Question 1

Liberty of contract is protected by the ________________, whereas the Contracts Clause within the Constitution is found in Article I, Section 10.

Accepted Answer

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the liberty of contract. The Contracts Clause within the Constitution is found in Article I, Section 10, which prohibits states from impairing the obligation of contracts.

Question 2

In 1897, the ___________ became the first provision of the Bill of Rights to be incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment and thus made applicable to the states.

Accepted Answer

The Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment was the first provision of the Bill of Rights to be incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment and applied to the states in the case of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago in 1897.

Question 3

Justice __________ once wrote, "…The right of eminent domain, that is, the right to take private property for public uses, appertains to every independent government. It requires no constitutional recognition; it is an attribute of sovereignty. The clause found in the Constitutions of the several States providing for just compensation for property taken is a mere limitation upon the exercise of the right. When the use is public, the necessity or expediency of appropriating any particular property is not a subject of judicial cognizance . . ."

Accepted Answer

The quote is attributed to Justice Stephen J. Field. The language and reasoning used in the quote align with Field's views on the concept of eminent domain and the role of the judiciary in reviewing its use.

Question 4

Justice Joseph L. Bradley's dissenting opinion in _____________anticipated the Court's later development of the Due Process Clause as the basis for protecting property rights.

Accepted Answer

Justice Bradley's dissenting opinion in The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) anticipated the Court's later development of the Due Process Clause as the basis for protecting property rights.

Question 5

In _____________, the Supreme Court held that a city had taken private property without just compensation where the city was unwilling to grant a development because the owner refused to dedicate part of the land to a public use.

Accepted Answer

This question is asking for the Supreme Court case that dealt with a city taking private property without just compensation due to the owner's refusal to dedicate part of the land to a public use. The case that fits this description is Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994), in which the Supreme Court held that the city could not require Dolan to dedicate a portion of her property as a public greenway in exchange for a building permit for her store without engaging in the proper analysis under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. Therefore, Choice D is the correct answer.

Question 6

In ____________, the Supreme Court held that a Pennsylvania law designed to prevent subsidence damage from coal mining did not on its face violate either the Takings Clause or the Contracts Clause.

Accepted Answer

The case described in the prompt is Keystone Bituminous Coal Association v. DeBenedictis (1987), which upheld a Pennsylvania law regulating coal mining. This case specifically addressed whether the law violated the Takings Clause or the Contracts Clause, and the Supreme Court ultimately found that it did not.

Question 7

As a constitutional doctrine, substantive due process lives on in recent Supreme Court decisions recognizing various noneconomic rights under the ______ and _____ Amendments, especially the constitutional right of privacy.

Accepted Answer

The due process clause in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments has been used by the Supreme Court to recognize constitutional rights, including the right of privacy. The Third and Fourth Amendments both deal with issues related to government searches and seizures, while the Sixth Amendment deals with the right to a fair trial.

Question 8

The Supreme Court's repudiation of substantive due process as a restriction on the regulation of business was signaled by which two key decisions in 1934?

Accepted Answer

Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell and Nebbia v. New York were key decisions in 1934 that signaled the Supreme Court's repudiation of substantive due process as a restriction on the regulation of business. These cases showed a shift in the Court's approach, allowing for more government regulation in economic matters.

Question 9

In ____________, the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Hugo Black, upheld the validity of a Kansas statute conferring a virtual monopoly on the legal profession to engage in the business of "debt adjusting."

Accepted Answer

In Ferguson v. Skrupa (1963), the Supreme Court upheld the validity of a Kansas statute conferring a virtual monopoly on the legal profession to engage in the business of "debt adjusting." The Court held that the statute did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

Question 10

___________ stated in Pennsylvania Coal Company v. Mahon (1922) that "the general rule [in the area of eminent domain] is that while property may be regulated to a certain extent, if regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking."

Accepted Answer

The quote is attributed to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in Pennsylvania Coal Company v. Mahon (1922).

Question 11

The Supreme Court used _________ to strike down a provision of an Illinois law exempting the American Express Company from the requirement that any firm selling or issuing money orders in the state obtain a license and submit to state regulation in Morey v. Doud (1957).

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court used the equal protection clause to strike down the provision, arguing that it unjustly favored American Express over other similar companies without a sufficient justification for such differential treatment.

Question 12

In _____________, the Court, rejecting a Contracts Clause challenge to a state law regulating natural gas prices, recognized that the prohibition of laws impairing the obligation of contracts must be balanced against a state's "inherent police power to safeguard the vital interests of its people."

Accepted Answer

In Energy Reserves Group v. Kansas Power & Light (1983), the Supreme Court recognized the balance between the prohibition of laws impairing the obligation of contracts and a state's police power to protect its citizens, in the context of regulating natural gas prices.

Quiz 2: Property Rights and Economic Freedom