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Doctrinal Synthesis - Constitutional Law

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Jessica M. DonelsConstitutional Law, Section 4Doctrinal Synthesis due 1/23/15The Supreme Court has the power to interpret the Constitution for the federal government and the states, and by doing so the Supreme Court creates a body of case law that defines how the Constitution must be interpreted by both the federal government and the states (until that particular case is overturned as precedent or superseded by statute). The power to interpret the Constitution comes from the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction: the power is a necessary part of upholding the law of the land, and the role of the court is to apply the law accurately. In a governmental system where power is divided among a federal executive and legislature, and state level executives and legislatures, the court must have the authority to look at laws that are in conflict and decide which to uphold. Because the Constitution is the highest law in the land, and the Supreme Court and all other federally elected officialshave pledged to uphold the Constitution, deciding which laws to uphold necessarily requires an interpretation of the Constitution to ensure that conflicting laws are interpreted in accordance with the supreme law of the land. Because the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and uniformity between the Federal and State laws on federal issues is important for the stability of the country, states are required to follow the interpretation of the Constitution as stated by the Supreme Court. This is expressed in two powers of the court: the power to hear appeals from the State Supreme Courts when the issue involves federal law, the Constitution, or treaties of the United States, and the requirement thatall states follow the declarations of the Supreme Court once they have interpreted the Constitution in a certain way. This has the effect of creating a body of case law out of the Supreme Court’s decisions, which illustrates how the Constitution is to be interpreted in specific


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