Federalism in the United States: Dual vs. Cooperative & Key Supreme Court Cases

Short Answers:

• Dual vs. Cooperative Federalism

  • Dual Federalism:

    • States retain autonomy; federal government yields to states in areas of overlapping responsibility.
    • Established in Hammer v. Dagenhart.
    • Revived in National League of Cities v. Usery, emphasizing state sovereignty, but later overturned by Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, requiring states to yield to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

  • Cooperative Federalism (Post-1937):

    • Federal government takes precedence in areas of overlapping responsibility.
    • United States v. Darby Lumber Co. upheld Congress's power to regulate employment conditions under the Commerce Clause, overturning Hammer v. Dagenhart.

• Printz v. United States

  • The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Bill) mandated background checks for handgun purchases, initially placing the responsibility on local sheriffs.
  • The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the states, finding the background check requirement too burdensome.

• Judicial Review Standards

  • Strict Scrutiny:

    • Applied to cases involving discrimination, laws negatively affecting constitutional rights, and fundamental rights (e.g., right to privacy).
    • The law is presumed unconstitutional, and the government must demonstrate a compelling interest and that the law is narrowly tailored.

  • Rational Basis (Minimal Scrutiny):

    • Applies the rational basis test, where the burden of proof lies with the party challenging the law to show no rational basis exists.
    • Example: Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia.
    • Laws affecting constitutional interests must be rationally related to a legitimate government interest.

  • Intermediate Scrutiny (Heightened Scrutiny):

    • Applied to gender-based discrimination (14th Amendment) and commercial speech (1st Amendment) cases.
    • The policy must serve important governmental objectives and be substantially related to achieving those objectives.

• Selective Incorporation

  • Most Bill of Rights provisions have been extended to limit state government actions on a case-by-case basis through the 14th Amendment.
  • Hurtado v. California refused to incorporate the grand jury requirement to the states but remains valid as most states already have this practice.
  • Examples of incorporated rights: freedom of the press (Near v. Minnesota), separation of church and state (Everson v. Board of Education), and right to a jury trial (Duncan v. Louisiana).

• 9th Amendment's Purpose

  • Enshrines the principle that people have rights beyond those explicitly enumerated in the Constitution.

• Substantive Economic Due Process (Lochner Era to West Coast Hotel)

  • Substantive due process protects individuals from government policies exceeding its authority.
  • Economic due process used substantive due process to invalidate economic regulations.
  • Key Cases:
    • Lochner v. New York: Struck down a law limiting bakers' working hours as a violation of the employer's right to contract.
    • Muller v. Oregon: Upheld a law limiting women's working hours to 10 hours based on medical evidence (Brandeis brief).
    • Adkins v. Children's Hospital: Struck down minimum wage laws for women and children as an infringement on the liberty to contract.
    • Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell: Upheld a law modifying lenders' foreclosure rights, marking a shift away from economic due process.
    • West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish: Upheld a Washington state minimum wage law, overturning Adkins and ending the era of economic due process.