CONSTITUTIONAL LAW II
Professor Moskovitz
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
1. This is a closed book exam. You may not consult any notes, books, or any other materials,
nor may you discuss the question among yourselves or with any other persons.
2. You have 75 minutes (I hour and 15 minutes) to complete this exam.
3. This exam consists of one (1) essay question, which will account for half of your final grade.
4. Write your exam number on your exam envelope, all blue books, and at the top of this
page. Do not use your name, student ID number, or social security number on any exam
materials.
5. Unless you are using ExamSoft, please write your essay in the blue book(s) provided.
Please write on one side of each page and on every other line. Please write legibly.
6. When finished, you must return all portions of this exam to the exam envelope including
the exam questions, notes on scratch paper and any used blue books. Any unused blue
books or scratch paper should be handed in separately.
To: My law clerk
From: Natalie Drest, Esq.
My clients, the Board of Trustees of Primm Prep School, have asked for my
advice.
Malcolm High School is a public school in the City of Inner. Today, due to "white
flight" during the 1950's, most of Inner's residents are black, and 80% of Malcolm's
1,000 students are black.
Primm Prep School is a private high school in Whitetown, an adjacent suburb that
has very few black residents. Many of the residents of Whitetown had formerly lived in
Inner, but had moved out because they did not want to live near blacks. Our state Board
of Education requires all private schools like Primm to meet certain educational standards
relating to curriculum, quality of teachers, and the like. Primm has 400 students, 10 of
whom are black. Primm formerly refused to accept any black students, but that rule was
repealed in 1995.
Malcolm's School Board and Primm's Board of Trustees are about to sign the
following "Student Exchange Agreement":
Section (a): During the school year beginning September of 2003, Primm shall
accept up to 20 black students from Malcolm, and Malcolm shall accept up to 20
white students from Primm.
Section (b): This Agreement is intended to: (1) change Primm's image as a school
that formerly discriminated against blacks, (2) increase the diversity of the student
body of each school, and (3) diminish the racial isolation felt by students who live
among their own race only, thereby helping them get along with other races in
later life.
Section (c): If more than 20 qualifying students apply to transfer, the 20 students
shall be selected by lot. However, because Primm's boys' basketball team has not
won a game in the past 3 years, Primm may give preference to black Malcolm
students who are males over 6 feet 4 inches tall.
Primm's trustees are concerned that a student who does not qualify for a transfer
might sue Primm, challenging all or part of the "Student Exchange Agreement" under the
Equal Protection Clause of the 14'" Amendment. Please analyze the likelihood of success
of such a lawsuit.