The Commerce Clause Interactions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The power to regulate commerce with other nations belongs:
Choice 1 Exclusively to Congress
 Choice 2 Exclusively to the states.
Choice 3 Primarily to Congress but the states have veto power.
 Choice 4 Primarily to the states but Congress has veto power.
The Commerce Clause DOES NOT grant Congress power over which of the following:
Choice 1 A truckload of chickens transported from Georgia to Florida.
 Choice 2 The truck which delivers the chickens.
Choice 3 The roads on which the truck travels.
 Choice 4 The eggs the chickens lay once in Florida.
Congress wants to pass a law which would limit the number of hours commercial truckers are permitted to drive in a day. Does Congress have the authority to do so?
Choice 1 YES, because the nature of the activity is such that no single state could effectively regulate it.
 Choice 2 YES, because the truckers are instrumentalities of interstate commerce.
Choice 3 NO, because the truckers to be regulated are residents of individual states.
 Choice 4 NO, because this is a labor law issue which Congress must first permit the states to address.
Impressed with the safety improvements resulting from Congressional regulation of truckers, politicians and citizens from various states implore Congress to impose similar regulations on the commercial train conductors and engineers. When Congress refuses, several citizens sue claiming a Commerce Clause violation. What is the likely result of the suit?
The suit will likely PREVAIL, as the Commerce Clause requires Congress must regulate interstate commerce.
 The suit will likely FAIL, as the Commerce Clause is merely permissive in granting Congressional power and the exercise of such power is not mandatory.
Federal law requires that all airplanes, helicopters, blimps, and other airborne craft file a flight plan before leaving the ground. Joe farmer has been using his airplane to dust crops for years and has never filed a flight plan. Last year he was approached by a federal aviation officer and warned that failure to comply could result in a fine or imprisonment or both. Joe’s response was “Ah’m only flyin’ over mah own land, so you can go fly a kite!” Is the federal law valid?
Choice 1 NO, not as applied to Joe, because he flies only over private property which he owns.
 Choice 2 NO, because it is overbroad.
Choice 3 YES, because the airways are channels of commerce.
 Choice 4 YES, because flying is an inherently dangerous activity

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