Also known as: U.S. Constitution · US Constitution · United States Const. · U.S. Const. · US Const. · Federal Constitution
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The supreme law of the land establishing the structure of the federal government, allocating powers among its branches, and protecting individual rights against government infringement. It binds state and federal actors alike and supplies the standard for resolving conflicts between federal and state authority.
Umar Usmani, a voter in a heavily redrawn district, sued state officials in federal court alleging the map was drawn to favor one party. The court dismissed the suit without reaching the merits. The dismissal rested on the determination that the claim presented a nonjusticiable political question.
Ulysses Ulrich filed a federal civil rights action against a state agency. He added a related state-law tort claim arising from the same incident. The district court exercised jurisdiction over the state claim because it formed part of the same case or controversy.
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Ursula Upton offered a witness statement obtained through an unlawful search. The court excluded the statement even though it was relevant to a material fact. Exclusion followed because the United States Constitution barred its admission.
Uriah Urban sought to withhold a document under a claimed privilege in a federal civil case. The court applied federal common law but noted that the United States Constitution could override that law if it supplied a different rule. No constitutional provision displaced the common-law analysis.
Una Unger lived with her grandson and great-grandson in a single-family zone. City officials cited her for violating the ordinance's narrow definition of family. The court invalidated the ordinance because it infringed protected family rights under the Constitution.
Ursula Ung and her spouse were convicted under a state law banning use of contraceptives. They challenged the convictions in federal court. The court held the statute unconstitutional as an invasion of protected privacy interests.
The Constitution supplies the supreme law that federal courts must apply when state rules conflict with federal authority. It also limits the reach of state law through provisions such as the Supremacy Clause and due process requirements.
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Federal Rules of Evidence 402 and 501 expressly provide that the Constitution can override otherwise applicable evidence or privilege rules. A court must therefore check whether any constitutional provision forbids admission or recognition of the evidence or privilege before applying the federal rule.
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The Constitution limits federal judicial power to cases and controversies. Claims that present political questions, such as certain partisan gerrymandering challenges, fall outside Article III and are therefore nonjusticiable.
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…that issue from the political process? Of course not. It would be surprising to find a prescription regarding marriage in the Federal Constitution since, as the author of today’s opinion reminded us only two years ago (in an opinion joined by the same Justices who join him today): “[R]egulation of domestic relations is an area that…