United States v. Lopez
| United States v. Lopez | |
|---|---|
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| Argued November 8, 1994 Decided April 26, 1995 |
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| Full case name | United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr. |
| Citations | 514 U.S. 549 (more)
115 S. Ct. 1624; 131 L. Ed. 2d 626; 1995 U.S. LEXIS 3039; 63 U.S.L.W. 4343; 95 Cal. Daily Op. Service 3074; 8 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 752
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| Argument | Oral argument |
| Prior history | On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit |
| Holding | |
| Possession of a handgun near school is not an economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. A law prohibiting guns near schools is a criminal statute that does not relate to commerce or any sort of economic activity. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas |
| Concurrence | Kennedy, joined by O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Thomas |
| Dissent | Breyer, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Dissent | Souter |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3 | |
United States v. Alfonso D. Lopez, Jr., 514 U.S. 549 (1995) was the first United States Supreme Court case since the New Deal to set limits to Congress' power under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
Alfonso Lopez, Jr., was a 12th-grade student at Edison High School in San Antonio, Texas. On March 10, 1992, he carried a concealed .38 caliber revolver, along with five cartridges, into the school. The gun was not loaded; Lopez claimed that he was to deliver the weapon to another person, a service for which he would receive $44. He was confronted by school authorities—the school had received anonymous tips that Lopez was carrying the weapon—and admitted to having the weapon. The next day, he was charged with violating the federalGun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 (the "Act"), 18 U.S.C. § 922(q).
Lopez moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that §922(q) of the Act was "unconstitutional as it is beyond the power of Congress to legislate control over our public schools." The trial court denied the motion, ruling that §922(q) was "a constitutional exercise of Congress' well defined power to regulate activities in and affecting commerce, and the 'business' of elementary, middle and high schools...affects interstate commerce".
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