Also known as: Supremacy Clause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional command that the Constitution itself, federal statutes enacted pursuant to it, and treaties made under the authority of the United States constitute the highest law binding on all judges in every state. State constitutions or laws yield when they conflict with valid federal law under this command. State officials and judges must apply federal law in preference to inconsistent state measures.
Highland Renewable sought grid access in Mississippi under a federal program requiring nondiscriminatory treatment for qualifying generators. The state commission had ordered priority for in-state projects, blocking Highland. The federal requirement controlled because it formed part of the supreme law of the land and displaced the conflicting state order.
Gretchen sued in state court to enforce labor protections from an international digital trade pact. The President issued a memorandum directing state agencies to apply the pact directly. The Department of Labor correctly declined because the pact lacked implementing legislation and therefore carried no domestic force as supreme law.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Stephen Shaw sued Maine in state court for overtime pay under a federal statute. Maine asserted sovereign immunity. The state court correctly dismissed the claim because the federal statute did not validly abrogate state immunity and therefore could not override state law under the supreme law of the land.
Sydney Santos challenged Tennessee's legislative apportionment in federal court as violating equal protection. Tennessee argued the claim presented a nonjusticiable political question. The Supreme Court reached the merits because the federal constitutional guarantee operated as supreme law of the land and required judicial enforcement.
The Bank of the United States refused to pay a Maryland tax imposed only on the federal bank. Maryland argued its tax power was undiminished. The Court held the state tax invalid because federal law creating the bank was supreme law of the land and could not be obstructed by state taxation.
The President directed the Secretary of Commerce to seize and operate private steel mills to avert a strike during the Korean War. Youngstown Sheet & Tube challenged the order. The Court held the seizure exceeded presidential authority because no statute or constitutional provision supplied the necessary power under the supreme law of the land.
A valid federal statute prevails whenever it directly conflicts with a state measure. The Supremacy Clause requires state officials and courts to follow the federal rule. Conflict preemption applies even without an express statement of congressional intent once inconsistency exists.
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No. A non-self-executing treaty has no domestic legal effect until Congress enacts implementing legislation. The President cannot compel state compliance through a memorandum. State agencies therefore have no obligation to enforce such a treaty in their proceedings.
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No. The Supremacy Clause protects federal instrumentalities from state laws that single them out for discriminatory treatment. A state statute imposing a tripled fee only on entities chartered by the federal government violates this structural immunity.
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…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…