William Baude: "Donald Trump: The Constitutional Law Exam"

Donald Trump: The Constitutional Law Exam

Back in fall 2015, I taught constitutional law to a wonderful class of students. The first and longest question was one that might have seemed humorous at the time, but various things that have happened over the past two months keep bringing it to mind, so I thought it might be worth sharing.

Here it is, as originally delivered:

Question 1. (45 total points, 2250 words)

It is January, 2017, and Donald Trump has just been elected President of the United States. Trump is set for the inauguration at noon on January 20th (see U.S. Const. amdt. XX, sec. 1). That morning, at 9 a.m., Ford Motor Company announces that it has secretly moved substantial parts of its operations to Brazil, to take advantage of lower labor costs, laxer regulation, and to avoid retaliation from the soon-to-be President.

Trump is furious. After taking the oath of office (see U.S. Const. art. II, sec. 1.), now-President Trump announces his revenge.

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