the supreme court has the final authority under the federal system.
the supreme court has the final authority under the federal system.
who has the final authority under the federal system?
the supreme court
in 1813, the supreme court reversed a decision of the virginia court of appeals, basing its decision on the terms of a federal treaty. the virginia court of appeals refused to accept the supreme court's decision, stating that under the constitution, the supreme court did not have authority over state courts. the virginia court held that as a matter of state sovereignty, its decisions were final and could not be appealed to the u.s. supreme court. the virginia court found unconstitutional the federal statute providing for supreme court review of state court judgments. this decision would have allowed each state's courts to decide for themselves whether federal actions were unconstitutional, effectively giving state courts the right to nullify federal law. in "martin v. hunter's lessee", 14 u.s. (1 wheat.) 304 (1816), the supreme court rejected this view. the supreme court held that article iii of the constitution gives the federal courts jurisdiction in all cases arising under the constitution or federal law, and gives the supreme court final authority in such cases. the supreme court stated that the people, by providing in the constitution that the supreme court has final authority in such cases, had chosen to limit the sovereignty of the states. the supreme court therefore found that the federal courts, not the states, have the final power to interpret the constitution.
nullification (u.s. constitution)
bullet::::- absolute: because conditions could only be imposed on a sovereign if there were some outside arbitrator to determine when he had violated them, in which case the sovereign would not be the final authority.









































bullet::::- indivisible: the sovereign is the only final authority in his territory; he does not share final authority with any other entity. hobbes held this to be true because otherwise there would be no way of resolving a disagreement between the multiple authorities.
sovereignty