Pierce County, Washington v. Ignacio Guillen, Legal Guardian of Jennifer Guillen and Alma Guillen, Minors, et al. (537 U.S. 129)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 14, 2003 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 537 U.S. 129 · 123 S. Ct. 720
- Decided
- January 14, 2003
- Term
- October Term 2002
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. We address in this case whether 23 U. S. C. §409, which protects information “compiled or collected” in connection with certain federal highway safety programs from being discovered or admitted in certain federal or state trials, is a valid exercise of Congress’ authority under the Constitution. I A Beginning with the Highway Safety Act of 1966, Congress has endeavored to improve the safety of our Nation’s highways by encouraging closer federal and state cooperation with respect to road improvement projects. To that end, Congress has adopted several programs to assist the States in identifying highways in need of improvements and in funding those improvements. See, e. g., 23 U. S. C. §§ 130 (Railway-Highway Crossings), 144 (Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program), and 152 (Hazard Elimination Program). Of relevance to this case is the Hazard Elimination Program (Program) which provides state and local governments with funding to improve the most dangerous sections of their roads. To be eligible for funds under the Program, a state or local government must undertake a thorough evaluation of its public roads. Specifically, § 152(a)(1) requires them to “conduct and systematically maintain an engineering survey of all public roads to identify hazardous locations, sections, and elements, including roadside obstacles…
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