Perez v. United States

Decided April 26, 1971. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 600 · 402 U.S. 146 (1971) · Cited 647 times

Holding

Title II of the Consumer Credit Protection Act is within Congress' power under the Commerce Clause to control activities affecting interstate commerce and Congress' findings are adequate to support its conclusion that loan sharks who use extortionate means to collect payments on loans are in a class largely controlled by organized crime with a substantially adverse effect on interstate commerce.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Darby · 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
• Katzenbach v. McClung · 379 U.S. 294 (1964)
• Wickard v. Filburn · 317 U.S. 111 (1942)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States · 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
• United States v. Wrightwood Dairy Co. · 315 U.S. 110 (1942)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Maryland v. Wirtz · 392 U.S. 183 (1968)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Gonzales v. Raich · 545 U.S. 1 (2005)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• United States v. Morrison · 529 U.S. 598 (2000)
• Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers · 531 U.S. 159 (2001)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• Hodel v. Indiana · 452 U.S. 314 (1981)
• Citizens Bank v. Alafabco, Inc. · 539 U.S. 52 (2003)
• Gulf Oil Corp. v. Copp Paving Co. · 419 U.S. 186 (1974)
• United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority · 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming · 460 U.S. 226 (1983)
• Sabri v. United States · 541 U.S. 600 (2004)
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Mississippi · 456 U.S. 742 (1982)
• Russell v. United States · 471 U.S. 858 (1985)
• Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue · 483 U.S. 232 (1987)
• Douglas v. Seacoast Products, Inc. · 431 U.S. 265 (1977)
• Pierce County v. Guillen · 537 U.S. 129 (2003)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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William Orville Douglas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1971). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).