FAQsDistrict of South DakotaUnited States District Court Form

Instructions and help about FAQsDistrict Of South DakotaUnited States District Court

- [Narrator] In 1984 Congress passed a law withholding a percentage of Federal Highway funds from any state that didn't enact a minimum drinking age of 21. South Dakota's minimum drinking age was 19 and the state didn't want to raise it, but South Dakota also didn't want to lose its Federal Highway money. So South Dakota sued Federal Transportation secretary Elizabeth Dole to block the new law, claiming that it violated the Constitution spending clause and the 21st Amendment. The Federal District court upheld the statute and the Court of Appeals for the 8th circuit affirmed. South Dakota petitioned the United States Supreme Court for review and the court granted cert. The court considered whether Congress can use conditional Highway funding grants to compel states to raise their minimum drinking ages to 21, even though Congress can't directly enact a national minimum drinking age. Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for a seven Justice majority, held that under the Constitution's taxing a