United States v. Morrison and United States v. Lopez

In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act. One provision allowed victims of violent crimes motivated by gender to sue their attackers for money damages in federal court. Before passing the law, Congress held hearings and gathered extensive evidence that this kind of violence cost the national economy billions of dollars a year, partly by discouraging victims from traveling, working, and doing business across state lines.

Christy Brzonkala, a student at Virginia Tech, alleged that two other students had assaulted her, and she sued them in federal court under the new provision. The defendants argued that Congress had no constitutional authority to create it.

In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court agreed with the defendants. The majority held that gender-motivated violence is not economic activity and that its effects on interstate commerce were too indirect to justify federal regulation, even with Congress's findings. The Court said that punishing and providing remedies for violent crime is a power traditionally held by the states. It also rejected the argument that the Fourteenth Amendment gave Congress this power, because that amendment limits the actions of state governments, not private individuals.