Morrison Vs. Lopez Case Study

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In 1994, a student at Virginia Tech University, Christy Brzonkala, claimed that two other varsity football students, James Crawford and Antonio Morrison raped her. One year later in 1995, she filed a complaint against Morrison and Crawford under Virginia Tech's Sexual Assault Policy. Antonia Morrison was found guilty and he was immediately sentenced to be suspended for two semesters from Virginia Tech, but Crawford was not given any punishment. Then, due to an appeal, Morrison's punishment was set aside as well, because it was found to be excessive. After this happened, Christy Brzonkala dropped out of Virginia Tech. Right after, she decided to file a lawsuit against Morrison, Crawford, and Virginia Tech in Federal District Court. She alleged …show more content…

This case was highly influenced by the result of United States v. Lopez (1995), which was a case where the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990 was declared unconstitutional. The Lopez case was significant in the fact that it limited the scope of the Commerce Clause. It caused the exclusion of any activities that were not directly economic in nature, even if it is related indirectly to economics. In this case, one side of the argument stated that violence against women does not significantly affect interstate commerce, therefore Congress does not have the power to hold charges against Morrison based on the VAWA under the Commerce Clause. The Supreme Court further noted that activities in a state must be considered in the aggregate only if they are economic in nature. The other side of the argument also stated many valid points. Justice David Souter argued that the effects of sexual assault are definitely economically felt, making it proper subject for regulation by the commerce power. A law professor that participated in this case, Julie Goldscheid, also stated that Congress found that gender based violence deters and restricts women's ability to select and perform their jobs. It was also found that it slows down national productivity, and increases medical costs in

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