Strange Career of VAWA: Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Shift from Political to Constitutional Federalism 1990-2000
![handle is hein.journals/jlp16 and id is 509 raw text is: Note: The Strange Career of VAWA: Chief Justice
Rehnquist and the Shift from Political to
Constitutional Federalism 1990-2000
It is my view that [T]itle III should bring only a small number of cases
into federal court. Indeed, I intend for its primary purpose to be the symbolic
recognition that violence against women is a national tragedy that warrants
the commitment of our National Government.
- SenatorJoseph E. BidenJr.1
[VA WA 's] broad definition of criminal conduct is so apen-ended, and the
new private right of action so sweeping, that the legislation could involve the
federal courts in a whole host of domestic relations disputes.... Again, I
urge Congress to consider carefully these concerns, which are shared across the
spectrum of the nation'sfederal and state judiciary.
- ChiefJustice William H. Rehnquist2
Congress may have recognized this specter when it expressly precluded §
13981 from being used in the family law context.... Under our written
Constitution, however, the limitation of congressional authority is not solely a
matter of legislative grace... The Constitution requires a distinction
between what is truly national and truly local.
- United States v. Morrison3
1140 CONG. REc. 63, S6102 (daily ed. May 19, 1994) (statement of Sen. Biden putting in
record a speech given by the Senator to the Third CircuitJudicial Conference).
2 William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice's 1991 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, THE
THIRD BRANCH,Jan. 1992, at 3 [hereinafter Rehnquist, 1991 Report].
3 120 S. Ct. 1740 (2000).
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Strange Career of VAWA: Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Shift from Political to Constitutional Federalism 1990-2000
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