States Rights and 10th Amendment before the Supreme Court

Mike Crane

2011

While it is receiving very little attention the 10^th Amendment is being tested in a case currently before the Supreme Court (See Bond v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 455 (2010)). Not only will this case in some way, “redefine” the current day meaning of the 10^th Amendment – it is also an excellent example of the “warnings” of the Anti-Federalists.

A summary of the question at hand:

Question presented

Whether a criminal defendant convicted under a federal statute has standing to challenge her conviction on grounds that, as applied to her, the statute is beyond the federal government’s enumerated powers and inconsistent with the Tenth Amendment.

Now let’s look at the 10^th Amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. [Emphasis added]

Hmmm, unless I am just way out of date it seems that this amendment says, “or to the people.” The 3^rd Circuit Appeals court ruled that this did not apply to the Lady in question. Now to a casual objective observer Mrs. Bond would probably look like a “people” even if she does have a bad temper so to speak. But if the Supreme Court happens to agree with the 3^rd Circuit Appeals court, for legal purposes under the 10^th Amendment, Mrs. Bond and all of ya’ll will no longer be considered “people.”

The case is certainly out of the ordinary:

And now… the rest of the story. …..

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