National League of Cities v. Usery

At the time, National League of Cities v. Usery seemed a harbinger of a new era of federalism on the part of the Court. There may have been a rising tide of sentiment in favor of state governments, but the decision itself only stood for nine years. In 1985, the Court heard the case of Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, which again involved the commerce power of Congress to impose a minimum wage law on a city. The Court upheld the commerce power, thus overturning its ruling in Usery. This time Brennan was in the majority, along with fellow Usery dissenters Marshall, Stevens, and White. Blackmun, who had earlier indicated reservations about the Usery decision, proved to be the swing vote. The dissenting minority was composed of the remaining members of the Usery majority, along with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had replaced Justice Stewart. But the final decision had not yet been made with regard to the Tenth Amendment: in New York v. United States (1992), the Court again ruled in favor of a state against Congress, finding that a federal mandate involving hazardous waste disposal constituted a violation of congressional power. In the case, O'Connor cited Wirtz, Usery and other rulings as indication of the Court's "unsteady path" with regard to Tenth Amendment issues.