US v. Lopez (1995) Case Brief PDF

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Case Name: US v. Lopez (1995) – Gun-Free School Zones Act (pgs. 188-199) Rule of Law: Under the Com. Clause Congress may not pass laws that prohibit the possession of guns near school ground Facts:  Gun-Free Zone Act of 1990 o Congress made it a federal offense “for any individual knowing to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.” 18 U.S.C. o The act does not regulate commercial activity more contain a requirement that the possession be connected in any way to interstate commerce o “school zone” is defined as “in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school” or “within a distance of 1,000 feet from the ground of a public or parochial or private school.”  March 10, 1992 a 12th grader, respondent, at Edison High School in Texas bought a .38caliber handgun and 5 bullets to school  School authorities found out through anonymous tip  Was caught and admitted to having a gun  Was charged under Texas law with a firearm possession on school premises  Next day state charges were dropped and the Feds charged respondent with violating the Gun-Zones Act of 1990 Issue: Whether Congress can pass laws that prohibit possession of guns near school grounds under the Com. Clause Holding: Rehnquist  Act exceeds the authority of Congress “to regulate Commerce . . . Among the several states. . . .”  “. . . branches serve to prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one branch, a healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal Govt will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front.”  Jurisprudential has expanded the previously defined authority of Congress under the C. Clause  Three categories of activity Congress may regulate under their Commerce Power o Congress may regulate the use of channeled of interstate commerce o Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things interstate commerce, even though the threat may come from intrastate activities o Congress can regulate activities having a substantial relation on interstate commerce— “substantially affects”  Activities connected with a commercial transaction and substantially affected interstate commerce  “Congress must convert its purpose clearly . . ..” o “neither the statute nor its legislative history contains express congressional finding regarding the effects upon interstate commerce of gun possession in a school zone.”

Govt Argument o Cost of violent crime are substantial and though the mechanism of insurance, those costs spread through the population o Violent crime reduces the willingness of individuals to travel to areas within the country that are perceived to be unsafe o Gun possession posed a substantial threat to the education process by treating the learning environment — would have an adverse effect on the nations economic well-being  If argument was true it would give congress the right to regulate anything it found related to economic productivity of individual citizens, i.e. marriage, divorce, child custody — education curriculum  The possession of a gun in a local school is in no sense an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, substantially affect any sort of interstate commerce  The power does not presuppose something not enumerated — there would never be a distinction between what is truly national and what is truly local Concurring: Kennedy & O’Connor  GFSZA disturbs the balance of power between state and federal govt  It is up to the states to determine regulation on carrying funds on school zones  States may perform their role as laboratories for experimentation to devise various solutions where the best solution is from clear Concurring: Thomas  Congress cannot regulate all commercial activity  “commerce” was used in contradiction to productive activities such as manufacturing and agriculture o Inverting the modern sense of commerce generates significant textual and structural problems o Need a more narrow definition Dissent: Stevens  Congress has the power to prohibit possession of firearms on school grounds—just as it protects school environments from controlled substances such as asbestos or alcohol  Guns are articles of commerce and articles that can be used to restrain commerce — possession is consequence either directly of indirectly of commercial activity Dissent: Souter  Majority decision goes again important principle of judicial restraint Dissent: Breyer  Congress’ power allowed regulation of activities that affect interstate commerce  Court must consider not the effect of an individual act but rather the cumulative effect of all similar instances  Constitution requires the judiciary to give a very differential review of Congress’s determination that the regulation related to its requirement of furthering and protecting interstate commerce

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