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Article: The court rediscovers federalism. (U.S. Supreme Court)(We Hold These Truths)
- Article from:
- Policy Review
- Article date:
- September 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Hoover Institution Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned any genuine effort to restrain the federal government from usurping constitutional powers reserved to the states. In his dissenting opinion for Garcia v. San Antonio Municipal Transit Authority, however, Justice William Rehnquist confidently predicted that federalism would "in time again command the support of a majority of this Court." Twelve years later, the revival of federalism has become the clearest legacy of the Rehnquist Court.
In U.S. v. Lopez (1995), for example, Rehnquist, now the chief justice, reminded Congress that it cannot rely upon its constitutional power to regulate "interstate commerce" to ban the mere ...