Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association
Amicus Brief of Pacific Legal Foundation, Competitive Enterprise Institute and Cato Institute in Support of Petitioners
The Competitive Enterprise Institute joined the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) and the Cato Institute in an amicus brief supporting a New Jersey challenge to a federal prohibition on the state’s ability to repeal its own sports gambling ban.
The amicus brief, filed November 14, 2016, argues that the federal law violates the Constitution’s prohibition against federal “commandeering” of states, because the law requires states to enforce it. The New Jersey lawsuit urges the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the federal statute now in dispute.
“A federal statute compels New Jersey to continue prohibiting sports gambling, thus requiring the state to hold long after its voters decided to fold.,” the amicus brief states. In urging the Supreme Court to set limits on federal commandeering, the brief concludes by noting that “it took the Cubs 108 years to win another World Series [but] this Court need not wait that long to clarify this important doctrinal area.”
Petitioners in the case include the Governor of the State of New Jersey, David L. Rebuck, Frank Zanzuccki, New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Inc., and New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority.