No, this story is not by Erle Stanley Gardner. It's by Adam Liptak in the NYT.

The Tea Party's favorite part of the Constitution -- the 10th Amendment, which limits federal power -- arrived at the Supreme Court last week. In keeping with the spirit of the times, it came wrapped in the plot of a soap opera.

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Now the court has decided to consider what to do about a woman hellbent on poisoning her best friend.

The woman, Carol A. Bond of Lansdale, Pa., was at first delighted to learn that her friend was pregnant. Ms. Bond's mood darkened, though, when it emerged that her husband was the father. "I am going to make your life a living hell," she said, according to her now-former friend, Myrlinda Haynes.

Ms. Bond, a microbiologist, certainly tried. On about two dozen occasions, she spread lethal chemicals on her friend's car, mailbox and doorknob.

However, the Question Presented to the U.S. Supreme Court is not whether this crime lies within the power of Congress to prohibit as a federal offense, but only whether Ms. Bond has standing to make that claim. That's a pretty easy question, IMHO.  See prior posts here and here.

Doug Berman has this post at SL&P.