An Analysis of Statutory Interpretation
For the statutory interpretation assignment, you will read the assignments and watch the videos, then 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:
Question 1:
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.
The Grass Pants City Council records all of its City Council sessions. The 8 track tape from the 1979 Council session 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.” Using the principles you learned this week, how would this information impact the application of the statute to the defendants?
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. Using the principles you learned this week, 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?
Question 1
The statute provides that it will ensure the freedom and safety of all the park-goers by restricting any kind of vehicles in the park to protect them. A vehicle has been classified as any mechanism for conveying people from one place to the other under section 3. Harry Potter, a teenage boy who is accused of riding a skateboard is guilty according to the statute, for both bringing the skateboard to the park and also riding it which is banned. Therefore, the boy is guilty of the two offenses of a Class 3 misdemeanor, which is punishable by a $200 fine or one-day incarceration in the city jail[1].
Hermione Granger’s – a 7-year-old girl is arrested for wearing roller shoes which have the ability to convey people from one place to another, hence, is classified as a vehicle under section 3 of the statue. The section 2 of the statute states that no vehicles of any kind are allowed in the city park. Thus, under this section, Granger will be guilty of bringing the roller shoes to the park. In challenging the ordinance that she was not riding on the roller shoes, the Sheriff would accuse her of the guilty of bringing them to the city park against the section 2 of the statute. Although the girl is a minor, the section does not provide for the children spotted with any forms of vehicles or breaking the laws of this statute, hence she becomes guilty of the Class 3 misdemeanor to be charged a fine of $200 or spend a day incarcerated in the city jail.
Question 2
The report issued by the federal legislative committee would have a positive impact on the defendants by favoring them. The report claimed that the major sources of accidents were the motorized vehicles. A skateboard could be either electric or motorized. In this case, if the skateboard is electric, Potter will be innocent under this statute but if it is motorized, he will be guilty of bringing a motorized vehicle to the city park[2]. The roller shoes can only be electric and not motorized hence would be eliminated in this category declaring Granger as a non-offenders. According to the report by the transportation committee, Potters skateboard will fall under the category of the primary source of accidents which was among the reasons the statute was formed – to promote the security of the park goers if it is motorized. Motorized vehicles are restricted for disrupting the enjoyment the park goers should enjoy.
Question 3
Riding the skateboard by Potter means that it had wheels on it. While Severus would sign the statute banning anything with a wheel on it by terming it as a threat to the society, Potter would be guilty of bringing the wheeled vehicle into the park. However, Severus should not be selfish by considering his childhood fears concerning wheeled objects since the statutes are meant to serve the entire society. The formation of laws should not be in favor of a certain individual, party, or group of people but rather consider the need of the whole people who are to be guided by such rules. On the other hand, Granger is accused of wearing roller shoes which normally have removable wheels. Considering that it is not stated whether the shoes had wheels on them, Granger is not deemed guilty under this statute.
