Commerce Clause

Commerce Clause

Grants Congress the power to regulate commerce among the several states, nations, and Native American tribes.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

A Supreme Court case ruling that established federal authority to regulate interstate commerce, asserting that states cannot create barriers to such commerce.

Dormant Commerce Clause

The prohibition against states passing legislation that discriminates against or excessively burdens interstate commerce.

Extraterritoriality

The application of one region's laws to people or activities outside its borders.

Pike v. Bruce Test

A legal test to determine if a law that regulates local interest burdens interstate commerce excessively compared to its local benefits.

National Labor Relations Board v. Jones and Laughlin Steel

A case establishing Congress's power to regulate local activities that have a substantial relation to interstate commerce.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

A Supreme Court case limiting Congress's power under the Commerce Clause by ruling that possession of a gun in a school zone is not an economic activity affecting interstate commerce.

Gonzales v. Raich (2004)

The case where the Court held that Congress could regulate local marijuana cultivation as part of a class of activities with a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

Dean Milk Company v. City of Madison (1951)

A Supreme Court decision stating that state laws cannot economically isolate themselves from the rest of the nation.

Maine v. Taylor (1987)

A case that permitted a state law banning importation to serve a legitimate local interest, despite its discriminatory effect on interstate commerce.