Commerce Clause

Congress, providing the original text of each clause of the Constitution with an accompanying explanation of its meaning and how that meaning has changed over time. Source: U.S. Senate, Library Of Congress Sections 1, 2 and 3 (Legislative Powers) | Sections 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Elections and Legislative Process) | Section 8 (Enumerated Powers) | Sections 9 and 10 (Powers Denied To Congress and States) Article I, Section 8: Powers of Congress Section 8, Clause…

With the decision in United States v. Lopez the Court found there was no connection between illegally possessing a gun and interstate commerce. Chemerinsky believes these swings in the balance of power between branches of government will lose sight of the intent that federalism protects liberty and avoids tyranny. He proposes an alternate form of federalism in terms of empowerment with…

the 1770s, there has been a significant amount of support for strong national powers by our nation’s government in regards to interstate commerce. The scope of the Commerce Clause outlines that, “Congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes” (Art. I, S. 8, Cl. 3). Interstate commerce encompasses any work involving or related to the movement of persons or materials across state lines or from foreign countries. The…

opposition of the legality of the state of Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana. The constitutionality of Congress being able to regulate recreational marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, as well as the use of the Commerce Clause, is something that the court system needs to intensely scrutinize. Looking back at the precedents that have been set throughout the history of the Supreme Court, such as “Wickard V. Filburn (1942),” “Gonzalez V. Raich (2005),” “Gibbons V.…

congress’ power to regulate interstae commerce. With refrence to United States v. Lopez, there are three broad categories of activities that congress have the mandate to regulate with respect to its commerce power. Firstly, “congess may regulate the use of channels of interstate commerce. Secondly, congress is empowered to regulate and protect instrumentalities of interstate commerce, even though the threat may come from intrastate activities. Lastly,, congress’ commerce authority includes those…

For example, even more so than Congress’s commerce power, there is a broad interpretation of the federal legislature’s taxing power. This fact was exploited by SCOTUS in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. ___ (2012). This particular case had to do with the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s Individual Mandate. In the opinion of the court, Justice Roberts wrote that “the commerce power… does not authorize the mandate”. However…

the specifics of commerce, mostly with commerce “among the states.” With the commerce clause being viewed from many different perspectives over time, it has given great importance to the meaning of our laws and regulations that we have set today. These three cases alone along with the Obamacare act, have affected the way interstate commerce is viewed. The most commonly used commerce clause in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, is the cause of the “power to regulate Commerce..among…

activity has the possibility of substantially affecting interstate commerce, then the Affectation Doctrine grants Congress the power to regulate that activity. The Affectation Doctrine apply to restaurants and business refusing to serve people of color and it is also applied to the segregation in interstate bus terminals. As it is stated in the Constitution, based on the Commerce Clause, the Congress has power to regulate interstate commerce. With the Affectation Doctrine, it takes local…

regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” This is otherwise known as the “Dormant Commerce Clause” and it gives the Congress power to regulate interstate commerce, a right that the states should have. It is up to every individual state to decide what goods they let in, not the Congress. They shouldn’t have any power over the interactions of different states or the interactions of states with Native Americans. The Necessary and Proper…

injunction against Gibbons since he had the exclusive rights to operate the route. Since the route crossed state lines, Gibbons claimed he had the right to operate on the route pursuant to a 1793 act of Congress regulating coastal commerce. Based on the commerce clause, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling, allowing Gibbons to operate his ferry service on the same route as Ogden. In addition, Alex McBride states: “Gibbons v. Ogden set the stage for future expansion of…