Champion v. Ames

Champion v. Ames
Champion v. Ames
	Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 27–28, 1901; Reargued October 16–17, 1901; Reargued December 15–16, 1902; Decided February 23, 1903
Full case name	Charles F. Champion v. John C. Ames, United States Marshal
Citations	188 U.S. 321 (more) 23 S. Ct. 321; 47 L. Ed. 492; 1903 U.S. LEXIS 1283
Case history
Prior	Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois
Holding
	Trafficking lottery tickets constitutes interstate commerce that can be regulated by the U.S. Congress under the Commerce Clause.
Court membership
	Chief Justice Melville Fuller Associate Justices John M. Harlan · David J. Brewer; Henry B. Brown · Edward D. White; Rufus W. Peckham · Joseph McKenna; Oliver W. Holmes Jr.
Case opinions
Majority	Harlan, joined by Brown, White, McKenna, Holmes
Dissent	Fuller, joined by Brewer, Shiras, Peckham

Champion v. Ames, 188 U.S. 321 (1903), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that trafficking lottery tickets constituted interstate commerce that could be regulated by the U.S. Congress under the Commerce Clause.

Background

Congress enacted the Federal Lottery Act in 1895, which prohibited the sending of lottery tickets across state lines. The appellant, Charles Champion, was indicted for shipping Paraguayan lottery tickets from Texas to California. The indictment was challenged on the grounds that the power to regulate commerce does not include the power to prohibit commerce of any item.

Decision of the Supreme Court

Most important in this case was that the Supreme Court recognized that Congress' power to regulate interstate traffic is plenary. That is, the power is complete in and of itself. This wide discretion allowed Congress to regulate traffic as it sees fit, within Constitutional limits, even to the extent of prohibiting goods, as here. This plenary power is distinct from the aggregate-impact theories later espoused in the Shreveport line of cases.

The 5–4 decision upholding the statute was authored by Justice John Marshall Harlan. The dissent by Chief Justice Fuller was joined by Justice Brewer, Justice Shiras, and Justice Peckham. They argued that the Tenth Amendment limited Congress' ability to regulate interstate commerce.^[1]^[2]