Substantive Law Study Support

Putting It Into Practice

1. In the Lopez case, the Supreme Court held that the federal law making it a crime to possess a gun near a school was not a proper exercise of the interstate commerce power. After the decision, Congress amended the section. The following paragraph was added to the code sections: “(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, in a school zone.” Assume that you work for a criminal defense attorney who now represents a defendant charged with the commission of the amended law. The defendant purchased the gun from a local gun store and has never traveled outside the state in which it was purchased. The prosecutor claims that the gun affects interstate commerce because the gun was manufactured in a different state. Write a short memo to the attorney describing the amendment and analyzing the constitutionality of the amended law in view of the Lopez case.

Answers will vary, but the student may choose to analyze the amendment, discuss the use of the word “knowingly,” and argue that the defendant purchased the gun from a local store with no personal knowledge of where the gun was manufactured or shipped. Students may also attempt to compare the amendment to the decision in Lopez and argue that the outcome should be the same.