High Court Cases (wine-shipping/medical mj) Show 2 Sides of Conservatism

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus28nov28.story
THE NATION
High Court Cases Show 2 Sides of Conservatism
It's law and order vs. limited government in medical marijuana and wine-shipping disputes.
By David G. Savage
Times Staff Writer

November 28, 2004

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court can ignore the usual liberal-versus-conservative divide in the next two weeks when it takes up California-centric cases on medical marijuana and the direct shipping of wine to consumers. Instead, the justices will be forced to decide between competing versions of conservatism.

The social conservatives seek more government enforcement in areas such as abortion, pornography, drugs, immigration and homosexuality. The small-government, free-market conservatives seek fewer restrictions on private behavior.

It's a clash likely to echo in Washington in the years ahead, as Republican control of all three branches of the government could potentially sideline Democrats and expose philosophical rifts within the GOP. The Supreme Court, where seven of nine justices are Republican appointees, will face especially stark choices on a range of issues.

In a case to be taken up this week, outgoing Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft is challenging the California law that permits seriously ill people to obtain marijuana to relieve their pain if they have the recommendation of a doctor.

Ashcroft argues for strong federal enforcement of drug laws. And he is joined by a group of drug warriors and half a dozen socially conservative Republicans in Congress who, in briefs to the court, argue for a zero-tolerance policy on marijuana.

But leading conservative academics, including veterans of the Reagan administration, have joined the case on the side of the California medical marijuana users. They argue for limits on federal power and for protection of states' rights — including the right to enact the marijuana law.<snip>