Also known as:federal · federally · federal system · division of powers
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional principle establishing the division of authority between the national government and the states. The structure reserves to the states those powers not delegated to the federal government and protects state sovereignty against certain forms of federal compulsion.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
State Officers Resist Federal Directive
State trooper Fiona Foster receives a federal form instructing her to perform background checks on handgun buyers under a new national program. She refuses, citing lack of state legislative authorization. The federal government cannot compel her to administer the program because the anti-commandeering rule bars direct federal orders to state officers.
Defendant Seeks Removal to Federal Court
After Finn Fletcher is sued in state court on a contract claim, he files a notice of removal in the local federal district court within thirty days, attaching all state pleadings. The federal court accepts the case because the statute authorizes defendants to transfer qualifying civil actions from state to federal court.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cases
Statutes
Federal Rules
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Common Law
Restatements
Federal Tax Claim Overrides Spendthrift Trust
A federal tax lien is filed against beneficiary Frederick Ferguson’s interest in a state-created spendthrift trust. The trustee must honor the federal claim to the extent federal law so provides, even though state trust rules would otherwise shield the assets.
Due-on-Sale Clause Enforced After Transfer
Fairview Manufacturing sells its mortgaged factory to Foxfire Biotech without lender consent. The mortgagee accelerates the debt under the due-on-sale clause. Federal law permits enforcement of the clause, overriding any state restriction that would otherwise bar acceleration.
Federal Prosecutor Shares Grand-Jury Material
A federal prosecutor discloses grand-jury testimony to state police officers assisting in a joint investigation of interstate fraud. The state officers may use the material only to help enforce federal criminal law and must keep it confidential under the governing disclosure rule.
Federal Evidence Rule Controls Admissibility
In a federal diversity trial, plaintiff Freya Freeman offers a state-court deposition transcript that state evidence rules would exclude. The federal judge admits the transcript because the Federal Rules of Evidence govern relevance and admissibility unless the Constitution, a federal statute, or another federal rule bars it.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
3
What is the anti-commandeering principle?+
The principle prevents the federal government from issuing directives that require states to address particular problems or from commanding state officers to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.
How does federalism affect removal of state-court cases?+
Federal statutes permit defendants to remove qualifying civil actions from state court to federal district court by filing a timely notice containing a short and plain statement of the grounds for removal together with copies of all process and pleadings.
Does federal law ever override state spendthrift protections?+
Yes. A claim of the United States may be enforced against a trust beneficiary’s interest to the extent a federal statute so provides, even when state law would otherwise protect the interest under a spendthrift provision.
410 U.S. 113 (1973)Constitutional Law
…in the past for violating the State's abortion laws, he makes no allegation of any substantial and immediate threat to any federally protected right that cannot be asserted in his defense against the state prosecutions. Neither is there any allegation of harassment or bad-faith prosecution. In order to escape the rule…