Also known as: paramount laws · supreme law · highest law
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A foundational principle establishing the United States Constitution as the highest law that binds all courts and officials. Courts must apply the Constitution over any conflicting state or federal statute.
The Wyoming Restaurant Association challenged a state health code that banned food additives already approved under a federal program with uniform national standards. Officials had enforced the state ban against restaurants serving meals to customers. The court held that the federal approval controlled and the state code could not be applied.
Gretchen filed a state-court claim alleging violations of labor protections in an international digital trade pact. The President issued a memorandum directing state agencies to enforce the pact directly. The Department of Labor declined to apply the pact because Congress had passed no implementing legislation.
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Earl claimed overtime under an international labor-standards agreement that contained an express non-self-executing declaration. A presidential memorandum directed the Department of Homeland Security to enforce the agreement in state wage disputes. The hearing officer applied only State A labor statutes because the agreement lacked domestic effect.
The Bank of the United States operated a branch in Maryland after Congress chartered it under the Necessary and Proper Clause. Maryland imposed a tax on the bank that would have impaired its operations. The Court held that the federal charter controlled and the state tax could not stand.
The President issued an order directing the Secretary of Commerce to seize and operate steel mills during a labor dispute. Steel companies challenged the order as lacking statutory or constitutional authority. The Court held that the order could not override existing legal constraints on executive power.
New York granted Aaron Ogden an exclusive license to operate steamboats between New York and New Jersey. Thomas Gibbons operated under a federal coasting license on the same route. The Court held that the federal license controlled and the state monopoly could not be enforced.
The state law must yield because the Supremacy Clause establishes federal law as the supreme law of the land. A state health code banning an additive that federal policy affirmatively approves creates a direct conflict that invalidates the state measure.
No. A non-self-executing treaty has no domestic legal effect absent implementing legislation from Congress. The President cannot direct state agencies or courts to enforce such a treaty through a memorandum alone.
No. Treaties and executive agreements are not co-equal with the Constitution and cannot authorize action that violates constitutional limits. An agreement that purports to override those limits exceeds permissible scope.
No. A non-self-executing treaty has no domestic legal effect absent implementing legislation from Congress. The President cannot direct state agencies or courts to enforce such a treaty through a memorandum alone.
…in its powers, is supreme within its sphere of action, and its laws, when made in pursuance of the Constitution, form the supreme law of the land. There is nothing in the Constitution similar to the Articles of Confederation which excludes incidental or implied powers. If the end be legitimate and within the scope of the…