Also known as: alliances · allianced · alliancing · pact · coalition
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal agreement between states or nations to cooperate toward shared objectives. The Constitution bars states from forming such arrangements without congressional consent.
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Governor Arthur Abrams of State X signs a mutual defense and trade agreement with State Y. The compact commits both states to coordinate tariffs and military resources. Congress never approves the arrangement. A federal court invalidates the agreement under the constitutional prohibition.
Azure Solutions partners with another firm in a joint venture labeled an alliance. A jury awards punitive damages against the alliance for deceptive practices. The award greatly exceeds the actual harm shown. The reviewing court reduces the award after applying the due process guideposts.
Audrey Ashton joins a youth organization that maintains an alliance policy on leadership standards. The group removes her after learning of her outside affiliations. She sues claiming the policy violates her rights. The court upholds the organization's freedom to define its alliance criteria.
Albert Allen forms an alliance with neighboring owners to pool coal rights. State regulators later restrict mining to protect surface structures. The alliance challenges the rules as a taking. The court sustains the restrictions as a valid exercise of police power.
Alexandra Armstrong leads a union alliance negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. The employer refuses to arbitrate grievances under the pact. The union sues in federal court. The court enforces the agreement and orders arbitration.
Antonio Alvarado and his partner form a private alliance and challenge a state criminal statute. They argue the law intrudes on personal liberty. The state defends the statute as protecting traditional values. The court strikes down the law as violating due process.
Article I Section 10 bars states from entering any treaty, alliance, or confederation without congressional consent. The prohibition prevents states from exercising foreign affairs powers that belong to the national government.
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The clause covers any alliance or confederation, formal or informal, that commits a state to coordinated action with another state or foreign power. Courts look to the substance of the arrangement rather than its label.
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States may enter agreements or compacts with congressional consent. The key distinction is whether the arrangement functions as an alliance that affects the national government's foreign affairs authority.
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…R. Weiser; for Professors of History by Roy T. Englert, Jr., Alan Untereiner, and Sherri Lynn Wolson; for the Republican Unity Coalition et al. by Erik S. Jaffe; and for Mary Robinson et al. by Harold Hongju Koh and Joseph F. Tringali. Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the State of Alabama et al. by…