Printz v. United States

E13965

Printz v. United States is a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited federal power by holding that Congress cannot compel state or local officials to implement federal regulatory programs.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Tenth Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
anti-commandeering doctrine case
federalism case
areaOfLaw United States federalism
constitutional law
arguedDate 1996-12-03
background challenged interim provisions of the Brady Act requiring local chief law enforcement officers to perform background checks on handgun purchasers
citation 521 U.S. 898
citedIn Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association
NFIB v. Sebelius
concurrenceBy Clarence Thomas
constitutionalProvisionInvolved Necessary and Proper Clause
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1997-06-27
decisionType majority decision with dissents
dissentBy David H. Souter
John Paul Stevens
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
docketNumber 95-1478
effect limited Congress's ability to require state executive officials to carry out federal law
fullCaseName Jay Printz, Sheriff/Coroner, Ravalli County, Montana, et al. v. United States
holding Congress may not commandeer state or local executive officials to implement federal regulatory programs
provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requiring state and local chief law enforcement officers to conduct background checks are unconstitutional
issue whether Congress may compel state and local executive officials to administer a federal regulatory program
joinedByInMajority Anthony M. Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Sandra Day O'Connor
William H. Rehnquist
jurisdiction appellate jurisdiction from lower federal courts
language English opinion
legalDoctrine anti-commandeering doctrine
majorityOpinionBy Antonin Scalia
petitioner Jay Printz
petitionerOccupation Sheriff of Ravalli County, Montana
precedentFor limiting federal power over state executive officials
rearguedDate 1997-01-14
reinforces New York v. United States (1992) anti-commandeering principle
relatedStatute Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
reporter United States Reports
respondent United States
result Brady Act interim background check mandate on state officers invalidated
subjectMatter federalism and separation of powers
gun control background checks
volume 521
vote 5-4
year 1997


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