Americans with a Better Cause
Americans with a Better Cause (ABC), a nonprofit organization, files a suit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), claiming that a cer-tain federal statute the DOJ is empowered to enforce conflicts with the U.S. Constitution and with a state constitution. In each situation, which source of law has priority?
ANSWER: The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. A law in violation of the Constitution, no matter what its source, will be de¬clared unconstitutional and will not be enforced. Thus, the federal stat¬ute does not have priority over the Constitution. The federal statute would have priority over the state constitution, however, because under the U.S. Constitution, when there is a conflict between a federal law and a state law, the state law is rendered invalid.
A2. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., one of the owners of the World of Warcraft (WoW) computer game, is involved in a lawsuit with MDY Industries, LLC, the owner of Glider, a software program that plays WoW for its players while they are away from their keyboards. Blizzard asks the court to direct MDY to stop selling and distributing Glider. The court’s opinion in the case is at MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 616 F.Supp.2d 958 (D.Ariz. 2010). What is the name for the remedy that Blizzard is seeking? What type of remedy is it? What court decided this case? Specifically where can the court’s opinion be found?
ANSWER: The remedy that Blizzard asks the court to provide is an in-junction—defined as an order to do or to refrain from doing a particular act. An injunction is an equitable remedy. The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona decided this case in 2009. The opinion of the court in this case—MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 616 F.Supp.2d 958 (D.Ariz. 2010)—can be found in its entirety in volume 616 of the Federal Supplement, Second Series, on page 958. The case was decided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
ANSWER: The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. A law in violation of the Constitution, no matter what its source, will be de¬clared unconstitutional and will not be enforced. Thus, the federal stat¬ute does not have priority over the Constitution. The federal statute would have priority over the state constitution, however, because under the U.S. Constitution, when there is a conflict between a federal law and a state law, the state law is rendered invalid.
A2. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., one of the owners of the World of Warcraft (WoW) computer game, is involved in a lawsuit with MDY Industries, LLC, the owner of Glider, a software program that plays WoW for its players while they are away from their keyboards. Blizzard asks the court to direct MDY to stop selling and distributing Glider. The court’s opinion in the case is at MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 616 F.Supp.2d 958 (D.Ariz. 2010). What is the name for the remedy that Blizzard is seeking? What type of remedy is it? What court decided this case? Specifically where can the court’s opinion be found?
ANSWER: The remedy that Blizzard asks the court to provide is an in-junction—defined as an order to do or to refrain from doing a particular act. An injunction is an equitable remedy. The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona decided this case in 2009. The opinion of the court in this case—MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 616 F.Supp.2d 958 (D.Ariz. 2010)—can be found in its entirety in volume 616 of the Federal Supplement, Second Series, on page 958. The case was decided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona