An inference that can be drawn from the Supremacy Clause is that

An inference that can be drawn from the Supremacy Clause is that

a. state laws are superior to federal laws.

b. federal laws are superior to state laws.

c. judges do not have to follow federal laws.

d. judges have to follow state laws.

Answer: b. federal laws are superior to state laws.

The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution as stated under Article VI, Clause 2 asserts that the laws of the nation together with the constitution are the “supreme law of the land”. From this statement, a doctrine of the Constitution suggests that federal laws prevail over state laws in situations where the two are in conflict. As for the primary inference to be made from this clause it is that indeed state laws are preempted by federal ones.

This principle can be evidenced several times throughout the United States of America’s history. For instance, in what may be considered the Marbury versus Madison case in 1803, the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the organization’s law which authorized the building of canals which it deemed unconstitutional. The decision of Chief Justice John Marshall being based on the Supremacy Clause proceeds pointing out that state laws cannot deny the constitutional rights of federal actions. Another good example is the Arizona immigration law of 2012 where the Supreme Court of law invalidated some of the sections of the law because they approximated federal immigration law. These are just but a few examples of how the Supremacy Clause helps to subordinate state laws to federal laws whenever there is a clash. But more essentially, it should be understood that this does not necessarily mean that all laws of the state are nullified in the process. Some of the powers are still vested in states as the Tenth Amendment demonstrates that anything which is not prohibited at the federal level, remains within the purview of the states. The Supremacy Clause merely states what most would consider logical when one has to choose between federal and state law if they are contradictory, and for this, it provides legal consistency to the nation.