Also known as: sovereign power · sovereignty
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Power that is absolute and uncontrolled within its own sphere. Within its designated limits, its exercise and effective operation do not depend on, and are not subject to, the power of any other person and cannot be prevented or annulled by any other power recognized within the constitutional system.
State officials in several covered states prepared new polling-site regulations for medical facilities. Federal authorities demanded preclearance only from those states based on 1970s findings while leaving all other states free to proceed. The states asserted that their sovereign political power over election administration could not be subjected to such selective external control without fresh justification.
Maryland imposed a tax on notes issued by the federally chartered bank operating within its borders. State legislators maintained that their sovereign political power to tax all entities doing business inside the state could not be overridden by federal charter alone. The bank challenged the levy as an impermissible interference with national authority.
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The City of New London approved the taking of private homes to assemble land for a private development project expected to increase tax revenue. Property owners argued that the city's sovereign political power to condemn land for public use did not extend to transfers that primarily benefit another private party. The city defended the action as a valid exercise of its independent authority within state limits.
A high-school senior carried a concealed handgun onto school grounds in violation of a federal statute. Prosecutors invoked national authority to regulate activities affecting interstate commerce. The student countered that the states retain sovereign political power to handle purely local criminal matters without federal overlay.
New York enacted a statute capping the number of hours bakers could work each week. Bakery owners claimed the law intruded on their liberty of contract and exceeded the state's sovereign political power to protect public health. State officials defended the measure as an exercise of independent authority over working conditions within its borders.
An Oregon court entered a judgment against a nonresident defendant who owned property in the state and ordered a sheriff's sale to satisfy the debt. The purchaser at the sale later defended title in federal court. The original owner argued that the state lacked sovereign political power to adjudicate claims against absent parties without personal service.
Sovereign political power operates without dependence on or subjection to any other recognized authority within its sphere. Subordinate political power remains subject to external constitutional control that can prevent, restrict, or annul its operation.
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The Tenth Amendment reserves to the states powers not delegated to the United States. Principles of equal sovereignty require extraordinary justification before Congress may impose disparate treatment on some states but not others.
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Congress may attach conditions to federal funds that states are free to accept or reject. Conditions that effectively commandeer state officials or rest on outdated coverage formulas exceed this authority and violate equal sovereignty principles.
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Express congressional authorization can permit states to impose surcharges on out-of-state waste. Without such authorization, state measures that burden interstate commerce violate the Dormant Commerce Clause.
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…premise was that the Constitution created a form of government under which "The people, not the government, possess the absolute sovereignty." The structure of the government dispersed power in reflection of the people's distrust of concentrated power, and of power itself at all levels. This form of government was "altogether…