Constitutional Law—Intra-State Produced and Consumed Wheat under the Commerce Clause

The defendant, who operates a farm in Oklahoma, was notified by the County Committee authorized to administer marketing quotas for wheat under the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 that his farm wheat acreage allotment for 1956 was 0 acres, that his excess acreage of wheat was 43 acres, and that his farm marketing excess—upon which a civil penalty applies—was 473 bushels. Following defendant’s refusal to pay the penalty of $506.11 thus incurred, the United States brought action to recover this penalty. Defendant alleged, by way of affirmative defenses, that the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 is unconstitutional and the conditions precedent to valid establishment of a wheat acreage allotment for defendant’s farm had not been complied with. At the trial, defendant’s evidence did not controvert the complaint’s factual allegations, but defendant testified that he had used all of his farm marketing excess wheat as feed for livestock subsequently marketed in the State of Oklahoma. The district court ruled only on the constitutional question raised by the defendant. It held that the Commerce Clause does not empower Congress to regulate production of wheat which is used as feed on the farm and that the defendant was therefore entitled to judgment. The case was reversed without opinion by the United States Supreme Court

Pennsylvanian and Permian Stratigraphy of the Elk Range, Colorado, Preliminary Report [Abstract]

Sections have been measured at Crystal River Ranch, Thompson Creek, Mount Sopris, Coal Creek and Schofield Park. Maroon and Gothic formation can be recognized in all but the Coal Creek section. The Belden shale is, however, unexposed in these sections. Incomplete sections of Gothic at Crystal River Ranch and Thompson Creek include large amounts of gypsum. At Mt. Sopris, however, only 60 feet of gypsum is present and none was observed at Schofield Park. The Maroon formation increases in thickness from approximately 1900 feet at Glenwood Springs to a maximum of about 7100 feet at Crystal River Ranch. Thereafter it thins rapidly to only 1200 feet at Schofield Park. Several limestones occur within the Maroon between Mt. Sopris and Glenwood Springs but are not present to the south

Constitutionality of State Payment to Relocate Utilities

I. Introduction II. Background III. Relocation as a Necessary Highway Cost IV. Public Purpose Arguments … A. Public Purpose in Nebraska V. Costs of Relocation VI. Other Constitutional Considerations VII. Conclusio

Constitutional Law—Intra-State Produced and Consumed Wheat under the Commerce Clause

The defendant, who operates a farm in Oklahoma, was notified by the County Committee authorized to administer marketing quotas for wheat under the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 that his farm wheat acreage allotment for 1956 was 0 acres, that his excess acreage of wheat was 43 acres, and that his farm marketing excess—upon which a civil penalty applies—was 473 bushels. Following defendant’s refusal to pay the penalty of $506.11 thus incurred, the United States brought action to recover this penalty. Defendant alleged, by way of affirmative defenses, that the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 is unconstitutional and the conditions precedent to valid establishment of a wheat acreage allotment for defendant’s farm had not been complied with. At the trial, defendant’s evidence did not controvert the complaint’s factual allegations, but defendant testified that he had used all of his farm marketing excess wheat as feed for livestock subsequently marketed in the State of Oklahoma. The district court ruled only on the constitutional question raised by the defendant. It held that the Commerce Clause does not empower Congress to regulate production of wheat which is used as feed on the farm and that the defendant was therefore entitled to judgment. The case was reversed without opinion by the United States Supreme Court

Give Peace a Chance—First, Try Coercive Diplomacy

“Coercive diplomacy”—a range of nonmilitary options for increasing the pressure on a recalcitrant state, with credible force in the wings—is at this juncture a better option for the United States than a focus on unilateral intervention to topple the Iraqi regime. It may achieve the same ends, and even if it does not, the substantial attempt should elicit allied and regional support for whatever steps then become necessary

Comparison between crustal density and velocity variations in southern California

We predict gravity from a three-dimensional V_p model of the upper crust and compare it to the observed isostatic residual gravity field. In general this comparison shows that the isostatic residual gravity field reflects the density variations in the upper to middle crust. Both data sets show similar density variations for the upper crust in areas such as the Peninsular Ranges and the Los Angeles basin. Both show similar variations across major faults, such as the San Andreas and Garlock faults in the Mojave Desert. The difference between the two data sets in regions such as the Salton Trough, the Eastern California Shear Zone, and the eastern Ventura basin (where depth to Moho is <30 km), however, suggests high-density middle to lower crust beneath these regions. Hence the joint interpretation of these data sets improves the depth constraints of crustal density variations

Tax Exempt Property in Nebraska: An Analysis of Methods to Control Exemptions

I. Introduction II. History and Philosophy of Property Tax Exemption III. Authority for Exemptions IV. History of Exemptions in Nebraska … A. From 1875 through 1900 … B. From 1901 through 1919 … C. From 1920 through 1929 … D. From 1930 to Present V. Empirical Study … A. Nebraska County Assessors … 1. Results of the Survey … 2. General Comments … B. Survey of Other States … 1. States Requiring Annual Application for Exemption … 2. State Requiring Certification at Intervals of Longer Than One Year … C. Who Should Determine Exempt Status? VI. Proposed Legislatio

Tax Exempt Property in Nebraska: An Analysis of Methods to Control Exemptions

I. Introduction II. History and Philosophy of Property Tax Exemption III. Authority for Exemptions IV. History of Exemptions in Nebraska … A. From 1875 through 1900 … B. From 1901 through 1919 … C. From 1920 through 1929 … D. From 1930 to Present V. Empirical Study … A. Nebraska County Assessors … 1. Results of the Survey … 2. General Comments … B. Survey of Other States … 1. States Requiring Annual Application for Exemption … 2. State Requiring Certification at Intervals of Longer Than One Year … C. Who Should Determine Exempt Status? VI. Proposed Legislatio

Tax Exempt Property in Nebraska: An Analysis of Methods to Control Exemptions

I. Introduction II. History and Philosophy of Property Tax Exemption III. Authority for Exemptions IV. History of Exemptions in Nebraska … A. From 1875 through 1900 … B. From 1901 through 1919 … C. From 1920 through 1929 … D. From 1930 to Present V. Empirical Study … A. Nebraska County Assessors … 1. Results of the Survey … 2. General Comments … B. Survey of Other States … 1. States Requiring Annual Application for Exemption … 2. State Requiring Certification at Intervals of Longer Than One Year … C. Who Should Determine Exempt Status? VI. Proposed Legislatio

The Hector Mine, California, Earthquake of 16 October 1999: Introduction to the Special Issue

The Hector Mine, California, earthquake (M_w 7.1) struck the Mojave Desert at 09:46 UTC, 16 October 1999. The earthquake occurred approximately 55 km northwest of the town of Twentynine Palms, California, and about 200 km east-northeast of Los Angeles (Fig. 1). The shock was widely felt throughout southern California, southern Nevada, western Arizona, and northernmost Baja California, Mexico. The Hector Mine earthquake, like the M_w 7.3 Landers earthquake seven years earlier, was associated with fault rupture in the eastern California shear zone (ECSZ) (Fig. 1), which is an approximately 80-km-wide zone of deformation that accommodates about 24% of the relative Pacific–North American plate motion (Sauber et al., 1986, 1994; Dokka and Travis, 1990; Savage et al., 1990, 2001; Gan et al., 2000; Miller et al., 2001). A block diagram highlighting some of the basic aspects of the Hector Mine earthquake is presented in Figure 2. A preliminary summary of the Hector Mine earthquake, its effects, and the response of the geoscience community is presented by Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey; Southern California Earthquake Center, and California Division of Mines and Geology (USGS, SCEC, and CDMG, 2000)