Thursday, July 26, 2007

Bouncing Shoes

I'm certain that this law is stupid but I'm also pretty certain that it's against the Constitution:

The Supreme Court of California Monday barred athletic shoe maker Adidas from selling shoes made from kangaroo leather in California, reversing a lower court's decision.

California does not allow products made from kangaroos to be sold or imported into the state, but Adidas had claimed that the state law conflicted with the aims of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, which sought to support Australian efforts to control kangaroos. The expanding population of the jumping marsupials has become a problem for Australia.

Forget the Australian thing: why should it be illegal to make shoes from kangaroos?

"When the federal government decides not to protect a species, the state can still do so," said HSUS counsel Jonathan Lovvorn, explaining the ruling. "What Adidas was saying was when the federal government decides not to protect a species, the state can't protect it either. That was squarely rejected by the court."

A spokeswoman for Adidas wrote in an e-mail that the company expects to ultimately prevail in the matter, but did not clarify further. Other legal matters related to the case now will be sent back to the appeals court.

As soon as this gets to the Federal Courts it'll come up against the Interstate Commerce Clause. If it's legal to sell them in Arizona then Ca can't band them.

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