Paper 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Paper 1 - Essay Example The City of Cleveland argued that the ordinance was constitutional, since it upheld the ruling made under Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1, which had limited the number of people who could occupy a single dwelling (Casner, 189). The Supreme Court held that the ordinance created by the City of Cleveland was unconstitutional, since it violated the due process clause as provided under the Fourth Amendment Schedule of the United States Constitution (Areen, 227). The Supreme Court held that the material facts of the case were distinguishable from the nature of the facts provided under Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1, which offered a provision for restriction of individuals who were unrelated from one another (Areen, 227). Thus, the limitation and definition of family as a nuclear family was a completely new conception, which violates both the tradition and cultural conception of a family as involving the extended family. Further, the court held that when the conception of the family unit is challenged through the government intrusion of the choices that concern the living arrangements of family, then the interest advanced by the government in this case must be carefully examined (Casner, 189). The court also held that the ordinance established by the East Cleveland City had a weak relationship with its intended objective such as reducing overcrowding and the heavy financial burden on the schools, since a larger nuclear family could have a more overcrowding and financial burden on the city than a small extended family. Finally, the court held that the basic values underlying a society, as well as the teaching of history must be recognized and respected, at the expense of laws that seek to draw superficial and arbitrary boundaries like confining the family unit to a couple and their dependants (Areen, 228). Thus, the court held that the