CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Question 1

For a problem concerning federal preemption, in order to know whether Congress intended to “occupy the entire field:”

PUSH (Congress on the field)

Answer 1

1. Pervasiveness - how pervasive is the federal regulation?
2. Uniformity - is there a need for (one) uniform regulation?
3. Similarity - how similar are the state and federal laws at issue?
4. History - is the subject matter traditionally classified as state or federal?

Note: Preemption generally comes up in a Commerce Clause question, but can apply any time a state law conflicts with federal law.