NCJ Number
120255
Editor(s)
J C Griffith
Date Published
1989
Length
90 pages
Annotation
These five papers examine changes in the allocation of power between the Federal government and the States throughout the history of the United States and the differing viewpoints regarding the appropriate allocation of power.
Abstract
The papers are the transcripts of speeches and a dialogue that took place at the 1987 annual meeting of the American Bar Association. They include an historical overview of the course of federalism since 1787, the views of public officials serving in different institutional settings at both the Federal and State levels of government, and a dialogue among four law professors regarding controversial issues that constitutional law has been unable to resolve. Issues discussed included the meaning of Federalism, the adequacy of the political process in protecting State and local interests in a Federal form of government, the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, the role of State courts in clarifying and defining individual liberties, and the United States Supreme Court decision to forego judicial review of the exercise of Congress's powers under the commerce clause relating to restraining State control and operations. Chapter notes.