College of Law Faculty Scholarship
Source Publication (e.g., journal title)
Connecticut Law Review
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 1997
Abstract
In United States v. Lopez, the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal Gun Free School Zones law as not within congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. This article examines post-Lopez jurisprudence regarding the permissible scope of federal criminal law. Analyzing a wide variety of federal criminal laws challenged in post-Lopez cases (including arson, robbery, gun possession, drugs, violence against women, and abortion clinic disruption), the article shows how courts have followed or evaded Lopez. Studying the proposed federal ban on partial birth abortions, the article suggests that the ban is not a lawful exercise of Congress' interstate commerce authority.
Recommended Citation
Reynolds, Glenn and Kopel, David, "Taking Federalism Seriously: Lopez and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act" (1997). College of Law Faculty Scholarship. 304.
https://ir.law.utk.edu/utk_lawpubl/304