Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in National Pork Producers v. Ross. The case is about a 2018 California ballot initiative, in which voters decided that the state should prohibit the in-state sale of pork from animals confined in a manner inconsistent with California standards. Opponents of the amendment argue that it violates dormant Commerce Clause jurisprudence. Today on We the People, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law, and Michael McConnell of Stanford Law join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss whether the Interstate Commerce Clause restricts states from regulating in-state conduct that has a substantial impact on mostly out-of-state producers.
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This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Dave Stotz. Research was provided by Sophia Gardell, Liam Kerr, Emily Campbell, Kelsang Dolma, Sam Desai and Lana Ulrich.
Participants
Erwin Chemerinsky is the 13th dean of Berkeley Law. He is the author of 14 books, including leading casebooks and treatises about constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent books are Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights, and The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State. He also is the author of more than 200 law review articles and frequently argues appellate cases, including in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2021, Dean Chemerinsky was named president-elect of the Association of American Law Schools.
Michael McConnell is a professor and director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Professor McConnell has served as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. His most recent book, The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power Under the Constitution was published in late 2020, and his upcoming co-authored book, Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience, will be published in 2022.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
• Listen to oral argument or read the transcript in National Pork Producers v. Ross
• Read Michael McConnell’s amicus brief for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, in support of the pork producers
• Read Erwin Chemerinsky’s amicus brief with other federalism scholars in support of the state of California
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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