Case Name: Champion v. Ames (U.S. Marshall)
Citation: 188 U.S. 321 (1903)
Key Facts: Congress enacted the Federal Lottery Act in 1895 , which prohibited the buying or selling of lottery tickets across state lines. Champion, was indicted for shipping lottery tickets from Texas to California. He challenged this on the grounds that the power to regulate commerce does not include the power to prohibit commerce of any item.
Holding: Upheld the federal law and rejected a 10th amendment challenge.
Reasoning: “Congress, for the purpose of guarding the people of the United States against the “widespread pestilence of lotteries” and to protect the commerce which concerns all the state, may prohibit the carrying of lottery tickets from one state to another.”