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Economic Regulation & Property

Wickard v. Filburn

Decided: 1942

In brief

Gave Congress sweeping Commerce Clause power, upholding regulation of wheat grown for personal, non-commercial use.

The Court's ruling in depth

Roscoe Filburn grew wheat on his own farm for his own use, exceeding federal quotas. The Court upheld the penalty: even wheat grown for personal consumption, in the aggregate, affected interstate commerce by displacing wheat that would otherwise be purchased. Wickard is the outer boundary of Commerce Clause reach and the doctrinal foundation of the modern federal regulatory state, from labor and environmental laws to the Affordable Care Act.

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