For Thursdays Class: Saenz v. Roe

I will ask you all to apply Saenz v. Roe (p. 924) and the P&I Clause of the 14th to non-resident tuition at state universities. Suppose, for example, a student, (let's call him Jack Bauer) moves to Nebraska from, say, California, to attend law school. The student wishes to become a citizen of Nebraska, and in furtherance of this wish, he registers his car in Nebraska, enrolls his children in the Lincoln public schools, registers to vote in Nebraska, joins a church in Nebraska, purchases a home (and pays property taxes on his home) in Nebraska, and pays "resident" income taxes to Nebraska. Yet, despite all this, UNL insists that he is a nonresident and charges him nonresident tuition (while allowing "resident" illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition). What are Jack's rights under the P&I Clause and Saenz v. Roe?

C-Span Landmark case Video of Slaughter Cases

Here is a link if you would like still more information about the Slaughterhouse Cases:

Link

Historic Disagreement Over the Size and Purpose of Government

As we work through these cases concerning Obamacare and the relative power of Congress vs. the states, we should realize that we are in the middle of an historic debate about how then we should live and how are we to be governed. Here is a excerpt from a recent Wall Street Journal article that I think captures the struggle of our times well:

America's two major political parties have arrived at a point where they hold vastly different views on levels of public spending, the entitlement state and the purpose and structure of the country's tax system. This is not some routine spat over a few line items in the budget. It is an historic disagreement over the role of government.

I would add that there is also an historic disagreement among us over the social issues, over the meaning and purpose of marriage and family, and over which level of government should decide these foundational issues.

It is a privilege to live in interesting times!