REDEFINING CONSTITUTIONAL BOUNDARIES: FEDERALISM IN THE REHNQUIST COURT
In: Politics & policy, Band 23, Heft 3, S. 387-409
ISSN: 1747-1346
On the fundamental distribution of power between states and nation, the record of the Rehnquist Court is mixed. While it has supported state prerogatives in selected areas such as criminal justice, the Court is much less sympathetic in threshold questions of federalism. Using the Commerce Clause, especially in its dormant or negative form, the Court continues to promote federal preemptive efforts. The strength of the ruling in Garcia intensifies almost by default as the Court fails to inquire systematically into the foundational principles of contemporary federalism. The protection of state interests remains in the national political process, not in the judiciary.