The State of Maine has a contract with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to operate its state prison.  In return for staffing and maintaining the state-built prison facility, CCA receives compensation from the State.  In 1998, CCA received $2 million from Maine under the prison contract.

     CCA has developed a unique way of dealing with discipline problems among inmates at the Maine State Prison.  Inmates who are identified as having violated prison regulations or orders from guards are moved to "The Freezer" for a specified period of time.  The Freezer is an underground floor within the prison consisting of ten cells and maintained at a constant temperature of 50 degrees.  Inmates being temporarily housed in The Freezer are not given extra blankets or warmer clothing.  Burt Wayne, CCA's Director of Maine Prison Operations, says the threat of lock-up in The Freezer has reduced discipline problems.  Wayne also contends that the cool temperatures tend to make the inmates kept there lethargic and less dangerous to guards and other inmates.

     Statistics show that a disproportionate number of French-Canadian inmates have been locked up in The Freezer.  French-speaking inmates make up only 10% of the Maine prison population, but constitute 50% of the inmates sent to The Freezer.  (The French-Canadian inmates are, for the most part,  residents of Canada who were lawfully in Maine working for American timber companies with logging contracts in the northern part of the state.)  CCA officials attribute the high rates of confinement in The Freezer among French-Canadians ("Canucks" as they are generally called within the prison) to their arrogant attitudes and penchants for starting fights with American-born inmates.  French-Canadian inmates, on the other hand, say they have been singled out for discriminatory treatment by guards who are quick to accuse them of violations of regulations when  they excuse the same behavior in the case of American inmates.  The French-Canadians say they are often called derogatory names such as "Puckhead" or "Mooseturd" by guards.  They also say that sometimes their slow responses in conforming to the orders of guards is due to their poor understanding of  English.

     The ACLU in Portland has been contacted by two French-Canadian inmates, Par LeVoux and Francis Francais, who complain that they were locked-up in the Freezer for nothing more than complaining about prison food.  They say that guards accused them of intentionally dropping their food on the floor. LaVoux and Francais contend that as they were carrying their trays to their table, grumbling about the dinner of spam and lime jello as they did so, the trays slipped, spilling the food. They say that they were given no opportunity by prison officials to explain their actions before being sent to The Freezer.

     Please write a memo identifying what constitutional arguments may be used to challenge the use of The Freezer within the Maine prison system. Your memo should evaluate the strengths of possible challenges.

Bee Backlater suffers from an incurable brain disease.  Doctors estimate that she has less than six months to live.  Bee has made arrangements with Cyrogenic Coordinators of America (CCA) to have her body preserved in a liquid nitrogen tank in the hope that science will one day discover a cure for her disease, and that she could then be thawed and restored to life.  Bee has also taken out a "whole-body" insurance policy with CCA, which could provide her with a sizeable bankroll when she is revived.

For her plans of a life in the future to have any chance of success, it is critical that Bee Backlater be quick-frozen soon, before the disease does more damage to her brain tissue.  Bee has gone to court seeking an injunction that would allow a trained professional from Cyrogenic Coordinators of America to assist with her suicide.  She and CCA seek to enjoin enforcement of a state law that make it a criminal offense to assist with a suicide and a law that requires bodies to be disposed of after death in a manner consistent with regulations prescribed by the Department of Health.  Department of Health regulations
allow for bodies to be cremated, buried, or donated for scientific research, but do not permit cryogenic preservation.

What constitutional arguments is Bee Backlater likely to advance?  What arguments is likely to make in response?  What is the likely outcome of this litigation?

As part of its festivities for Martin Luther King Day, the City of Atlanta sponsored a play about Dr. King's life called "I Have a Dream."  The play depicted Dr. King as he led marches, wrote a letter from the Birmingham jail, gave his famous speech at the Washington Memorial, and was assassinated in Memphis.  The costs of producing the play were paid for out of general city funds.

Among those who auditioned for the role of Dr. King, four actors were clearly superior to the others in acting ability.  All four were determined to be of equivalent acting ability.  The four superior actors included a black man who looks like Martin Luther King, a black man who does not look like King, a white man, and a black woman.

May the city's casting director consider the race, gender, and physical appearance of the four actors in making the choice of the actor who will play Dr. King in "I Have a Dream?"  Would your analysis be any different if it were assumed that the white man was slightly better actor than the other three?  What analysis should a court adopt if the casting director's choice of the black male who looked like Dr. King were to be challenged by the other actors under the equal protection clause?
 

(A)   After discovering five dandelions in their Johnson County background, George and Ira Glenn contacted Yardmasters, Inc. to arrange for a chemical treatment of their lawn.  The treatment proved successful in eliminating the unsightly weeds but also, unfortunately, eliminated Argus, the Glenns' cocker spaniel and dearest possession.

        It had always been the Glenn's wish to be buried next to Argus, who they both thought of as a family member.  The Glenns visited with the manager of Pleasant View Cemetery in the hopes of purchasing a burial plot which might be used for Argus and which, at some future date, would accommodate Ira and George.  However, the Glenns were told by Pleasant View's manager that Kansas law prohibited the commingling of animal and human remains.  The manager told them that the law was meant to address the concerns of people who felt that the presence of buried animals would detract from the "dignity " of a cemetery.  "If not for this silly law", the manager said "we'd be proud to bury Angus here with you at Pleasant View."  The manager referred the Glenns to K.S.A. Section 6765.3 which states:

No animal shall be buried within the grounds of any cemetery unless that cemetery is exclusively open to animal burials.  In no case shall any animal be buried within 100 feet of any human burial plot.

      The Glenns assessed their options.  They could (1) bury Argus in Happy Hollow Pet Cemetery in Lenexa or in their own backyard, (2) purchase a family burial plot for Argus and themselves in Missouri  (which has no law similar to K.S.A.  Section 6765.3) or (3) store Argus in a meat locker while they sought a court order enjoining the enforcement of  K.S.A. Section 6765.3.  The Glenns have chosen option three. They can't bear the thought of spending eternity miles away from their beloved Argus, nor can they stomach their own burial in Missouri, having both graduated from KU.

        Pleasant View Cemetery has expressed a willingness to join the Glenns in a lawsuit challenging the constitutional issues raised by Section 6765.3.  Is the lawsuit likely to be successful?
 

(B)   Assume that Texas, as an additional deterrent to murder, enacts a law that requires all Texas inmates executed for first-degree murder to be buried in a newly-established cemetery at the State Penitentiary.  The cemetery is visible from the windows of inmates sitting on Texas' death row.
 
       Joyce Hinkle, the mother of condemned Texas inmate, Alex Hinkle, desperately wants Alex to be buried with her husband at Forest Hills Cemetery in San Antonio.  She has asked you to represent her in lawsuit challenging the Texas law.  How, if at all, do the constitutional issues in this lawsuit differ from (A)?  Is Joyce Hinkle likely to be able to bring her son home to San Antonio for burial?