The Supreme Court, federalism, and social policy: The new judicial activism

The Supreme Court is entering a new era, discarding long-standing legal doc trines to reshape the relationship between the states and the federal gover nment. Paralleling trends in the legislative and executive branches of gove rnment, the Court is constructing its own version of devolution. Through a reinterpretation of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which is the a nchor for many of our civil rights and social welfare laws, the Court has s everely curtailed the power of the federal government to enact progressive legislation. This article provides an overview of this new judicial doctrin e and discusses its implications for social welfare policy.