The Virtue of Vagueness: A Defense of South Dakota v. Dole

Abstract

This note assesses the United States Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Dole, assessing whether or not any of the limits articulated on the scope of Congress's Spending Clause power provides a meaningful check on its authority. It ultimately determines that the case's prohibition on undue coercion presents the most meaningful limitation of Commerce's Spending Clause authority. Though this limitation is exceedingly vague and has seldom been used to strike down legislation, the note concludes that it places Congress on notice that its Spending Clause powers are not unbounded and achieves the most effective limit possible in an area characterized by an inherently precarious balance between competing normative values.

Keywords: Spending Clause, Commerce Clause, South Dakota v. Dole