Powers of Congress

The State made the usual argument that the Second Amendment was not applicable to the states. It also argued that the prohibition of private militias was not in conflict with the power of Congress to oversee the organization of state militias. 

The federal Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act ( Brady Bill ) of 1994 required the chief law enforcement officer of each local jurisdiction to conduct bac%round checks of all persons wishing to buy a firearm, but no federal money was appropriated for the purpose. Two sheriffs, Jay Printz of Ravalli County, Montana, and Richard Mack of Graham County, Arizona, filed separate suits that challenged this provision of the Brady Act, claiming that forcing sheriffs to perform the checks at their own expense went beyond the powers of Congress as restricted by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

Gun Decision Puts a Check on Federal Authority. Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, vol. 53, April 29, 1995, pp. 119ff. Gives excerpts from the U.S. V. Lopez decision, in which the Supreme Court rules that the Gun Free School Zones Act was an impermissible use of the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. 

The cooperative had also argued that even if the necessity defense is not allowed, the Controlled Substances Act exceeds the power of Congress under the constitution s Commerce Clause, and that enforcing this law against medical marijuana patients would deprive them of the right to due process and infringe on liberties guaranteed by the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments. However, because these constitutional issues were not raised earlier in the appeals process, the Court declined to consider them. 

This ruling suggests that the necessity defense is unlikely to be permitted in federal court, even when bolstered by a local community s or even state s decision to support medical marijuana use. However, substantive constitutional challenges to federal drug regulations may be more successful. See the case of Raich v. Ashcroft, discussed later. In that case the question is whether the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce properly extends to local, noncommercial medical use of marijuana. 

Having now seen that the maxims relied upon will not bear the use made of them, let us endeavour to ascertain their proper use and true meaning. This will be best done by examples. The plan of the convention declares that the power of congress or in other words of the national legislature. 

Article x. The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the United States in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise... 

Authority for protection of patents and copyrights is set out in the Constitution and is the exclusive province of the federal government. Eederal legislation to protect trademarks is based on the authority of Congress, under the commerce clause of the Constitution, to regulate interstate and foreign commerce of the United States protection afforded by individual states is based on their power to regulate intrastate commerce. 

Academic Program for Nuclear Power Plant Personnel, Volume IV, General Physics Corporation, Library of Congress Card A 397747, April 1982. 

Committee on Resources, Land Use and Energy, State of California Assembly Congressional Research Division, Library of Congress Dames and Moore EBASCO Services Electric Power Research Institute... 

In the long term, however, the decision may limit the ability of Congress to create unfunded mandates (requirements that are imposed by a higher legislature but paid for by local jurisdictions). It is also relevant to the growing interest in the Tenth Amendment by activists who are attempting to restrain the exercise of federal power in favor of local control. Of course, Congress can always require that certain procedures be carried out if a state wishes to receive federal money for law enforcement or other purposes. 

It should be noted that the Harrison Act was structured as a tax law. Until the Supreme Court expanded the interpretation of Congress s power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress often relied on the better established taxing power. 

---