Federalism Fights Back

During the 1990s, one of the favorite rallying cries of conservatives such as John Ashcroft was states rights and federalism. They howled when federal courts would overturn state laws, particularly those enacted via referendum, because they violated the US Constitution. Locals should be allowed some leeway, they said. So what is one of Ashcroft's first major acts in office? He issued a directive interpreting federal drug laws that designated physician assisted suicide, as legally practiced in Oregon, not a "legitimate medical purpose." If Oregon doctors prescribed controlled substances for that purpose, they faced prosecution and loss of their ability to prescribe drugs (and therefore their livelihood). The irony of a "states rights" conservative doing this was apparently lost on Ashcroft. All this took place less than two months after 9/11, by the way.

Today, in the Ninth Circuit, federalism fought back. The court invalidated the directive because it exceeded the Attorney General's power and interfered with an area of law that has been left to the states. The 2-1 opinion, which you can read here, is surely now on its way to the Supreme Court.