In Champion v Ames (1903), also known as the Lottery Cases, SCOTUS considered whether Congress could prohibit the interstate shipment of lottery tickets. Champion turned on the meaning of the words “commerce” and “regulate” in the Commerce Clause.  The court held that “Lottery tickets are subjects of traffic and therefore are subjects of commerce, and the regulation of the carriage [or transportation] of such tickets from State to State, at least by independent carriers, is a regulation of commerce among the several States.”  The court also held the power to “regulate” commerce gives Congress the power to “prohibit” commerce.  In other words, the court held that just as a state has a police power over intrastate commerce – which includes the power to prohibit such commerce – Congress also has a police power over interstate commerce. To this day, Champion v Ames is cited for the principle that the power to “regulate” commerce includes the power to prohibit some forms of commerce…. Funny thing is, the US Constitution does not mention such a “police power.” Even more peculiar is that the “police power” arose from judicial interpretation of the Constitution, yet the word “interpret” is NOWHERE in the Constitution, let alone granted as a power to the courts…(more on this next week 🧐😉)

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