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To: tpaine
Is the Federal Government Supreme and Above the States?

No!

3 posted on 11/02/2004 11:25:55 AM PST by eskimo
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To: eskimo
"Is the Federal Government Supreme and Above the States?"

No! [says eskimo]

Is the Constitution the supreme "Law of the Land" and above the States?

Yes!

5 posted on 11/02/2004 11:31:15 AM PST by tpaine (No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another. - T. Jefferson)
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To: eskimo

Is the Federal Government Supreme and Above the States?

Sure it is, in those areas delegated to it by the Constitution. Example: the war power. States can't declare war, and they can't keep their own navies and go fight on the high seas. Another example: tarriffs. States can't levy them on international or interstate trade.
Of course the Federal government is supreme and above the States in those areas that the People originally delegated supreme power over the States to the Feds under the Constitution.

And no. No the Federal government is not supreme over the States in those areas that the Constitution does not delegated to it by the Constitution.

Of course, the Constitutional delegation of power is very, very broad indeed, and the real line of what's federal and what isn't is determined by the democratic will of the People, as washed through the political parties, Congress, the Presidency and the courts.

Pick a topic, any topic, and there's overlapping jurisdiction. Usually the Feds can assert supremacy if they need to. Usually they don't. Often there is shared jurisdiction. Example: Murder of a federal agent is murder under state law and a federal crime as well. Even if the People of the State have decided that there shall be no death penalty for murder in that State, the Federal government can apply the Federal death penalty at a facility in that State if the criminal is convicted in Federal Court.

There is no clear-cut answer to the question.
The best short description is to say that the Federal and State governments are each sovereign in their spheres, and the Federal government has the final say in what the boundaries of those spheres are.
Since the Federal government is subject to the will of the electorate just like the State government is, sovereignty in both cases reposes in the People.


12 posted on 11/02/2004 11:51:14 AM PST by Vicomte13 (Auta i Lome!)
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