The state passed a law stating that “only persons living with their parents or guardians who are bona fide residents of the state shall be entitled to free public education; all others who wish to attend public schools within the state may do so, but they must pay tuition of $3,000 per semester.” A 15-year-old girl moved in with her friend so that she could attend the public schools in the state, and the state legislature passed the tuition statute just as she completed her junior year. The girl wants to complete her senior year in the state high school, but cannot afford to pay tuition. If the girl sues in federal court to strike down the tuition statute, is the court likely to rule that the statute is constitutional?

Members of a religious group meet once a year in a U.S. National Park to hold an overnight encampment. They believe this overnight encampment and all of its rituals are required by their god to be held on the top of a mountain in the park. U.S. National Park Service rules that have been consistently enforced prohibit all overnight camping and all campfires on the mountain, because overnight camping and campfires pose great danger in that particular location. As a result, the park superintendent denied a request by the religious group for a permit to conduct activities on top of the mountain. The park superintendent, who is known to be violently opposed to cults and other unconventional groups, has, in the past, issued permits to conventional religious groups to conduct sunrise services in other areas of the park.The religious group brought suit in federal court against the U.S. National Park Service and the park superintendent to compel issuance of the requested permit.As a matter of constitutional law, the most appropriate result in this suit will be a decision that the denial of the permit is:

Several sites on a mountain within federal public lands are regarded as sacred to a group of people that has gathered there for years to perform religious ceremonies. The United States Forest Service recently issued a permit to a private developer to construct a ski facility in an area that includes the sites that are sacred to the group. The group has filed suit in federal district court against the Forest Service to force cancellation of the permit, claiming solely that the permit violates its First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. The Forest Service has conceded that the group’s religious beliefs are sincere and that construction of the ski facility will adversely affect the group’s religious practices.  What must the group show to prevail on its First Amendment claim? 

A state law provides free school lunches for elementary school students whose family incomes are below poverty level. A local white supremacist group has organized a private elementary school that denies admission to all non-Caucasians. Most of the school’s students are living below poverty level and the school officials have demanded that free lunch service be provided by the state. Which of the following is the strongest argument against the constitutionality of the state law as applied to providing free lunch to the students at the school? 

Ames City has a vibrant downtown area known as The Flatts, which is home to a number of bars, restaurants, and clubs. In recent years, vacant buildings in The Flatts have been converted to condominiums and lofts, which are occupied by professionals attracted by The Flatts’ proximity to Ames City’s central business district. However, the professionals occupying the new real estate have complained about the noise emanating from the bars and clubs. In response, the Ames City Council passed a noise ordinance prohibiting amplified music audible from the street after 11:00 p.m. on Sunday through Wednesday, after 12:00 a.m. on Friday night, and after 2:00 a.m. on Saturday night. A local band, the Dixie Pixies, sued, claiming that the ban violated the First Amendment. A reviewing judge should:

A state legislature passed a statute denying in-state tuition rates at any state-supported college or university for any resident aliens who were citizens of “any country which, during the previous five-year period, has held citizens of the United States as hostages.” Before becoming a resident alien of the state three years ago, the plaintiff had been a citizen of a country that had held United States citizens as hostages. Prior to passage of the statute, he had been enrolled for two years at the state university and had qualified for the in-state tuition rates because he was a resident of the state. The registrar of the university has informed the plaintiff that he no longer qualifies for the in-state tuition rate, and he cannot afford to pay the nonresident tuition.If the plaintiff files an appropriate suit asking the federal courts to strike down the state statute, which of the following is his best argument?

Words, unaccompanied by pictures, can be considered obscene.

Congress passes a statute making it a crime to create, sell, or possess any depiction of animal cruelty in violation of federal or state law existing wherever the video was created, sold, or possessed. The intention of the statute is to ban so-called crush videos depicting women crushing small animals in high heels. Don Mexico is charged with selling videos of dogfights, and he challenges the statute’s infringement on his First Amendment right to free speech. Will he prevail?

To provide consistency in education in the state, a state law provides for the free distribution of textbooks on secular subjects to students in all public and private schools. A local private religious school accepts the secular textbooks for core academic subjects and supplements its students’ education with religious texts. Which of the following is the strongest argument in favor of the constitutionality of free distribution of textbooks to the students at the private religious school?

An open-air amphitheater in a city park has been utilized for concerts and other entertainment programs. Until this year, each of the groups performing in that city facility was allowed to make its own arrangements for sound equipment and sound technicians.After recurring complaints from occupants of residential buildings adjacent to the city park about intrusive noise from some performances held in the amphitheater, the city council passed an ordinance establishing city control over all sound amplification at all programs held there. The ordinance provides that the city department of parks is the sole provider in the amphitheater of sound amplification equipment and technicians to operate the equipment “to ensure a proper balance between the quality of sound at such performances and respect for the privacy of nearby residential neighbors.”Which of the following standards should a court use to determine the constitutionality on its face of this content-neutral ordinance?