Also known as: commerce clauses · Interstate Commerce Clause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional clause empowering Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with Indian tribes. The clause also limits state power to regulate interstate commerce even in the absence of federal legislation.
Canyon Construction ships live baitfish across state lines for its fishing supply business. State regulators block the shipments to protect local waterways from invasive species. Canyon sues claiming discrimination against out-of-state goods. The court upholds the ban after finding no reasonable nondiscriminatory alternative exists to safeguard the state's ecological resources.
Crestview Holdings hauls hazardous waste from another state to a local landfill. The state charges Crestview a higher disposal fee than it charges in-state generators. Crestview challenges the fee differential as protectionist. The court strikes down the surcharge because origin-based cost differences are invalid without congressional approval.
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Continental Bank operates a private waste transfer station. A county ordinance requires all local waste to go to a newly created public facility instead. Continental sues alleging favoritism toward the government-owned site. The court applies lenient review and upholds the ordinance because the public facility performs a traditional government function.
Caitlin Crowley works for a state-run prison laundry that sells goods to private trucking firms. Federal regulators apply minimum-wage and overtime rules to her position. The state claims the rules intrude on traditional state functions. The court upholds the federal rules because states participate in the political process that shapes such legislation.
Cobalt Energy ships nuclear waste across state lines for disposal. State law imposes a special fee only on out-of-state nuclear waste. Cobalt challenges the fee as discriminatory. The court sustains the fee after determining that Congress expressly permitted states to impose such surcharges on certain out-of-state nuclear wastes.
Carlos Castillo carries a handgun onto school grounds while delivering supplies. A federal statute criminalizes the possession. Castillo moves to dismiss the charge for lack of congressional authority. The court dismisses the indictment because the conduct is non-economic and lacks a sufficient connection to interstate commerce.
The clause prevents states from discriminating against out-of-state commerce or imposing undue burdens on it even when Congress has not acted. Discriminatory laws face strict scrutiny and are usually invalid unless they serve a legitimate non-economic local interest with no reasonable nondiscriminatory alternatives.
Congress may expressly permit states to impose origin-based surcharges or other discriminatory measures on specified items such as certain nuclear wastes. Such authorized discrimination does not violate the dormant aspect of the clause.
Congress may extend federal wage and hour laws to state and local governments when it regulates states and private entities alike. States receive their primary protection through the political process rather than judicial limits on federal power.
Ordinances directing waste to government-owned facilities receive more lenient review under the clause. Such measures are often upheld when they advance legitimate public objectives rather than economic protectionism.
…assigning as error that the challenged statutes as applied infringe the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the commerce clause. The facts as found by the appeal tribunal and accepted by the state Superior Court and Supreme Court, are not in dispute. Appellant is a Delaware corporation, having its principal place…