The Commerce Clause

By LandMark Publications

Book Overview

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that discuss, interpret and apply commerce clause doctrine. The Commerce Clause empowers Congress "to regulate Commerce ... among the several States," U.S. CONST. Art. I, ? 8, cl. 3, but also has a corresponding "negative" or "dormant" aspect that "limits the power of local governments to enact laws affecting interstate commerce." Town of Southold v. Town of East Hampton, 477 F.3d 38, 47 (2d Cir. 2007). Analysis of state and local laws under the dormant Commerce Clause treads a well-worn path. First, we determine whether the challenged law "discriminates against interstate commerce," or "regulates evenhandedly with only incidental effects on interstate commerce." Id. NY Pet Welfare Association v. City of New York, 850 F. 3d 79 (2nd Cir. 2017).In this context, discrimination "means differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that benefits the former and burdens the latter." Or. Waste Sys., Inc. v. Dep't of Envtl. Quality, 511 U.S. 93, 99, 114 S.Ct. 1345, 128 L.Ed.2d 13 (1994); see also Automated Salvage Transp., Inc. v. Wheelabrator Envtl. Sys., Inc., 155 F.3d 59, 74 (2d Cir. 1998). Discriminatory laws are permissible only if the state shows they are "demonstrably justified by a valid factor unrelated to economic protectionism." Wyoming v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437, 454, 112 S.Ct. 789, 117 L.Ed.2d 1 (1992). This justification must show "a legitimate local purpose that cannot be adequately served by reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives." Dep't of Revenue of Ky. v. Davis, 553 U.S. 328, 338, 128 S.Ct. 1801, 170 L.Ed.2d 685 (2008) (quoting Oregon Waste, 511 U.S. at 101, 114 S.Ct. 1345). NY Pet Welfare Association v. City of New York, ibid.Laws that impose only incidental burdens on interstate commerce, however, are subject to a much more forgiving standard. Under the balancing test of Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137, 142, 90 S.Ct. 844, 25 L.Ed.2d 174 (1970), we will uphold a nondiscriminatory law unless the challenger shows that "the burden imposed on [interstate] commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits." NY Pet Welfare Association v. City of New York, ibid.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1977086144
• ISBN13: 9781977086143
• Release Date: February 2018
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.2" x 6.0"