Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21-954_7l48.pdf
Page Number: 46.0

Cite as:  597 U. S. ____ (2022) 

13 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

discretionary  authority,  the  district  throws  up  its  hands
and says to its high school students: “We’re sorry.  If  you
want to go to high school, you will have to make your own
arrangements  and  foot  the  bill.”    If  those  students  sue, 
would any court sustain what the district did? 

Other  examples  come  readily  to  mind.    Suppose  that  a
building code says that every multi-unit residential build-
ing  “shall”  have  at  least  two  means  of  egress  from  upper 
floors, and suppose that another provision says that such a
building “may” have an external fire escape.  The owner of 
such a building refuses to construct a second internal stair-
way because the cost would be prohibitive and also declines
to install a fire escape because the law says that option is 
discretionary.  Would  the  owner’s  non-compliance  be  per-
mitted? 

Here is one more example.  A State that operates its own 
motor vehicle inspection facilities has a law that says that 
every vehicle “shall” be inspected every year.  The law also 
says that motorists “may” have their vehicles inspected at
a licensed private garage.  A motorist fails to have his car 
inspected because he must work during the time when the
state facility is open and would be fired if he took time off.
This  motorist  also  declines  to  have  his  car  inspected  at  a 
private garage that is open during his off hours because the 
law says only that he “may” use such a facility.  Would the 
motorist escape a citation?

The answer in each of the above examples is that the fail-
ure  to  make  use  of  the  discretionary  option  would  not  be
seen  as  a  valid  excuse  for  non-compliance  with  the  com-
mand  that  certain  conduct  “shall”  be  performed,  and  it  is 
also hard to see the difference between those examples and 
the situation here. 

3 
The  majority’s  main  reason  for  rejecting  the  argument
just described is that the contiguous-return provision does