Also known as: ley de la terre · lex terrae · law of the land
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A phrase denoting the body of law in force within a jurisdiction, including the Constitution, federal statutes made in pursuance of it, and treaties made under U.S. authority. This body constitutes the supreme law that binds judges and officials in every state, prevailing over any conflicting state constitution or law.
Landon Long, a state trial judge in State A, faces a criminal sentencing dispute in which a ratified federal treaty requires specific procedures. Long applies the treaty terms directly because they form part of the supreme law binding on state courts, overriding any contrary state procedural statute.
Luke Latham, a state corrections official, receives a presidential memorandum directing him to reopen cases under a non-self-executing treaty. Latham refuses because the treaty lacks implementing legislation and therefore supplies no domestic legal effect that state officers must follow.
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Leonard Lowe, a juvenile court judge, must decide whether a delinquency finding requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Lowe applies the federal constitutional standard because it constitutes the supreme law that state judges are bound to follow in criminal proceedings.
Lucia Lopez, a county clerk, receives applications for marriage licenses from same-sex couples. Lopez issues the licenses because the federal constitutional right to marry is the supreme law that displaces any conflicting state statute or constitutional provision.
Lance Lee, a state appellate judge, reviews a land-title dispute previously decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Lee treats the federal judgment as controlling because it represents the supreme law of the land that state courts must respect under the Supremacy Clause.
Logan Lane, a state tax collector, attempts to impose a state tax on a federally chartered bank operating within the state. The state tax is invalid because federal law creating the bank is the supreme law of the land and cannot be obstructed by state taxation.
No. Non-self-executing treaties do not become part of the supreme law of the land and cannot be enforced domestically without congressional action.
No. Treaties and executive agreements occupy the same level as federal statutes and cannot authorize governmental action that violates express constitutional guarantees.
State law must yield. The Supremacy Clause makes the Constitution, federal statutes, and treaties the supreme law that binds state judges and officials.
…or in any way destroyed, nor will We proceed against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of the land.” Magna Carta, ch. 39, in A. Howard, Magna Carta: Text and Commentary 43 (1964). Although the 1215 version of Magna Carta was in effect for only a few weeks, this provision was later…