Sotomayor, J., concurring in part
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 21–468
NATIONAL PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. KAREN ROSS, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE, ET AL.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
[May 11, 2023]
Justice Sotomayor, with whom Justice Kagan joins, concurring in part.
I join all but Parts IV–B and IV–D of Justice Gorsuch’s opinion. Given the fractured nature of Part IV, I write separately to clarify my understanding of why petitioners’ Pike claim fails. In short, I vote to affirm the judgment because petitioners fail to allege a substantial burden on interstate commerce as required by Pike, not because of any fundamental reworking of that doctrine. *** In Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U. S. 137 (1970), the Court distilled a general principle from its prior cases. “Where [a] statute regulates even-handedly to effectuate a legitimate local public interest, and its effects on interstate commerce are only incidental, it will be upheld unless the burden imposed on such commerce is clearly excessive in relation to the putative local benefits.” Id., at 142. Further, “the extent of the burden that will be tolerated will of course depend on the nature of the local interest involved, and on whether it could be promoted as well with a lesser impact on interstate activities.” Ibid.
