Formalism and state sovereignty in Printz v. United States: cooperation by consent

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court, in Printz v. US, upheld state sovereignty against the federal government. Printz involved the Brady Act, which required local sheriffs to conduct background checks on purchasers of firearms. The Court invalidated the law because the federal government had no constitutional authority for commandeering a state official. The Court thus acted on strict principles of legal formalism to reinforce a federal system in which the state and federal governments are properly separated.

Political aspects, Sovereignty, Legal formalism

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Context and complementarity within federalism doctrine

Article Abstract:

Competing doctrines of constitutional law with regard to federalism may best be analyzed in the aggregate rather than in isolation. Two Supreme Court cases illustrate. Pennsylvania v. Union Gas established the state-commandeering rule subordinating the states to Congress, whereas Seminole Tribe v. Florida established the state-immunity rule that protected state sovereignty. The principle of doctrinal complements shows that these seemingly antagonistic holdings are actually interconnected.

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In the beginning are the states

Article Abstract:

The states are the American people's ultimate protection against a tyrannical federal government. The Constitution itself says little about the states. In particular, it says little or nothing about the origin of the states, the source of state sovereignty, the constitutional function of the states, or the structural rules pertaining to the states. Rather, the states are so fundamental that the Constitution presupposes their existence.

States, State rights

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