The Oyez Project Virtual Tour of the Supreme Court Building

Abstract

Oral Argument: Tuesday, January 4, 1938
Decision: Monday, February 14, 1938
Categories: commerce clause, regulation, states

Advocates

Frank Coleman (Argued the cause for the appellees)
Thomas W. Davis (Argued the cause for the appellants)
S. King Funkhouser (Argued the cause for the appellees)
Steve C. Griffith (Argued the cause for the appellants)

Facts of the Case

A South Carolina law banned from its state highways trucks which were more than 90 inches wide and weighed over 20,000 pounds.

Question

Did the law impose an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce?

Conclusion

The Court upheld the law. The Court acknowledged that the law posed a burden on interstate commerce. However, regulating state highways is "so peculiarly of local concern." Moreover, Congress had not previously invoked the commerce power to implement national standards on this issue. Hence, South Carolina had the right to act. The law was carefully drawn and applied equally to intrastate and interstate travelers.

Cite this page

The Oyez Project, South Carolina State Highway Dept. v. Barnwell, 303 U.S. 177 (1938),
available at: <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1937/1937_161/>
(last visited ).