Also known as: law of the land
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The supreme law of the land consisting of the Constitution, federal statutes enacted pursuant to it, and treaties made under United States authority. This body of law binds every state and federal judge and official notwithstanding any contrary state constitution or statute.
Linden Bank, chartered under federal law, refuses to honor a State A statute requiring disclosure of customer data to state regulators. The bank cites a conflicting federal banking statute. A State A court must apply the federal statute as lex terrae and dismiss the state enforcement action.
Lily Lopez, convicted in state court, seeks to reopen her case under a bilateral treaty the United States ratified but never implemented by statute. The President issues a memorandum directing state courts to grant relief. The state court denies the motion because the treaty supplies no domestic lex terrae without congressional action.
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Lumen Capital operates a federally chartered bank in Maryland. The state imposes a tax on the bank's notes. The bank challenges the tax as conflicting with federal law. The court holds that the federal charter forms part of lex terrae and invalidates the state tax.
Lakewood Manufacturing's property is taken by the City of Chicago for a public project. The city offers compensation below the federal constitutional standard. The owner sues, and the court applies the federal just-compensation rule as lex terrae to require full payment.
Lillian Locke claims title under a federal treaty interpretation that conflicts with a state court ruling on the same land. The state court must yield because the treaty, as part of lex terrae, supplies the controlling rule of decision.
Lucia Lopez, an employee at West Coast Hotel, sues under a state minimum-wage statute that conflicts with a later federal labor standard. The court applies the federal statute as lex terrae and holds the state law unenforceable to the extent of the conflict.
No. Non-self-executing treaties do not become part of the supreme law of the land until Congress enacts implementing legislation. A presidential memorandum alone cannot give them domestic effect.
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No. The Constitution remains the supreme law of the land. Executive agreements cannot authorize conduct that violates specific constitutional guarantees such as the Fourth or Fifth Amendments.
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State law yields. Judges in every state are bound by the Constitution, federal statutes made pursuant to it, and treaties, any contrary state provision notwithstanding.
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…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…