Throwback Thursday: US v Morrison (2000)

Using the commerce clause as the constitutional basis, in 1994 Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which created a private cause of action that allowed victims of “gender-motivated violence” to sue in federal court. But in US v Morrison (2000), SCOTUS’s opinion was based on the fundamental premise that Congress lacks a general police power. SCOTUS clarified here that Congress may not regulate wholly INTRAstate non-economic activity regardless of its effects on interstate commerce. Further, SCOTUS held that “Gender-motivated crimes of violence are not, in any sense of the phrase, economic activity.” Thus, VAWA was held unconstitutional.