Anti-Commandeering: A Modern Doctrine for a Modern World
From the time of the founding, implementation and enforcement of federal law has been a complicated and debated issue. The anti-commandeering doctrine handed down in Printz v. United States has settled into law the view that the states cannot be forced to carry out such laws directly. In Printz, Justice Scalia asserts a Constitutional basis for the anti-commandeering doctrine and claims that this view can be interpreted from the language of the Constitution. However, this has not been the prevailing view historically. Despite this fact, the doctrine is one that presently helps to organize, govern, and maintain federalism in an expansive and varied republic.
