 National Judicial Power and the Dormant Commerce ClauseClifford Carrubba The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 2003, vol. 19, issue 2, 543-570 Abstract: We develop a game in which a court monitors states as they regulate trade among themselves. Contrary to commentators who see Supreme Court oversight of state burdens on interstate commerce as the product of a powerfully ascendant court, we argue that the "dormant Commerce Clause" (DCC) originates as the strategic product of an institutionally weak court. We provide three lines of argument. First, we refute the notion that merely observing the court ruling against state governments and those governments complying with its ruling is evidence of judicial power. Second, we show that the equilibria of our "weak court" model directly implies the doctrinal contours of the DCC while the ascendancy hypothesis does not. Finally, we provide evidence that the court announced a weaker version of the DCC doctrine than sincerely preferred by pivotal justices on the court. Our arguments invite a revised understanding of the role of the court in the development of the American political system. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press. Date: 2003 There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:19:y:2003:i:2:p:543-570 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization is currently edited by Andrea Prat More articles in The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization from Oxford University Press Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK. |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.