Supreme Court Impact

The Supreme court of the United States has been called by many the most influential branch of the United States government. Justices sit in seats of power without fear of public backlash through elections. While sitting in these seats of power, they make decisions that have long lasting and far reaching results. The decisions made by the Court impact the social and political aspects of the lives of every person living in the United States. With that said, the Court obviously influences certain areas of policy more than other. Three areas of policy the Supreme Court has influenced more than others are the area of LGBQT rights, immigration, and interstate commerce. Let us first examine the area where the Court has had the greatest amount of historical impact, interstate commerce. Article One, Section Eight, Clause Three of the United States Constitution is commonly known as the “Commerce Clause,” and states, “The United States Congress shall have the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and
During this time the Court moved back toward its broad interpretation of the commerce clause, but not as sharply as in the first era discussed. This led to some rather odd rulings by the Court. The era began with rulings that did not signify change. For example, in the case of Hammer v. Dagenherat, the Court ruled the commerce clause could not be used to regulate child labor laws. In the case of Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, The Court ruled that the commerce clause did not allow for federal statute to regulate a company that bought and sold chicken only in the State of New York. Finally, in the case of Carter v. Carter Coal Company, the Court ruled that mining was a local activity that could not be regulated under the commerce clause. It was not until the Court packing plan that rulings began to