US Constitution, Supremacy Clause

Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution is commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause. It establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions. It prohibits states from interfering with the federal government's exercise of its constitutional powers, and from assuming any functions that are exclusively entrusted to the federal government. It does not, however, allow the federal government to review or veto state laws before they take effect.

“This Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding”

“notwithstanding” means notwithstanding in law.

Marbury v. Madison is one of THE leading cases in the history of the United States. The opinion of the court was given by the Honorable Judge John Marshall, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His opinion was, anything that is in conflict is null and void of law. “Clearly,” he said, “that for a secondary law to come in conflict with the supreme law was illogical. For certainly the supreme law would prevail over all other law. And certainly our forefathers had intended that the supreme law would be the basis of all law, and for any law to come in conflict it would be null and void of law. It would bear no power to enforce, it would bear no application to obey, it would purport to settle as if it never existed, for unconstitutionality would date from enactment of such a law, not from the date so branded in an open court of law. No courts are bound to uphold it and no citizens are bound to obey it. It operates as a mere nullity or a fiction of law (which means it doesn’t exist in law).”

“...Thus, the particular phraseology of the constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions, that a law repugnant to the constitution is void, and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument.” after more than 200 years this decision still stands. [5 U.S. 137, Marbury v. Madison]