NOTE: The questions for this week are similar but different than the questions from last week. Pay careful attention. The directions for posting are the same (one primary post analyzing two characters of your choice).
After reading the assignments and watching the videos, please pick TWO of the arrested individuals below (Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Luna, Hermione, or Neville) and answer all three questions in ONE Discussion Board post using the principles that you learned this week. Click the link above (Unit 6: Group Discussion Board) and then on the Group A or B, click on Group Discussion Board and then on Unit 6: Group Discussion Board.
Prompt: The City Council of Grass Pants in West Oregifornia passes the following statute in 1979:
Sec. 1. The Council finds that vehicles create safety problems when they are operated in parks. We, therefore, find that the best solution is to ban all vehicles from parks in the town of Grass Pants, West Oregifornia.
Sec. 2. No vehicles of any kind shall be allowed in any town park. Any person who brings or drives a vehicle into one of the city parks in Grass Pants, West Oregifornia, will be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable by a $200 fine or one day incarceration in the city jail.
Sec. 3. For purposes of this ordinance, “vehicle” shall mean any mechanism for conveying a person from one place to another, including automobiles, trucks, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and motor scooters. Provided that bicycles shall be allowed in the park, so long as they are being pushed or carried and not ridden.
In 1988, the newly elected sheriff, Draco Malfoy, decides to strictly enforce the statute. He arrests the following five people:
Harry Potter—A teenage boy riding a skateboard through the park.
Mrs. Weasley—A mother pushing a baby jogging stroller
Luna Lovegood—A 4 year-old riding a tricycle
Hermione Granger—A 7 year-old girl wearing roller shoes.
Neville Longbottom—A 11 year-old using a remote controlled car in the park.
These five individuals challenge their arrest based on the argument that the ordinance does not apply to them. Using the principles you learned this week about legislative history, answer the following:
Question 1: The Grass Pants City Council records all of its City Council sessions. There is an 8 track tape from the 1979 Council session which reveals that Dolores Umbridge, the Council member who introduced the provision, was concerned about rambunctious children who raced through the park on their bicycles or scooters and caused other persons enjoying the park to trip and fall. She stated, “this statute will make the park safer for all park-goers.” How would this information impact the application of the statute to the two defendants you chose last week?
Question 2: Assume that all the information above in question 1 is still true. Before passing the ordinance, the City Council asked the City Council’s Transportation Committee to review the ordinance. The Committee, like a federal legislative committee, can propose amendments to the ordinance and hear testimony. The Committee issued a committee report following extensive hearings on the provision. The report mentioned that the primary source of accidents in parks were caused by motorized vehicles. How would this information impact the application of the statute to the defendants?
Question 3: Assume all the information above in questions 1 & 2 is still true. Grass Pants requires all city ordinances to be signed by the mayor (similar to the requirements of bicameralism and presentment). When Severus Snape, the mayor of Grass Pants, signed the ordinance, he issued the following signing statement: “Anything with a wheel on it is a menace to society. Wheels are the devil’s work and should be banned for eternity. I am so glad that the city council has taken this bold move to protect our park-goers.” Apparently, Severus had a scary experience with a wagon as a child that made him fear anything with wheels. Using the principles that you learned this week, how would this information impact the application of the statute to the defendants?
