Scenarios

Personal Jurisdiction is the power of the court over specific litigants, and it requires litigants to have some form of minimum contacts with the state where the case is filed. Standing is the constitutional requirement that requires a plaintiff prove that he or she is the right person to bring a lawsuit and that he or she is bringing it at the right time and place. Read the following scenarios and answer the questions that follow.

Scenario 1

Suzy owns a shoe store in the downtown district and wants to attract more foot traffic to the store. After consulting her friend who specializes in web design, she decides to have her friend design a web page. Her friend designs the web page based on Suzy's desire to bring more people into the store and to not actually sell the shoes on the webpage.

Would the creation of the website subject Suzy to personal jurisdiction in any state that it is accessible? Explain your answer.

Scenario 2

Suzy has been utilizing the web page for over a year and realizes that she must start selling shoes online in order to be able to stay competitive. She hires her friend to revamp the website to sell shoes and establish a shopping cart so that customers can easily purchase merchandise. She solicits customers by using an e-mail list that she has created from information that they have provided.

Would these changes, the selling of shoes and creation of a shopping cart, subject Suzy to personal jurisdiction in any state that it is accessible? Explain your answer.

Scenario 3

Bob is a college student in State A and is getting ready to graduate. State A's legislature is debating whether all college graduates should be forced to pass a Civics exam in order to get their degree. Bob never took a Civics class in college and does not want to be forced to take it. He decides to sue the state.

Does Bob have standing in order to sue the state for an unconstitutional law? Explain.