Legislative Power

Question 1

McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 1

The N&P Clause allows the Federal Government to use any means plainly adapted to a legitimate end that is granted by the Constitution.
The National Bank meets these requirements.

Question 2

Commerce Clause Regulations

Answer 2

1) Congress may regulate:
Channels of interstate commerce
2) Instrumentalities of interstate commerce, even if the threat comes from only intrastate activities
3) Activities having a substantial relation to interstate commerce

Question 3

Gibbons v. Ogden

Answer 3

The Court held that navigation was encompassed by the Commerce Clause. Everything except for commerce occurring completely within the state was within Congress’ reach.

Question 4

EC Knight

Answer 4

Federal Government filed an enforcement action against the sugar monopoly in Philadelphia pursuant to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
The Court held that Government did not have this power, because manufacturing is not commerce, and it does not have a direct effect on interstate commerce.

Question 5

Shreveport Rate Case

Answer 5

Railroads were charging less for trips within the state than for interstate trips, even when the interstate trips were shorter.
The Court held that Congress had the power to regulate this because if intrastate trips were cheaper, interstate commerce would be discouraged.

Question 6

Champion v. Ames

Answer 6

The Court held that Congress could regulate the transportation of lottery tickets across state lines, even though Congress’ goal was to regulate morality because Congress’ commerce power is plenary.

Question 7

Hammer v. Dagenhart

Answer 7

Congress cannot regulate transportation of goods made using child labor because the goods themselves were fine, unlike those being regulated in Champion.

Question 8

Carter Coal

Answer 8

Regulation of wages in mining is not constitutional because Congress cannot regulate production

Question 9

New Deal Shift

Answer 9

Just after FDR proposed his court-packing plan, the majority of the Court became in favor of a more expansive interpretation of the Commerce Clause.

Question 10

Jones v. Laughlin Steel

Answer 10

The NLRB prohibited discrimination against Union members in production of steel.
The Court held that it is the effect of the activity on commerce that is relevant, not the source of the activity, and that Congress could therefore regulate this activity.

Question 11

Darby

Answer 11

FLSA regulated the production of lumber by employees earning less than the minimum wage and the interstate transport of that lumber.
The Court found the regulation to be constitutional by overruling Hammer v. Dagenhart.
The test is whether the regulated good or activity substantially affects commerce.

Question 12

Wickard

Answer 12

Crystallized the Darby test. The Court held that the test was whether there was a rational basis to conclude that the regulated activity had a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

Question 13

Heart of Atlanta Motel

Answer 13

There is a rational basis to conclude that discrimination by public accommodations, in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce.

Question 14

Katzenbach

Answer 14

Even if only a very small portion of the business affects interstate commerce (here, food supplies), Congress may regulate it because there is a rational basis to conclude that discriminatory practices by small businesses, in the aggregate, affect interstate commerce.

Question 15

Lopez

Answer 15

There is no rational basis to conclude that the possession of firearms in school zones substantially affects interstate commerce.
If Congress is can regulate intrastate activity on the theory that, in the aggregate, the activity affects commerce, then the activity must be economic or commercial in nature.

Question 16

Morrison

Answer 16

The Court held that gender motivated crimes of violence were not economic, and therefore could not be regulated under the Commerce Clause

Question 17

Gonzales v. Raich

Answer 17

Court allowed Congress to prohibit the use of marijuana for medical purposes, in spite of California’s law allowing it because the use of marijuana (an economic activity) has a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

Question 18

Sebelius (Commerce Clause)

Answer 18

The individual mandate could not be upheld on Commerce Clause grounds because it compelled the economic activity it proposed to regulate, rather than regulating existing economic activity.
Therefore, there was no activity to have a substantial effect on insurance

Question 19

Child Labor Tax Case

Answer 19

The tax imposed a 10% tax on total profit for companies using child labor.
The Court held that the tax was merely a regulation guised as a tax because the Department of Labor helped to collect the tax, the tax was a heavy exaction, the tax did not account for the difference between one child and 100, and the tax had a scienter requirement.
(Decided before New Deal Shift)

Question 20

Kahriger

Answer 20

The Court held that unless there are provisions in a tax that are extraneous to any tax need, the courts are without power to interfere with Congress’ power to tax.

Question 21

Sebelius

Answer 21

The Court upheld the “shared responsibility” provision of the ACA that imposed a penalty on anyone failing to comply with the individual mandate.
The law was valid on these grounds because the exaction was not unproportional, there was no scienter requirement, and the IRS collects the tax alone.
Further, Congress has the power to tax an omission, even though it cannot regulate the omission on Commerce Clause grounds.

Question 22

Butler

Answer 22

A provision of the Agricultural Adjustment Act provided farmers with subsidies for maintaining farms under a certain number of acres.
The law was not within Congress’ power because the power to regulate agriculture is reserved to the states, and this is more than spending – this is regulation.

Question 23

Dole

Answer 23

5% of the federal appropriation of highway funds was withheld from states that didn’t increase their drinking age to 21.
The Court held that this did not exceed Congress’ spending power.

Question 24

Framework for Analyzing the Spending Power (Dole)

Answer 24

1. In pursuit of National general welfare (with great deference to Congress on this point)
2. Conditions on the money must be clear and unambiguous
3. Conditions must be reasonably related to the National/Federal interest
4. No other constitutional provisions may provide independent bar to this conditional grant of funds
5. No coercion

Question 25

Sabri

Answer 25

The Justices found that the Spending Clause authorizes Congress to spend money for the general welfare, and that the Necessary and Proper Clause authorizes it to take any reasonable steps to prevent such money from being misspent. These reasonable steps include prohibiting bribery.