Lawyer, Vol. 41 No. 84, 2007.
Professional paper
Practice of the Supreme Court of the USA Regarding the "Commerce Clause" - Seismograph of Federal Changes
Ana Horvat
Abstract
The author focuses on the Commerce Clause, a provision within the United States’ Constitution that provides the federal government with regulatory authority over interstate commerce. She considers changes in the Supreme Court’s practice, caused by the adaptation of law to changing economic climate as well as to (politically motivated) conceptual changes in models of federalism. Across three phases of the selected Court’s jurisprudence (the ‘early years’ (1824-1935), ‘New Deal and the civil rights’ struggle (1935- 1986) and the ‘Rehnquist Court era’ (1986-2005)), the author follows the link between the evolution of the Clause’s interpretation and the shift in models of federalism: from the domination of states’ rights, across dual federalism, to centralized federalism. She also touches upon the judicially created reverse side of the Clause, its ‘dormant’ counterpart,as well as the Court’s jurisprudence regarding the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution as a signifi cant exception to the interpretation of the Commerce Clause.
Keywords
Commerce Clause; federalism; Supreme Court; “dormant” Commerce Clause; 21st Amendment
Hrčak ID:
13295
URI
Publication date:
23.5.2007.
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