Cooley Takeaway

 

Takeaway: Here is how one commentator summarizes the so-called “Cooley Rule:”

“The Cooley doctrine looks to the nature of the subject of the challenged regulation as the crucial factor in determining its validity. The doctrine of selective exclusiveness [of national power to regulate commerce] states that, if the item is such that national uniformity is necessitated, then Congressional power is exclusive. If, on the other hand, the item is a matter of a peculiarly local concern…allowing a diversity of treatment, then states may regulate the area, in the absence of congressional preemption.” [Nowak & Rotunda, at 177-178]