Constitutional Law Commerce Clause - Mere Possession of a Firearm Does Not Substantially Affect Interstate Commerce; and a Federal Law, 18 USC § 922(q), Making Mere Possession a Crime, Exceeds Congressional Power Pursuant to the Commerce Clause (United States v. Lopez, 115 S.Ct. 1624 (1995))

• NCJ Number: 162998
• Journal: Seton Hall Law Review Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (1996) Pages: 897-932
• Author(s): D A Stevinson
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 36 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This Note reviews the history of the division of powers between the states and the Federal Government, and examines the effect on this constitutional balance of recent Supreme Court decisions.

Abstract

The Federal Government may employ only those powers granted to it under the Constitution. From those enumerated powers, and Congress's ability to adopt any legislation necessary and proper to achieve a congressional goal, Congress has allotted itself a number of implied powers. These implied powers came into direct conflict with the States' abilities to regulate and exercise their police powers under the Tenth Amendment. At the forefront of these conflicts between the Federal and State governments were cases involving the constitutional power of Congress to regulate commerce. The Note reviews cases and decisions which attempted to define that power and to determine when it is applicable. The author regrets that the Supreme Court's recent decision in United States v. Lopez did not present better guidance and clarity regarding past Commerce Clause cases that continue as precedent, and did not deliver a clear directive to Congress to refrain from enacting unnecessary Federal laws in areas already sufficiently covered by the States. Footnotes