Business Quote by Alex Kozinski
![“[Y]ou wonder why anyone would make the mistake of calling it the Commerce Clause instead of the 'Hey, you -can-do-whatever-you-feel-like Clause?” quote by Alex Kozinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c6c/alex-kozinski-26609_business_y-ou-wonder-why-anyone-would-make-the-mi_2380109.jpg)
“[Y]ou wonder why anyone would make the mistake of calling it the Commerce Clause instead of the 'Hey, you -can-do-whatever-you-feel-like Clause?”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Judicial conference, 2015
The speaker humorously critiques the vague naming of the Commerce Clause, suggesting it sounds like a permissive, arbitrary rule.
In simple terms: Mocks the name of the Commerce Clause.
Key Takeaway
Question vague legal terminology.
Themes
law
interpretation
humor
Mood
witty
critical
Type
legal commentary
satire
When to use this quote
- courtrooms
- law school lectures
- policy debates
Key Concepts
constitutional law
legal language
judicial critique
Questions to Reflect On
- How does naming affect legal perception?
- What are the implications of vague statutes?
A Different Perspective
Humor may oversimplify complex legal concepts.
![“It is very certain that [the commerce clause] grew out of the abuse of the power by the importing States in taxing the non-importing, and was intended as a negative and preventive provision against injustice among the States themselves, rather than as a power to be used for the positive purposes…” quote by James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a6a/james-madison-373_abuse_it-is-very-certain-that-the-commerce-cla_2618720.jpg)
![“In a very real sense, the Constitution is our compact with history . . . [but] the Constitution can maintain that compact and serve as the lodestar of our political system only if its terms are binding on us. To the extent we depart from the document's language and rely instead on generalities…” quote by Alex Kozinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/57c/alex-kozinski-26609_between-the-lines_in-a-very-real-sense-the-constitution-is_1028882.jpg)
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)