U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Local Governments

by Carolyn Coleman

U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Local Governments

by Carolyn Coleman

On April 30th, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down two rulings favorable to local governments. NLC joined amicus briefs in support of the prevailing parties in both cases.

In Scott v. Harris, the court ruled that a police officer’s attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death.
 
In this case, a Coweta, Ga., deputy sheriff flashed his lights at a motorist driving approximately 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. Rather than slow down to a stop, the motorist attempted to flee, accelerating to speeds of at least 90 miles per hour, crossing double yellow traffic control lines to pass vehicles, and driving through at least two red lights. Another deputy sheriff joined the chase, and after roadblocks failed to stop the motorist, that deputy requested permission to stop the escape by ramming his vehicle into the fleeing vehicle. After receiving permission, the deputy rammed the motorist’s vehicle from behind, which caused the motorist to lose control of his vehicle and crash. The crash left the motorist a quadriplegic, and he filed suit claiming that the deputy’s actions constituted excessive force resulting in an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

In reversing the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court concluded that the deputy’s actions were reasonable under the circumstances and rejected the motorist’s argument that safety could have been assured if the police had simply ceased their pursuit.

In United Haulers Assn., Inc. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, the court ruled that a flow control ordinance that required private haulers to obtain permits to collect solid waste in the counties and to deliver the waste to the counties’ waste management authority’s sites did not discriminate against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause.  The Commerce Clause states that only Congress can erect barriers to trade between the states.

Historically, trash collection and disposal in Oneida and Herkimer counties in upstate New York were carried out by private companies. In the late 1980s, as a result of increasing federal and state environmental regulation and enforcement, the counties changed their methods and devised a comprehensive waste management system. To assist the counties, the state enacted a law creating a combined waste management authority, and both counties enacted flow control ordinances that required trash picked up in the counties to be delivered to the authority’s sites for disposal. The haulers argued that the ordinances stifled competition and that without them, they could dispose of solid waste in out-of state facilities for far less money.

In writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that disposing of waste has been a traditional government activity for years, and “compelling reasons justify treating such laws differently from laws favoring particular businesses over their competitors.”

“There is no reason to step in and hand local businesses a victory they could not obtain through the political process,” Roberts wrote. “It bears mentioning that the most palpable harm imposed by the ordinances — more expensive trash removal — is likely to fall upon the very people who voted for the law.”