Dormant Commerce Clause Flashcards
What does the Dormant Commerce Clause mean?
The dormant commerce clause is the principle that state and local laws are unconstitutional if they place an undue burden on interstate commerce.
What are the three modern categories of Dormant Commerce Clause?
1) State laws that facially discriminate against out-of-state commerce.
2) Facially neutral state laws whose purpose and/or effect is to discriminate against out-of-state commerce.
3) Facial neutral state laws whose purpose is NOT to discriminate out-of-state commerce but have a disproportionate adverse effect on interstate commerce.
What is the rule of Philadelphia v. New Jersey?
A state may not discriminate against other states’ articles of commerce on the basis of origin.
What is the rule of Maine v. Taylor?
States may prohibit the importation of out-of-state goods moving within the flow of commerce as long as the prohibition serves a legitimate local purpose, and there are no available less discriminatory means to accomplish that same purpose.
What is the rule of United Haulers Association, Inc. v. Oneida-Herkimer?
A flow-control ordinance that favors the government, but treats in-state and out-of-state private businesses the same, does not constitute an excessive burden on interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause.
What is the rule of South-Central Timber Development, Inc. v. Wunnicke?
A state may impose burdens on commercial transactions within the market in which it is a participant, but may not go further and impose conditions that have a substantial regulatory effect outside of that particular market.
What is the rule from Hunt v. Washington Apple Advertising Comm’n?
A facially neutral statute still violates the Commerce Clause if it discriminates against interstate commerce in practice.
What is the rule from Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc.
A balancing test can be used of the benefit of the law vs. the burden of the law on interstate commerce when they fall under the third category.
What is the rule from Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corp.?
The law banning 65-foot double trailers imposes far greater burdens than interstate commerce than the the minuscule safety benefits it provides and thus is unconstitutional.
What are the two types of invalidations with regard to the Dormant Commerce Clause?
1) Facial Invalidation which strikes the statute in its entirety.
2) Applied Invalidation which leaves the statute standing, but invalidates the application to this class of plaintiff.
What are the exceptions to the Dormant Commerce Clause?
1) It is a traditional state function
2) Market Participant
3) Congress has explicitly allowed it.
