Case Study 6.3 Drinking, Driving, and the Supreme Court

Case study 6.3
drinking, driving, and the supreme court
For Questions use the following narrative
Narrative: Case study 6.3 summary
This case study involves a decision made by the Supreme Court based on statistical evidence.In the early 1970s, a young man between 18 and 20 years old challenged an Oklahoma state law prohibiting the sale of 3.2% beer to males under 21 while allowing its sale to females of the same age group.The Court ruled the law unconstitutional.They considered two sets of data in making their decision.The first data set consisted of the number of arrests for driving under the influence and for drunkenness for most of the state of Oklahoma from September 1 to December 31, 1973, along with population figures.Based on those figures they determined that 2% of all males aged 18-21 were arrested for one of the two offenses mentioned, compared to only 0.18% of the young female population.The second set of data came from a "random roadside survey" of cars on the streets and highways around Oklahoma City during August 1972 and August 1973.11.4% of the males under 21 had a blood alcohol level over .01, compared to 9.4% of the females under 21.

-{Case study 6.3 narrative} Assuming the Supreme Court did take these data sets into account to make their decision, why did they determine the law to be unconstitutional when each data set appears to favor those defending the law? Discuss each data set separately.