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BQck QuoteSingle spaced indented quote - Circv C   (  Cd  ( ( ( FTNFormats for each footnote,  X` hp x (#%'0*,.8135@8:vBQ d  ( , , The Wickard Court emphasized that although Filburn's own contribution to the demand for wheat may have been trivial by itself, that was not enough to remove him from the scope of federal regulation where, as here, his contribution, taken together with that of many  JO others similarly situated, is far from trivial.  Id., at 127!128.  J  Jones & Laughlin Steel, Darby, and Wickard ushered in an era of Commerce Clause jurisprudence that greatly expanded the previously defined authority of Congress under that Clause. In part, this was a recognition of the great changes that had occurred in the way business  J7 was carried on in this country. Enterprises that had once been local or at most regional in nature had become national in scope. But the doctrinal change also reflected a view that earlier Commerce Clause cases artificially had constrained the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.  But even these modernera precedents which have expanded congressional power under the Commerce Clause confirm that this power is subject to outer limits.  J In Jones & Laughlin Steel, the Court warned that the scope of the interstate commerce power must be considered in the light of our dual system of government and may not be extended so as to embrace effects upon interstate commerce so indirect and remote that to/"   embrace them, in view of our complex society, would effectually obliterate the distinction between what is national and what is local and create a completely centralized government. 301 U.S., at 37; see also  J` Darby, supra, at 119!120 (Congress may regulate intrastate activity that has a substantial effect on  J interstate commerce); Wickard, supra, at 125 (Congress may regulate activity that exerts a substantial economic  J effect on interstate commerce). Since that time, the Court has heeded that warning and undertaken to decide whether a rational basis existed for concluding that a regulated activity sufficiently affected interstate  J commerce.  See, e.g., Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining  J & Reclamation Assn., Inc., 452 U.S. 264, 276!280  J (1981); Perez v. United States, 402 U.S. 146, 155!156  J (1971); Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294, 299!301  J (1964); Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379  JX U.S. 241, 252!253 (1964).oX; uB ԍ FTN    XgEpXFr  ddf < See also Hodel, 452 U.S., at 311 ( [S]imply because Congress may conclude that a particular activity substantially affects inter uB. state commerce does not necessarily make it so) (Rehnquist, J.,  uB concurring in judgment); Heart of Atlanta Motel, 392 U.S., at 273 ( [W]hether particular operations affect interstate commerce sufficiently to come under the constitutional power of Congress to regulate them is ultimately a judicial rather than a legislative question, and can be settled finally only by this Court) (Black, J., concurring).  J0  Similarly, in Maryland v. Wirtz, 392 U.S. 183 (1968), the Court reaffirmed that the power to regulate commerce, though broad indeed, has limits that [t]he Court  J has ample power to enforce. Id., at 196, overruled on  J other grounds, National League of Cities v. Usery, 426  Jh U.S. 833 (1976), overruled by Garcia v. San Antonio  J@ Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 (1985). In response to the dissent's warnings that the Court was powerless to enforce the limitations on Congress' commerce powers because [a]ll activities affecting"    J commerce, even in the minutest degree, [Wickard], may be regulated and controlled by Congress, 392 U.S., at  J 204 (Douglas, J., dissenting), the Wirtz Court replied  J that the dissent had misread precedent as [n]either  J` here nor in Wickard has the Court declared that Congress may use a relatively trivial impact on commerce as an excuse for broad general regulation of state  J or private activities, id., at 197, n. 27. Rather, [t]he  J Court has said only that where a general regulatory  J statute bears a substantial relation to commerce, the de  Jp minimis character of individual instances arising under  JH that statute is of no consequence. Ibid. (first emphasis added).  Consistent with this structure, we have identified three broad categories of activity that Congress may  J regulate under its commerce power. Perez v. United  J States, supra, at 150; see also Hodel v. Virginia Surface  JX Mining & Reclamation Assn., supra, at 276!277. First, Congress may regulate the use of the channels of  J interstate commerce. See, e.g., Darby, 312 U.S., at 114;  J Heart of Atlanta Motel, supra, at 256 (  1! `[T]he authority of Congress to keep the channels of interstate commerce free from immoral and injurious uses has been frequently sustained, and is no longer open to question.' !   