Also known as: national governments · federal government · central government
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The government of an entire country, as distinguished from that of a province, state, subdivision, or territory of the country.
Nestor Navarro, a parent in the District of Columbia, sued federal officials after his children were denied admission to integrated public schools. The national government defended the segregation policy as outside the reach of the Equal Protection Clause. The court applied the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause to strike down the federal practice as grossly unreasonable discrimination.
Neville Norton, a county sheriff, refused a federal directive to perform handgun purchaser background checks under a new statute. State officials argued the national government could not commandeer local law enforcement. The court invalidated the federal requirement as violating the anti-commandeering principle.
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Noreen Nguyen and her spouse, married under state law, sought federal benefits denied by a statute excluding same-sex couples. The national government defended the definition as within its authority. The court held the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause barred the federal exclusion of state-recognized marriages.
Nina Nielsen, a bank teller, processed a U.S. Treasury check with an allegedly forged endorsement. The national government sought a uniform federal rule rather than varying state standards. The court applied federal common law to determine negotiability because the check implicated uniquely federal interests.
Naveen Nanda operated a federally chartered bank in Maryland. The state imposed a tax targeting the national government's instrumentality. The court struck down the tax because the national government possesses implied powers to create such entities free from state interference.
Nicole Navarro was prosecuted under a federal statute for possessing a firearm near a school. She argued the national government lacked authority over local criminal activity. The court invalidated the law because it exceeded Congress's enumerated commerce power.
The Constitution grants the national government only enumerated powers. Powers not delegated to the national government and not denied to the states remain with the states or the people. State regulation of local utilities, education curriculum, and ethics rules for state officials therefore remains valid absent a valid federal statute that preempts or commands otherwise.
No. The national government may neither issue directives requiring the states to address particular problems nor command state officers to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program. Provisions requiring state law enforcement to conduct background checks or state port officials to certify compliance therefore violate the anti-commandeering doctrine.
No. The national government holds only enumerated powers. General regulation of public education curriculum and intrastate energy generation mix falls within the states' reserved police power unless Congress has enacted a valid statute that preempts state authority.
Federal common law may supply the rule of decision when an issue implicates uniquely federal interests, such as the negotiability of checks payable by the United States. A uniform federal standard applies rather than varying state laws to protect the federal fisc and ensure consistent treatment of federal commercial paper.
…Two Terms ago, in United States v. Windsor , 570 U. S. (2013), this Court invalidated DOMA to the extent it barred the Federal Government from treating same-sex marriages as valid even when they were lawful in the State where they were licensed. DOMA, the Court held, impermissibly disparaged those same-sex couples “who wanted…