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    SmartBrief enables case brief popups that define Key Terms, Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises used in this case.

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    Constitutional Law Keyed to Rotunda

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    Washington v. Glucksberg

    Citation:

    521 U.S. 702 (1997)
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    Facts

    The State of Washington prohibits causing or aiding a suicide. The Ninth Circuit held that the State’s assisted-suicide ban was unconstitutional as applied to terminally ill competent adults who wish to hasten their death with medication prescribed by their physicians.

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    Q.1 - In Washington v. Glucksberg, which of the following best characterizes the Court’s underlying prescriptive constraint on judicial innovation in recognizing substantive due process rights?
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    Correct! The Court’s method reflects Burkean minimalism, emphasizing tradition and gradualism in liberty expansion, deferring to democratic processes over judicial invention.
    Incorrect. B is incorrect because although autonomy is discussed, the Court rejects unconditioned individual liberty.
    Incorrect. C is incorrect as the Court departs from formal stare decisis by reframing the liberty inquiry.
    Incorrect. D is incorrect because the Court avoids moral philosophy in favor of historical-legal analysis.
    Q.2 - Which of the following most accurately critiques the internal doctrinal consistency of Glucksberg when compared to the Court’s substantive due process analysis in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)?
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    Incorrect. A is incorrect because Casey’s “undue burden” standard was specific to abortion, not all liberty claims.
    Correct! Glucksberg narrows liberty analysis to historical categories (e.g., suicide), unlike Casey, which emphasized autonomy in intimate decisions without requiring deeply rooted tradition.
    Incorrect. C is incorrect because Glucksberg did not apply reliance interests from Casey.
    Incorrect. D is incorrect because Glucksberg and Casey diverge in methodology and values.
    Q.3 - Which of the following implications most directly follows from the Court’s analytic premise in Glucksberg regarding the tradition-bound scope of liberty under the Fourteenth Amendment?
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    Incorrect. A is incorrect as the Court does not require unanimity among original states.
    Incorrect. B is incorrect because “moral consensus” is not the touchstone under Glucksberg.
    Correct! The logic of Glucksberg implies that absent deeply rooted traditions, courts must not invent rights, reinforcing a reversion to textual or enumerated frameworks.
    Incorrect. D is incorrect as the ruling doesn’t elevate state constitutions or demand codification

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    Topic Resources

    Topic Video

    Washington v. Glucksberg2m 6s
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    Topic Outline

    Equal Protection

    Topic Refresher Course

    Substantive Due Process

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    Washington v. Glucksberg