J@ (quoting Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, 491 (1917)). Second, Congress is empowered to regulate and protect the instrumentalities of interstate commerce, or persons or things in interstate commerce, even though the threat may come only from intrastate activities.  Jx See, e.g., Shreveport Rate Cases, 234 U.S. 342 (1914);  JP Southern R. Co. v. United States, 222 U.S. 20 (1911) (upholding amendments to Safety Appliance Act as  J applied to vehicles used in intrastate commerce); Perez,  J supra, at 150 ( [F]or example, the destruction of an aircraft (18 U.S.C. 32), or ... thefts from interstate shipments (18 U.S.C. 659)). Finally, Congress' commerce authority includes the power to regulate those` "   activities having a substantial relation to interstate  J commerce, Jones & Laughlin Steel, 301 U.S., at 37, i.e., those activities that substantially affect interstate  J commerce. Wirtz, supra, at 196, n. 27.  Within this final category, admittedly, our case law has not been clear whether an activity must affect or substantially affect interstate commerce in order to be within Congress' power to regulate it under the Com J merce Clause. Compare Preseault v. ICC, 494 U.S. 1,  J 17 (1990), with Wirtz, supra, at 196, n. 27 (the Court has never declared that Congress may use a relatively trivial impact on commerce as an excuse for broad general regulation of state or private activities). We conclude, consistent with the great weight of our case law, that the proper test requires an analysis of whether the regulated activity substantially affects interstate commerce.  We now turn to consider the power of Congress, in the light of this framework, to enact 922(q). The first two categories of authority may be quickly disposed of: 922(q) is not a regulation of the use of the channels of interstate commerce, nor is it an attempt to prohibit the interstate transportation of a commodity through the channels of commerce; nor can 922(q) be justified as a regulation by which Congress has sought to protect an instrumentality of interstate commerce or a thing in interstate commerce. Thus, if 922(q) is to be sustained, it must be under the third category as a regulation ofan activity that substantially affects interstatecommerce.  First, we have upheld a wide variety of congressional Acts regulating intrastate economic activity where we have concluded that the activity substantially affected  J interstate commerce. Examples include the regulation  J of intrastate coal mining; Hodel, supra, intrastate  J extortionate credit transactions, Perez, supra, restaurants  J` utilizing substantial interstate supplies, McClung, supra,` "    J inns and hotels catering to interstate guests, Heart of  J Atlanta Motel, supra, and production and consumption  J of homegrown wheat, Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942). These examples are by no means exhaustive, but the pattern is clear. Where economic activity substantially affects interstate commerce, legislation regulating that activity will be sustained. qqG  J  Even Wickard, which is perhaps the most far reaching example of Commerce Clause authority over intrastate activity, involved economic activity in a way that the possession of a gun in a school zone does not. Roscoe  JH Filburn operated a small farm in Ohio, on which, in the year involved, he raised 23 acres of wheat. It was his practice to sow winter wheat in the fall, and after harvesting it in July to sell a portion of the crop, to feed part of it to poultry and livestock on the farm, to use some in making flour for home consumption, and to keep the remainder for seeding future crops. The Secretary of Agriculture assessed a penalty against him under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 because he harvested about 12 acres more wheat than his allotment under the Act permitted. The Act was designed to regulate the volume of wheat moving in interstate and foreign commerce in order to avoid surpluses and shortages, and concomitant fluctuation in wheat prices, which had previously obtained. The Court said, in an opinion sustaining the application of the Act to Filburn's activity: BQ C  , , (  One of the primary purposes of the Act in question was to increase the market price of wheat and to that end to limit the volume thereof that could affect the market. It can hardly be denied that a factor of such volume and variability as homeconsumed wheat would have a substantial influence on price and market conditions. This may arise because being in marketable condition such wheat overhangs the market and, if induced by rising "   prices, tends to flow into the market and check price increases. But if we assume that it is never marketed, it supplies a need of the man who grew it which would otherwise be reflected by purchases in  J` the open market. Homegrown wheat in this sense competes with wheat in commerce. 317 U. S., at 128.TkBQ d   ( , ,  Section 922(q) is a criminal statute that by its terms has nothing to do with commerce or any sort of economic enterprise, however broadly one might define  J those terms.K; uB< ԍUnder our federal system, the  ! `States possess primary authority for  uB defining and enforcing the criminal law.' S!  Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507  uB U.S. ___, ___ (1993) (slip op., at 14) (quoting Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S.  uBa 107, 128 (1982)); see also Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 109 (1945) (plurality opinion) ( Our national government is one of delegated powers alone. Under our federal system the administration of criminal justice rests with the States except as Congress, acting within the scope of those delegated powers, has created offenses against the United  uB States). When Congress criminalizes conduct already denounced as criminal by the States, it effects a  ! `change in the sensitive relation  uBb between federal and state criminal jurisdiction.' K!  United States v.  uB Enmons, 410 U.S. 396, 411!412 (1973) (quoting United States v. Bass,  uB 404 U.S. 336, 349 (1971)). The Government acknowledges that 922(q) displace[s] state policy choices in ... that its prohibitions apply even in States that have chosen not to outlaw the conduct in question. Brief for United States 29, n. 18; see also Statement of President George Bush on Signing the Crime Control Act of 1990, 26 Weekly Comp. of Pres. Doc.  uBc 1944, 1945 (Nov. 29, 1990) ( Most egregiously, section [922(q)] inappropriately overrides legitimate state firearms laws with a new and unnecessary Federal law. The policies reflected in these provisions could legitimately be adopted by the States, but they should not be imposed upon the States by Congress).K Section 922(q) is not an essential part of a larger regulation of economic activity, in which the regulatory scheme could be undercut unless the intrastate activity were regulated. It cannot, therefore, be sustained under our cases upholding regulations of activities that arise out of or are connected with a J"   commercial transaction, which viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce.  Second, 922(q) contains no jurisdictional element which would ensure, through casebycase inquiry, that the firearm possession in question affects interstate  J8 commerce. For example, in United States v. Bass, 404  J U.S. 336 (1971), the Court interpreted former 18 U.S.C. 1202(a), which made it a crime for a felon to receiv[e], posses[s], or transpor[t] in commerce or  J affecting commerce ... any firearm. 404 U.S., at 337. The Court interpreted the possession component of 1202(a) to require an additional nexus to interstate commerce both because the statute was ambiguous and because unless Congress conveys its purpose clearly, it will not be deemed to have significantly changed the  J federalstate balance. Id., at 349. The Bass Court set aside the conviction because although the Government had demonstrated that Bass had possessed a firearm, it had failed to show the requisite nexus with interstate  J commerce. Id., at 347. The Court thus interpreted the statute to reserve the constitutional question whether Congress could regulate, without more, the mere  J possession of firearms. See id., at 339, n. 4; see also  Jh United States v. Five Gambling Devices, 346 U.S. 441, 448 (1953) (plurality opinion) ( The principle is old and deeply imbedded in our jurisprudence that this Court will construe a statute in a manner that requires decision of serious constitutional questions only if the statutory language leaves no reasonable alternative).  Jx Unlike the statute in Bass, 922(q) has no express jurisdictional element which might limit its reach to a discrete set of firearm possessions that additionally have an explicit connection with or effect on interstate commerce.  Although as part of our independent evaluation of constitutionality under the Commerce Clause we of course consider legislative findings, and indeed even` "   congressional committee findings, regarding effect on  J interstate commerce, see, e.g., Preseault v. ICC, 494 U.S. 1, 17 (1990), the Government concedes that [n]either the statute nor its legislative history contain[s] express congressional findings regarding the effects upon interstate commerce of gun possession in a school zone. Brief for United States 5!6. We agree with the Government that Congress normally is not required to make formal findings as to the substantial burdens that an  J activity has on interstate commerce. See McClung, 379  Jp U.S., at 304; see also Perez, 402 U.S., at 156 ( Congress need [not] make particularized findings in order to legislate). But to the extent that congressional findings would enable us to evaluate the legislative judgment that the activity in question substantially affected interstate commerce, even though no such substantial effect was visible to the naked eye, they are lacking  JX here.X; uB ԍWe note that on September 13, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub.  uB. L. 103!322, 108 Stat. 1796. Section 320904 of that Act, id., at 2125, amends 922(q) to include congressional findings regarding the effects of firearm possession in and around schools upon interstate and foreign commerce. The Government does not rely upon these subsequent findings as a substitute for the absence of findings in the first instance. Tr. of Oral Arg. 25 ( [W]e're not relying on them in the strict sense of the word, but we think that at a very minimum they indicate that reasons can be identified for why Congress wanted to regulate this particular activity).   