1. Wickard v. Filburn, (1942)
2. Facts: Filburn was a farmer who grew wheat both for sale and for his own use. Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, Filburn was fined for producing too much wheat for his own consumption.
3. Procedural Posture: Filburn sought enjoinder of the fine, and sued the Secretary of Agriculture, Wickard. The lower court granted the injunction on other grounds, and Wickard appealed.
4. Issue: Whether Congress has the power to regulate the production of wheat for consumption by the farmer, apart from the sale of such wheat commercially.
5. Holding: Yes.
6. ∏ Argument: The Congress does not have the power under the commerce clause to regulate the production and consumption of wheat because these activities are local in character and, at most, have an indirect effect on interstate commerce.
7. ∆ Argument: The statute does not regulate production or consumption of wheat, but only marketing; and even if it goes beyond marketing, it is “necessary and proper” in this case.
8. Majority Reasoning: The court discarded the “direct-indirect” approach of Gibbons v. Ogden for a more encompassing approach. Whether an activity had a local is only one of the facts upon which a decision should be based. The test should be based on whether the activity has a “substantial economic effect” on interstate commerce. The consumption of homegrown wheat causes extreme volatility in the national market because it is so variable. Although the effect of one farmer may trivial, he is part of a nationwide market, where the overall effect is not trivial. Since this activity has a substantial economic effect on the interstate wheat market, Congress has the power to regulate it.
