Wickard v Filburn Case Assignment Review

Wickard v. Filburn

A Supreme Court case in 1942 that upheld the constitutionality of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, ruling that the government had the power to regulate the intrastate use of a crop that had a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce.

Commerce Clause

A clause in the United States Constitution that grants Congress the power to regulate commerce between the states.

Due Process

The principle that the government must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person, including notice and a fair hearing, before depriving them of life, liberty, or property.

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938

A Congressional statute that set strict limits on farm production to control market excess and support higher market prices, giving the Secretary of Agriculture the power to regulate all wheat production.

Intrastate use

The use or consumption of a product within a single state, as opposed to engaging in interstate commerce by selling or trading the product across state lines.

Marketing

Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, marketing of wheat was defined to include disposition by feeding to poultry or livestock that are sold, bartered, or exchanged.

Fifth Amendment

A constitutional amendment that protects individuals from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Regulation

The act of laying a restraining hand on the self-interest of the regulated and commonly providing advantages to others, resolved through the legislative process rather than judicial determination.

Filburn's Due Process Claim

Roscoe Filburn's claim that the Agricultural Adjustment Act violated his Fifth Amendment right to due process by increasing the penalty for excess wheat production after he had already planted his crop.

Conversion of regulated grain

The act of feeding regulated grain to livestock, which is considered a conversion of the commodity from grain to milk, meat, or eggs and therefore falls under the definition of marketing.