Translating Federalism: United States v Lopez (From Supreme Court Review, P 125-215, 1996, Dennis J. Hutchinson, David A. Strauss, et al, eds. - See NCJ 163692)

• NCJ Number: 163697
• Author(s): L Lessig
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 91 pages
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The U.S. Supreme Court's 1995 decision in United States v. Lopez demonstrates the Court's most recent interpretation of federalism.

Abstract

The Lopez case involved a student who came to school with a gun. He was arrested and charged under Texas law. The next day he was prosecuted by Federal authorities as well under a law that made it a Federal crime to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of a school. State charges were then dismissed. The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court and struck down this Federal law, which aimed at regulating citizens rather than States. The decision represented a reading of interpretive fidelity, one of two techniques of constitutional interpretation. This technique emphasizes reading the Constitution against its framing background and applying it in a way that preserves that original meaning. The second technique, textualism, reads a text in terms of current context. Although the Lopez decision rejected textualism and properly stands within an important tradition of interpretive fidelity, the techniques it selected to the goal of fidelity were poorly chosen. Therefore, the case is unlikely to take on a larger role. Footnotes