Eighth Circuit Invalidates Initiative 300: UPDATE

Jones v. Gale, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 30588 (8th Cir. Dec. 13, 2006)

The eighth circuit invalidated Initiative 300, the Nebraska Anti Corporate Farming statute recently. Six people with interests in Nebraska farmland filed suit against the state, alleging that the statute violated the 'Dormant Commerce' clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Dormant commerce analysis, once thought to be the bane of all law students, now seems to be gaining ground. Simply stated, laws that unduly burden or discriminate against interstate commerce are invalid under dormant commerce clause analysis. The court found that Initiative 300 was both facially discriminatory and invalid because of its discriminatory intent.