Most Americans assume there are legal grounds for all of the federal government’s regulation of economic activity. But the reality is that aside from narrowly defined and limited powers, the feds lack any constitutional authority to control the broader economy, according to Paul Ballonoff in his book “Limiting Federal Regulation.” At 121 pages, the book…
LANSING, Mich. (May 6, 2016) – Yesterday, a Michigan Senate committee passed a bill that declares firearms, firearms accessories and ammunition manufactured and maintained in the state of Michigan exempt from federal regulation. Passage of the bill would set the stage to nullify some federal regulations on some firearms in practice. Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) introduced Senate…
"Under the Constitution, the delegated power to regulate “commerce among the several states” does not include a power to mandate commerce, or prohibit it."
The Sixth Circuit hears oral argument today in U.S. v. Miller, the Amish beard-cutting case. Jonathan Adler has this extended discussion: How the Justice Department is using the Commerce Clause to criminalize forcible beard cutting as a federal hate crime. As he explains: According to the Justice Department, the defendants crimes are subject to federal prosecution under…
Monday’s unanimous (on the result) Supreme Court decision in Bond v. United States uses federalism principles to rule against the federal prosecution of Carol Ann Bond, who attempted to injure a romantic rival with toxic chemicals. Briefly: The majority (Chief Justice Roberts, writing for Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan) thought the statute in question — implementing…
A May 16th Food and Drug Administration news release reported that U.S. Marshals had seized more than $11,185,000 worth of unapproved drugs. They did this at the request of the FDA because the medications are unapproved and misbranded drugs under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA complaint for forfeiture in paragraph 3…
We should be skeptical of anyone who claims to love liberty and yet does not support state and local nullification of unconstitutional federal laws.
Robert J. Pushaw (Pepperdine University – School of Law) has posted Obamacare and the Original Meaning of the Commerce Clause: Identifying Historical Limits on Congress’s Powers (University of Illinois Law Review, Vol. 2012, No. 1703, 2012) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Recently, Akhil Amar and Jack Balkin revived the idea that the exercise of unbridled Commerce…
So, the long-awaited moment is nearly here. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on several health care “reform” cases1 this week. Most probably the ruling will come today, which is the last day officially scheduled in the current term. Some pundits have wondered whether the Court will even extend the term… more
UPDATES noted in red: Last update, Sunday, April 1 @2:46pm The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on health care “reform” cases in three sessions on three days this week, beginning today, Monday, March 26. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the case, widely expected in June of this year, is of obvious historic importance,… more