the articles
you read. Is the federal government
responding effectively or ineffectively?
Is the federal government listening to the viewpoints of state
governments and state citizens?
2C. More generally, from
the perspective of a state government, choose one aspect of current
federal-state relations that you would alter.
Explain why you think this aspect needs to be changed, and how the
change would benefit a state government and the state’s citizens.
2D. If anyone in the
group has lingering questions about federalism, please discuss and/or ask
Chris!!