---
title: "Commerce Clause"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/commerce-clause
---

# Commerce Clause

The Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate commerce among the several states. After decades of expansion from Gibbons v. Ogden through the New Deal era, the Supreme Court in United States v. Lopez identified three categories of activity Congress may regulate: the channels of interstate commerce, the instrumentalities and persons or things in interstate commerce, and activities with a substantial effect on interstate commerce.

## Related Terms

- dormant-commerce-clause
- state-action-doctrine
- due-process

## Related Cases

- gibbons-v-ogden
- wickard-v-filburn
- united-states-v-lopez
- heart-of-atlanta-motel-v-united-states
- nfib-v-sebelius

## Example

Congress passes a law banning the possession of firearms near schools. The question is whether this activity has a sufficient connection to interstate commerce.

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Source: [Commerce Clause — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/commerce-clause)