Church and state revisited; religious freedom case raises important underlying federalism questions

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court heard City of Boerne v. Flores in Feb 1997, a case centering on a dispute between city officials of Boerne who refused a permit the Roman Catholic archdiocese of San Antonio, TX, a permit to expand a church adjacent to a historic district listed in a landmarks preservation ordinance. The archibishop sued, claiming that the permit denial conflicted with church rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The city argues the act exceeds congressional power and is unconstitutional.

Cases, Church and state

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Finding the right target; federalism is the underlying issue in challenges to the Brady Act

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court will decide in Printz v. United States and Mack v. United States whether Congress was requiring state and local law enforcement to carry out federal objectives by stating in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 that they were to make reasonable efforts to determine if prospective gun buyers should be disqualified under Brady Act criteria. State and local law enforcement feel that the law represents congressional excess, while the federal circuits are split on the question.

Laws, regulations and rules, Gun control

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The new federalism

Article Abstract:

As conservatives stage a public push for more state and local authority at the expense of federal power, their critics charge that federalism is just a guise for dismantling some federal programs. Governors and state legislatures nationwide have seized the 10th Amendment as a rallying point, and several challenges to federal programs imposed without federal payment are now in the courts. If the movement succeeds it would represent the greatest shift in govt relationships since the New Deal.

Analysis, Political aspects, State rights, Federal-state controversies, states

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