Constitutional Opinion No. 2026-0770
Case Information
- Content Scored
- Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 14 U.S. 304 (1816)
- Source
- Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Reports Vol. 14 (1 Wheaton)
- Author
- Justice Joseph Story (opinion of the Court; Marshall recused)
- Publication Date
- 1816-02-01
- Content Type
- Judicial Opinion / Legal-Normative Text
- Opinion Issued
- 2026-07-20
- AFCS Version
- 1.0
Holding
The twin pillar of the anti-nullification holding scored in United States v. Peters. Virginia's highest court, defying a Supreme Court mandate in the Fairfax land litigation, declared Section 25 of the Judiciary Act — authorizing Supreme Court review of state-court judgments on federal questions — unconstitutional, and its own decisions final. Story upheld Section 25. Federal judicial power extends to all cases arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties; that power must reach such cases wherever they arise, including state courts, or federal supremacy is fiction. Otherwise "the state decisions would be paramount to the constitution," the same statute would mean different things in different states, and "this conflict of jurisdictions would not only jeopardize private rights, but bring into imminent peril the public interests." The state-independence objection he answered at its root: "in respect to the powers granted to the United States, they are not independent; they are expressly bound to obedience, by the letter of the constitution" — and the federal courts already review state legislative and executive acts, so reviewing judicial ones "is not a higher or more dangerous act of sovereign power." Strong alignment: the permanence of the constitutional order made operative — the keystone of supremacy and uniformity (Article XVII, 84); the rule of law and federal rights needing a federal forum (Article XVIII, 80). Genuine federalism tension (Article XII, 62): state courts subordinated, absolute state judicial sovereignty denied — answered because the review reaches only FEDERAL questions (state law untouched), the states ratified the structure (Supremacy Clause, Art III), and Virginia asserted nullification, not a reserved power. Scored as Legal/Normative text (85/15). Tier 1 nets to 76; the result is 78 — Mostly America First. The twin pillar of United States v. Peters (0760), scored identically. Principle scored, not result.
It is the judgment of this Court that Opinion No. 2026-0770 is hereby entered into the record, in accordance with the America First Constitutional Standard. The score stands. The reasoning is published. The record is public.