Today in Supreme Court History: U.S. v. Morrison Decided on May 15, 2000
On May 15, 2000, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the case of United States v. Morrison. This ruling is a significant moment in American legal history, particularly concerning the scope of federal power under the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court struck down a provision of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that allowed victims of gender-motivated violence to sue their attackers in federal court. The majority opinion held that Congress lacked the authority to enact this provision because gender-motivated crimes are not economic activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. This decision reinforced the principle of federalism by limiting the reach of federal legislation into areas traditionally governed by state law. The article, published by Reason.com, highlights this date as a key entry in Supreme Court history, reflecting the publication's focus on limited government and individual liberty. While the text primarily consists of subscription prompts and ideological statements from Reason.com, the core news item remains the historical legal precedent set by the Morrison decision, which continues to influence constitutional law debates regarding federal jurisdiction and civil rights protections.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection