South Dakota v' Dole

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South Dakota v. Dole

• By Cadet Taylor

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Facts of the Case .

• In 1984, Congress enacted legislation ordering
  the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five
  percent of federal highway funds from states that
  did not adopt a 21-year-old minimum drinking age.
  South Dakota, a state that permitted persons 19
  years of age to purchase alcohol, challenged the
  law.

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Question Presented

• Did Congress exceed its spending powers, or
  violate the Twenty-first Amendment, by passing
  legislation conditioning the award of federal
  highway funds on the states' adoption of a
  uniform minimum drinking age?

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Conclusion

• No. In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that
  Congress, acting indirectly to encourage
  uniformity in states' drinking ages, was within
  constitutional bounds. The Court found that the
  legislation was in pursuit of "the general
  welfare," and that the means chosen to do so were
  reasonable. The Court also held that the
  Twenty-first Amendment's limitations on spending
  power were not prohibitions on congressional
  attempts to achieve federal objectives
  indirectly. The five percent loss of highway
  funds was not unduly coercive.

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The End