The Government argues that Congress has accumulated institutional expertise regarding the regulation of  J firearms through previous enactments. Cf. Fullilove v.  J Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448, 503 (1980) (Powell, J., concurring). We agree, however, with the Fifth Circuit that importation of previous findings to justify 922(q) is especially inappropriate here because the prior federal enactments or Congressional findings [do not] speak tom "   the subject matter of section 922(q) or its relationship to interstate commerce. Indeed, section 922(q) plows thoroughly new ground and represents a sharp break with the longstanding pattern of federal firearms legislation. 2 F. 3d, at 1366.  J8  The Government's essential contention, in fine, is that we may determine here that 922(q) is valid because possession of a firearm in a local school zone does indeed substantially affect interstate commerce. Brief for United States 17. The Government argues that possession of a firearm in a school zone may result in violent crime and that violent crime can be expected to affect the functioning of the national economy in two ways. First, the costs of violent crime are substantial, and, through the mechanism of insurance, those costs  J are spread throughout the population. See United States  J v. Evans, 928 F.2d 858, 862 (CA9 1991). Second, violent crime reduces the willingness of individuals to travel to areas within the country that are perceived to  J be unsafe. Cf. Heart of Atlanta Motel, 379 U.S., at 253. The Government also argues that the presence of guns in schools poses a substantial threat to the educational process by threatening the learning environment. A handicapped educational process, in turn, will result in a less productive citizenry. That, in turn, would have an adverse effect on the Nation's economic wellbeing. As a result, the Government argues that Congress could rationally have concluded that 922(q) substantially affects interstate commerce.  We pause to consider the implications of the Government's arguments. The Government admits, under its costs of crime reasoning, that Congress could regulate not only all violent crime, but all activities that might lead to violent crime, regardless of how tenuously  J they relate to interstate commerce. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 8!9. Similarly, under the Government's national productivity reasoning, Congress could regulate any`"   activity that it found was related to the economic productivity of individual citizens: family law (including marriage, divorce, and child custody), for example. Under the theories that the Government presents in support of 922(q), it is difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power, even in areas such as criminal law enforcement or education where States historically have been sovereign. Thus, if we were to accept the Government's arguments, we are hardpressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.  JH  Although Justice Breyer argues that acceptance of the Government's rationales would not authorize a general federal police power, he is unable to identify any activity that the States may regulate but Congress may  J not. Justice Breyer posits that there might be some limitations on Congress' commerce power such as family  JX law or certain aspects of education. Post, at 10!11. These suggested limitations, when viewed in light of the  J dissent's expansive analysis, are devoid of substance.   J  Justice Breyer focuses, for the most part, on the threat that firearm possession in and near schools poses to the educational process and the potential economic  Jh consequences flowing from that threat. Post, at 5!9. Specifically, the dissent reasons that (1) gunrelated violence is a serious problem; (2) that problem, in turn, has an adverse effect on classroom learning; and (3) that adverse effect on classroom learning, in turn, represents  J a substantial threat to trade and commerce. Post, at 9. This analysis would be equally applicable, if not more so, to subjects such as family law and direct regulation of education.  J  For instance, if Congress can, pursuant to its Commerce Clause power, regulate activities that adversely  J affect the learning environment, then, a fortiori, it also can regulate the educational process directly. Congress could determine that a school's curriculum has a`"   significant effect on the extent of classroom learning. As a result, Congress could mandate a federal curriculum for local elementary and secondary schools because what is taught in local schools has a significant effect  J` on classroom learning, cf. post, at 9, and that, in turn, has a substantial effect on interstate commerce.  