Assignment: How a Law Becomes a Law

According to the Library of Congress, approximately 40,000 state and federal laws are ratified annually. For this reason, it is important to have an understanding of the manner in which a law is enacted. Imagine that your supervising attorney has approached you to research this topic.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

1. Identify the source(s) from which the authority to legislate is derived. Determine whether or not Congress has unreasonably and unlawfully expanded upon an identified source's authority to legislate. Provide a rationale for your response.

2. Examine the value of dicta to the judicial decisions. Provide two (2) examples that illustrate the potential effect of dicta on judicial decisions.

3. Use at least two (2) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.