1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i The Supreme Court Bets Against Commandeering: Murphy v. NCAA, Sports Gambling, and Federalism May 16, 2018 The Supreme Court recently held in Murphy v. NCAA that a federal law prohibiting states from “authorizi
2、ng” sports gambling unconstitutionally “commandeered” the authority of state legislatures. In an opinion authored by Justice Alito (and joined by six other justices in its central holding), the Court explained that because the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) “unequivoc
3、ally dictates what a state legislature may and may not do” with respect to sports gambling, it impermissibly placed state legislatures “under the direct control of Congress.” In reaching this conclusion, the Court rejected the argument that PASPA represented a valid exercise of Congresss power to pr
4、eempt state law, reasoning that Congress can preempt state law only in the course of directly regulating private actors and not by directly issuing commands to state governments. Legal Background: Preemption and Commandeering The Supreme Court has made clear that the Constitution does not grant the