J  Justice Breyer rejects our reading of precedent and argues that Congress ... could rationally conclude that  J schools fall on the commercial side of the line. Post, at  J 16. Again, Justice Breyer's rationale lacks any real limits because, depending on the level of generality, any activity can be looked upon as commercial. Under the dissent's rationale, Congress could just as easily look at child rearing as fall[ing] on the commercial side of the line because it provides a valuable service"namely, to equip [children] with the skills they need to survive in  J life and, more specifically, in the workplace. Ibid. We do not doubt that Congress has authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate numerous commercial activities that substantially affect interstate commerce and also affect the educational process. That authority, though broad, does not include the authority to regulate each and every aspect of local schools.  Admittedly, a determination whether an intrastate activity is commercial or noncommercial may in some  J cases result in legal uncertainty. But, s FTN  v XgEpXFr  ff o long as Congress' authority is limited to those powers enumerated in the Constitution, and so long as those enumerated powers are interpreted as having judicially enforceable outer limits, congressional legislation under  JP the Commerce Clause always  FTN   XFrXFr ff will engender legal un J( certainty. Post, at 17. As Chief Justice Marshall  J stated in McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316 (1819):BQ C   , , (  The [federal] government is acknowledged by all to be one of enumerated powers. The principle, that it can exercise only the powers granted to it ... is now universally admitted. But the question respect"  Ԯing the extent of the powers actually granted, is perpetually arising, and will probably continue to  J arise, as long as our system shall exist. Id., at 405.WBQ d   J  ( , , See also Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat., at 195 ( The enumeration presupposes something not enumerated). The Constitution mandates this uncertainty by withholding from Congress a plenary police power that would authorize enactment of every type of legislation. See U.S. Const., Art. I, 8. Congress has operated within this framework of legal uncertainty ever since this Court determined that it was the judiciary's duty to  J say what the law is. Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch. 137, 177 (1803) (Marshall, C. J.). Any possible benefit from eliminating this legal uncertainty would be at the expense of the Constitution's system of enumerated powers.  J  In Jones & Laughlin Steel, 301 U.S., at 37, we held that the question of congressional power under the Commerce Clause is necessarily one of degree. To the same effect is the concurring opinion of Justice Cardozo  J in Schecter Poultry: BQ C  , , (  There is a view of causation that would obliterate the distinction of what is national and what is local in the activities of commerce. Motion at the outer rim is communicated perceptibly, though minutely, to recording instruments at the center. A society such as ours `is an elastic medium which transmits all tremors throughout its territory; the only question is of their size.' !  295 U.S., at 554 (quoting  J United States v. A.L.A. Schecter Poultry Corp, 76 F.2d 617, 624 (CA2 1935) (L. Hand, J., concurring)).BQ d   ( , ,  These are not precise formulations, and in the nature of things they cannot be. But we think they point the way to a correct decision of this case. The possession of"   a gun in a local school zone is in no sense an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, substantially affect any sort of interstate commerce. Respondent was a local student at a local school; there is no indication that he had recently moved in interstate commerce, and there is no requirement that his possession of the firearm have any concrete tie to interstate commerce.  To uphold the Government's contentions here, we would have to pile inference upon inference in a manner that would bid fair to convert congressional authority under the Commerce Clause to a general police power of the sort retained by the States. Admittedly, some of our prior cases have taken long steps down that road, giving great deference to congressional action. See  J supra, at 8. The broad language in these opinions has suggested the possibility of additional expansion, but we decline here to proceed any further. To do so would require us to conclude that the Constitution's enumeration of powers does not presuppose something not enu J merated, cf. Gibbons v. Ogden, supra, at 195, and that there never will be a distinction between what is truly  J national and what is truly local, cf. Jones & Laughlin  Jh Steel, supra, at 30. This we are unwilling to do.  For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the Court of Appeals is  J JzAffirmed.