Federalism (Non)Revolution
July 20, 2005
Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute and Roderick M. Hills Jr. (prawf, Mich.) are having an interesting debate:
Ten years ago, the Supreme Court, following the lead of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, seemed poised to leave a legacy of curbed federal power. In recent terms, however, the "federalism revolution" seems to have stalled. The June rulings that invalidated California's medical marijuana law and broadened the government's power to seize property—as well as the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who voted in favor of many decisions reinforcing states' rights—may accelerate the trend.
Is the federalism revolution at an end?