The first notable reversal from this expansive period came with the Court's 1995 decision in United States v.Lopez, 16 in which, for the first time since the 1930s, the Court invalidated a federal law as exceeding Congress's Commerce Clause power. The Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to regulate commerce in order to ensure that the flow of interstate commerce is free from local restraints imposed by various states. How categorical grants, mandates, and the Commerce Clause have been used to expand federal power over state affairs. The Commerce Clause refers to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian. 1. How categorical grants, mandates, and the Commerce Clause have been used to expand federal power over state affairs. You can use this assessments combo to test your knowledge of this clause. Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942), is a United States Supreme Court decision that dramatically increased the regulatory power of the federal government. Is it just the buying and selling of goods, or should it be interpreted to include, as Chief Justice Marshall says in Gibbons, all the branches of commercial intercourse, including the manufacture and transportation of goods? In United States v.Lopez (1995), the United States Supreme Court declared the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 an unconstitutional overreach of the implied powers of Congress under the Commerce Clause.The 5-4 divided decision preserved the system of federalism and reversed the Supreme Court’s 50-year trend of rulings that expanded the powers of Congress. The Commerce Clause grants Congress the power to regulate commerce with a variety of entities. COMMERCE CLAUSE QUESTIONS. (1964) Congress has the right to prohibit racial discrimination in places of public accommodation through the Commerce Clause because the interstate because the interstate movement of people is "commerce." 2. What is "commerce"? United States v. Alfonso D. Lopez, Jr., 514 U.S. 549 (1995), was a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court concerning the Commerce Clause.It was the first case since 1937 in which the Court held that Congress had exceeded its power to legislate under the Commerce Clause.. Narrowing the scope of Congress's Commerce Clause power. It remains as one of the most important and far-reaching cases concerning the New Deal, and it set a precedent for an expansive reading of the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause for decades to come. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. The Commerce Clause authorizes Congress to regulate commerce in order to ensure that the flow of interstate commerce is free from local restraints imposed by various states. The Commerce Clause and Medical Marijuana: Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005) California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing qualified patients to cultivate and use marijuana for designated medical illnesses and conditions. Overview. Questions.