Opinion of the Court
The Provision of the Violence Against Women Act Allowing Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence to Sue Their Attackers Is Not Valid
This case was granted certiorari on September 28, 1999, and was reversed on May 15, 2000. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court held that the provision of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 allowing victims of gender-motivated violence to sue their attackers is not a valid exercise of Congress’s lawmaking authority under the Enforcement Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Commerce Clause. The following is excerpted from the summary of the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Rehnquist, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions:Section 13981 cannot be sustained under the Commerce Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment….
