Champion v. Ames

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Champion v. Ames

Argued February 27 – 28, 1901
Reargued October 16 – 17, 1901
Reargued December 15 – 16, 1902
Decided February 23, 1903


Full case name:	Charles F. Champion v. John C. Ames, United States Marshal

Citations:	188 U.S. 321; 23 S. Ct. 321; 47 L. Ed. 492; 1903 U.S. LEXIS 1283

Prior history:	Appeal from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois

Holding

The Court held that traffic in lottery tickets did constitute interstate commerce that could be regulated by the U.S. Congress under the Commerce Clause.

Court membership

Chief Justice: Melville Fuller
Associate Justices: John Marshall Harlan, David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, George Shiras, Jr., Edward Douglass White, Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Joseph McKenna, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Case opinions

Majority by: Harlan
Joined by: Brown, White, McKenna, Holmes
Dissent by: Fuller
Joined by: Brewer, Shiras, Peckham

Champion v. Ames, 188 U.S. 321 (1903)^[1], was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that traffic in lottery tickets constituted interstate commerce that could be regulated by the U.S. Congress under the Commerce Clause.

Congress had enacted a law in 1895 that prohibited the transportation of lottery tickets across state lines, a violation of which the appellant was convicted. The 5-4 decision upholding the statute was authored by John Marshall Harlan. The dissent by Chief Justice Fuller was joined by Justice Brewer, Justice Shiras, and Justice Peckham.