THE REHNQUIST COURT AND FEDERAL PREEMPTION - IN SEARCH OF A THEORY

In the 1980s, the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to become more solic itous of ''states' rights ''and to reconsider doctrines of federal pre emption of state and local laws. Those expectations were built on the Court's ruling in National League of Cities v. Usery and reinforced by the Reagan administration's rhetoric and Court appointments. The reco rd of the Rehnquist Court however, demonstrates that if has backed awa y from vigorously enforcing the Tenth Amendment and has erected only m inor constitutional barriers, as in New York v. United States, to the Congress' power over the states. Moreover, the Court has not retreated from finding implied statutory preemptions or from imposing its own d ormant-commerce clause power on the states. The article concludes by c onsidering a number of explanations for the Court's record and rulings on federal preemption.