Commerce Clause

Examples of Commerce Clause in the following topics:

• Gibbons v. Ogden

  • Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
  • Supreme Court had to interpret the language of the Commerce Clause, and determine whether or not the law regulated "commerce" that was "among the several states. " The Court held that "commerce" constitutes more than mere traffic, rather, that it includes the trade of commodities, and therefore intercourse.
  • This marked the beginning of a 40-year period during which the Supreme Court limited the federal government's ability to regulate under the Interstate Commerce Clause.
  • During the 1930's, the Supreme Court changed course again and began to grant greater federal authority under the Commerce Clause, surpassing even the level of recognized authority outlined in Gibbons v.
  • However, Strict Constructionists (those who believe that the Constitution must be given the narrowest possible construction) held a different view of the meaning of the Commerce Clause as interpreted in Gibbons, arguing that it was limited in scope because the decision could be interpreted to suggest that navigation only pertained to the Commerce Clause insofar as it allowed for the interstate transportation of goods.

• Congress

  • Two constitutional clauses, the Constitution and Foreign Commerce Clause and the War Power Clause, give Congress foreign policy powers.
  • Perhaps the most important powers are in the War Power Clause which was given to Congress in the Constitution and Foreign Commerce Clause.
  • This clause provides Congress with the power to regulate commerce overseas.
  • The Commerce Clause in the Constitution also give Congress the power to regulate trade between nations.
  • The Commerce Clause is an enumerated list in the United States Constitution.

• New Federalism and State Control

  • From 1937 to 1995, the United States Supreme Court did not void a single Act of Congress for exceeding Congress's power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
  • They held that anything that could conceivably have even a slight impact on commerce was subject to federal regulation.
  • Raich (2005), holding that the federal government could outlaw the use of marijuana for medical purposes under the Commerce Claue even if the marijuana was never bought or sold, and never crossed state lines.
  • Raich (2005), holding that the federal government could outlaw the use of marijuana for medical purposes under the Commerce Clause even if the marijuana was never bought or sold, and never crossed state lines.
  • Discuss how the Supreme Court's understanding of the Commerce Clause shaped the New Federalism

• Concurrent Powers

  • In the Commerce Clause, the Constitution gives the national government broad power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, among several of the States and with the Indian tribes.
  • This clause allowed the federal government to establish a national highway system that connected the states.
  • A state may regulate any and all commerce that is entirely within its borders.

• Two Judicial Revolutions: The Rehnquist Court and the Roberts Court

  • Under this view of federalism, the Supreme Court, for the first time since the 1930s, struck down an Act of Congress as exceeding federal power under the Commerce Clause.
  • Gore, the case that effectively ended the presidential election controversy in Florida, that the Equal Protection Clause barred a standard-less manual recount of the votes as ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.

• The Legislative Function

  • Congress has implied powers deriving from the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause which permit Congress to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. " Broad interpretations of this clause and of the Commerce Clause, the enumerated power to regulate commerce, in rulings such as McCulloch v Maryland have effectively widened the scope of Congress's legislative authority far beyond that prescribed in Section 8.

• Early U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

  • The Court rejected Maryland's interpretation of the clause and determined that Maryland may not tax the Bank without violating the Constitution.
  • Competitors challenged Livingston and Fulton, arguing that the commerce power of the Federal government was exclusive and superseded state laws.
  • Gibbons' lawyer argued that Congress had exclusive national power over interstate commerce according to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
  • The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons, arguing that the source of Congress' power to promulgate the law was the Commerce Clause.
  • The court went on to conclude that congressional power over commerce should extend to the regulation of all aspects of it.

• Moods in Dependent Clauses

• The New Nation's Economy

  • There were to be no tariffs or taxes on interstate commerce.
  • The Constitution provided that the federal government could regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states, establish uniform bankruptcy laws, create money and regulate its value, fix standards of weights and measures, establish post offices and roads, and fix rules governing patents and copyrights.
  • The last-mentioned clause was an early recognition of the importance of "intellectual property," a matter that would assume great importance in trade negotiations in the late 20th century.

• The Establishment Clause: Separation of Church and State

  • The Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. " Together with the Free Exercise Clause ("... or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"), these two clauses make up what are called the "religion clauses" of the First Amendment.
  • Incorporation of the Establishment Clause in 1947 has been tricky and subject to much more critique than incorporation of the Free Exercise Clause.
  • Critics have also argued that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is understood to incorporate only individual rights found in the Bill of Rights; the Establishment Clause, unlike the Free Exercise Clause (which critics readily concede protects individual rights), does not purport to protect individual rights.
  • One main question of the Establishment Clause is: does government financial assistance to religious groups violate the Establishment Clause?
  • Distinguish the Establishment Clause from other clauses of the First Amendment