cisions dealt with commercial activity and as such they are both aligned with the correct interpretation of the Constitution. Wickard v Filburn, 317 U.S. 111, is a case involving the limitation of wheat harvest imposed on a family farmer by the Secretary of Agriculture. Filburn refused to pay a tax on wheat he harvested that overran the allotted acreage allowed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Here the court ruled that government had the right to fine Filburn because his production and consumption of the excess wheat had an adverse effect on interstate commerce. The fact that the wheat was never entered into interstate commerce was deemed irrelevant in light of the new test (whether or not it had an effect) offered by the court. Consumers were at issue in the Heart of Atlanta Motel v United State,s 379 U.S. 241, in a case that involved the refusal of a room to transient blacks based on the color of their skin. The court ruled that the proximity of the motel to interstate highways, the existing courting of transient guests, and the rate of transient guests all made the motels refusal open to national jurisdiction. In keeping with the cooperative federalism theory, the court chose to utilize a broad interpretation of the enumerated powers given to Congress by the Constitution. United States v Lopez ,514 U.S. 549, reinstated some dualist approaches. The case dealt with Gun Free Zones Act that was enacted by Congress under the Commerce Clause powers. The decision injected a strict reading of the Constitution. The merit of the argument is that in cases that authorized national control in intrastate activities ,”Involved economic activity in a way that possession of a gun in a school zone does not.” (Ducat,pp.339) I believe this interpretation to be indicative of the intention of the Constitution. The decision rejected the expansion of Commerce Clause powers into areas that had nothing to do with economic activity. The Supreme Cou...
