United States v. Lopez (1995)

The Supreme Court

Second Appeal

Describe the current situation

Court

• Lopez appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• They reversed the decision, ruling that the law was beyond the reach of Congress's power under the Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution).
• The government appealed to the Supreme Court, which was reviewed in 1994.

Who Voted No

• Written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, it was a 5-4 decision which was released in 1995.
• The ruling to convict Lopez was ruled unconstitutional and Lopez's conviction was overturned.

David Souter

Opinion of the Supreme Court

John Paul Stevens

Who Voted Yes

William Rehnquist

Steven Breyer

"The government claimed that gun violence in schools leads to both more dangerous and thus less commercially healthy neighborhoods and less economically productive kids. The Court responded that regulating guns in local schools is not sufficiently related to Congress's Commerce Clause power to pass constitutional muster." (PBS)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Opinion of the Supreme Court

Antonin Scalia

Sandra Day O'Connor

William Rehnquist

Clarence Thomas

"The court ruled that the act exceeded the limited powers of Congress under the Constitution, rejecting the government's argument that the act was constitutional because the buying and selling of guns and associated illicit activities affect 'interstate commerce', which Congress may regulate under the Commerce Clause." (PBS)

Anthony Kennedy

Works Cited

• McBride, Alex. "United States v. Lopez (1995)." Supreme Court History: The Future of the Court. PBS. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

• "United States V. Lopez." IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

The Outline of Congress's Power

The Precedent

"The Court maintained that Congress could constitutionally regulate three things under the Commerce Clause: instrumentalities of commerce, the use or channels of commerce, and activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. This act could only be seriously justified under the third category, but even there it ultimately fails because the regulation of guns in school does not 'substantially affect interstate commerce.'Congress had overstepped its limited Commerce Clause powers and instead usurped the state's typical role in policing these crimes. " (PBS)

"The possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. The law is a criminal statute that has nothing to do with 'commerce' or any sort of economic activity."

My Opinion

I agree with the Supreme Court. I do believe that Congress was overstepping their power by trying to regulate district schools. Considering the time, school shootings weren't really an issue like they are now so to go to those extremes was unreasonable. There wasn't an event that had lead to the law, Congress seemed to be testing how far they could push their power.

Background

Alfonso Lopez Jr.

First Appeal

Gun- Free School Zone Act

• In 1990 the Gun-Free School Zones Act made it a federal offense "for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone."

• Alfonso Lopez Jr. was a high school student who attened Edison High School in San Antonio, Texas.
• Six weeks from high school graduation on March 10th of 1992, Lopez was caught concealing a .38 caliber revolver on school grounds.
• The gun was not loaded but Lopez carried five other rounds of ammunition.
• When confronted by school officials and the police, Lopez admitted to carrying the gun.
• He was convicted in a federal district court and faced a six-month prison sentence.

• Lopez appealed his arrest by stating that the creation of the law was unconstitutional.
• He claimed that Congress had overstepped their power and believed that Congress wasn't allowed to create laws that control the public school district.
• The trial court denied the motion, stating that it, "was a constitutional exercise of Congress' well define power to regulate activities in and affecting commerce, and the 'business' of elementary, middle and high schools...affects interstate commerce."

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Based on Jim Harvey's speech structures