Police power (United States constitutional law)
In
Police power is exercised by the legislative and executive branches of the various states through the enactment and
Most criminal cases are prosecuted in the name of the governmental authority that promulgates criminal statutes and enforces the police power of the state with the goal of seeking criminal sanctions.
Origins
The authority for use of police power under American Constitutional law has its roots in
Massachusetts law
This section may not provide balanced coverage on United States. (July 2017) |
Due to the nebulous definition of the police power, restrictions on its use are few and far between. In Commonwealth v. Alger, Chief Justice
Supreme Court rulings
Federal police power has been defined by Supreme Court rulings. In affirming that Congress has limited power to enact legislation, the court ruled in United States v. Lopez (1995) that "The Constitution...withhold[s] from Congress a plenary police power that would authorize enactment of every type of legislation."[6][7] In United States v. Morrison (2000), the court invalidated a provision of a federal law on violent crime. The court stated, "The regulation and punishment of intrastate violence that is not directed at the instrumentalities, channels, or goods involved in interstate commerce has always been the province of the States...[W]e can think of no better example of the police power, which the Founders denied the National Government and reposed in the States, than the suppression of violent crime..."[6][8]
Basis of United States land-use planning authority
The police power is the basis for land-use planning authority in the United States. This authority is usually delegated by state governments to local governments, including counties and municipalities, which most frequently exercise police power in land-use planning matters. Such regulation based on police power is distinct from the government's taking of private property through the power of eminent domain—under the authority of the police power, a private property owner is not typically entitled to compensation. The decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the case Commonwealth v. Alger (1851) was related to land-use planning and dealt with the construction of a wharf on privately-owned tidelands around Boston Harbor.[9]
See also
- United States Constitution
- Eminent domain
- Jacobson v. Massachusetts
- Commonwealth v. Alger
- Peace, order, and good government
References
- ^ "Police Power". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
- ISBN 9780415252256.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-312078-0.
- ISBN 978-0-14-312078-0.
- ^ Galva, Jorge E., Christopher Atchinson, and Samuel Levey. "Public Health Strategy and the Police Powers of the State." Public Health Reports 120.1 (2005): 20–27. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
- ^ a b "Federal Police Power". cornell.edu. Cornell Law School. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "United States v. Lopez (93-1260), 514 U.S. 549 (1995)". cornell.edu. Cornell Law School. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "529 U.S. 598". cornell.edu. Cornell Law School. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- OCLC 50480259.