The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to hear the case filed by the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) after receiving support from 20 state attorneys general and the Department of Justice.
NAMI sought review en banc, meaning with all Ninth Circuit judges’ participation rather than the usual partial panel. Without the requested en banc review, the Ninth Circuit “renders this bedrock principle a dead letter in the Circuit by holding that it applies only to ‘price control or price affirmation statute[s].’”
NAMI lawyers argued Prop 12 violates the Commerce Clause because it regulates commerce outside California’s borders, protects producers in the state from out-of-state competition, and “imposes massive burdens on interstate commerce that vastly exceed any local benefits.” The last step to overturn the proposition is to file a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.
