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US v Lopez

UJ

Unhappy Jester

Transcript

US v. Lopez (1995)

Background

  • New Deal Revolution (1937)
  • Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990
  • Gibbons vs. Ogden
  • Alfonzo Lopez

Legal Arguments

Legal Arguments

Lopez

Lopez

  • Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional
  • Schools aren't controlled by federal government
  • Gun possession would not have a substancial impact on interstate commerce

US

US

  • Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate guns in schools
  • Gun-Free School Zones Act is constitutional
  • Guns are related to interstate commerce

What are the possible different interpretations of the word "commerce" and the effects of those interpretations?

Constitutional Issue

Constitutiuonal Issue

"To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes"

  • Gun-Free School Zones Act
  • Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 (Commerce Clause)

Do you agree with this decision? Why or why not?

Does Congress have the authority under the commerce clause to outlaw guns near schools?

The Decision

  • 1 main question
  • No, for Lopez, 5:4

Chief Justice William Rehnquist: "If we were to accept the Governmen'ts arguments, we are hard pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate"

Which opinion do you think has the most moral validity? Most legal?

Opinions

  • Majority
  • Dissenting
  • Concurring

Majority

  • Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional
  • Possession of a gun was not a significant economic activity
  • Lopez was a local student at the local school

Dissenting

Dissenting

  • Justice Breyer
  • "Education, although far more than a matter of economics, has long been inextricably intertwined with the Nation's economy... guns in the hands of six percent of inner-city high school students and gun-related violence throughout a city's schools must threaten the trade and commerce that those schools support."

Concurring

  • Justice Kennedy / Justice O'Conner
  • Government's obligation to keep power of education within the state

Concurring

Legal Precedent

  • Federal government cannot pass a law based on the Commerce Clause that prevents guns from being around school zones
  • States have control of guns in school zones

Cultural Implications

  • Then: Gonzales v. Raich
  • Now: Each individual state can determine who can or can not be in possession of a firearm in school zones
  • 32 states that allow school personnel to carry a firearm with restrictions