The Supreme Court has declared open season on American manufacturers.

In its Wyeth decision, the Supreme Court has gutted "federal preemption," one of the few remaining protections against state interference in the national economy.

Corporate defendants won a narrow 5-4 victory when the Supreme Court found federal preemption of state tort law in Geier v. American Honda Motor Co.

State tort law, not legislation, now produces the most serious impositions on interstate commerce and on sister states.

The Justice Department should contribute to reorientating the Supreme Court to a constitutional outlook.

The Supreme Court's 2008-2009 term brought modest progress on civil rights, a personnel change that is unlikely to alter the Court's balance, and massive confusion and backpedaling on "business cases."

Judging by the past term, the Supreme Court believes strongly in federalism, but the issue most in need of revision is the federal preemption of state law, especially tort law.

The decisions of the present Court appear to reflect less of a fidelity to an agenda or a desired outcome than they do to the textual and structural dictates of the Constitution.