1. The Real “Supreme Law of the Land”
- Article VI, Clause 2 (the Supremacy Clause): “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof… shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”
- Notice what’s missing? It doesn’t say “Supreme Court opinions are the supreme law.” It’s the Constitution itself, plus laws passed consistent with it.
2. Where the Court Comes In
- Article III establishes the judiciary. It gives them jurisdiction, but nowhere does it say their interpretations are final and binding on everyone forever.
- Marbury v. Madison (1803) is where Chief Justice John Marshall grabbed judicial review out of thin air. He basically said, “We, the Court, decide what the Constitution means, and our word is final.” That was political sleight-of-hand, not a line in the Constitution.
3. Jefferson’s Warning
Jefferson hated the idea of judicial supremacy. He wrote that allowing judges to be the final arbiters of the Constitution would make them “a despotic oligarchy.” He argued each branch had the right and duty to interpret the Constitution for itself.
Lincoln echoed that in his First Inaugural: the people don’t live under the Court, we live under the Constitution. He respected the Court’s rulings in specific cases, but rejected the idea that a single Court decision should “irrevocably fix” policy for the whole nation.
4. Political vs. Legal Reality
- In theory: The Constitution is supreme. Court rulings are just opinions binding the parties in a specific case.
- In practice: Judicial review and stare decisis (precedent) give Supreme Court rulings enormous gravitational pull. Presidents and Congresses, for the most part, go along because otherwise the system cracks.
5. The Gap Between “Is” and “Ought”
- Is: The Court has made itself the referee. Through precedent, most of America treats its rulings as binding constitutional law.
- Ought: If you’re strict about the text, the Court is not supreme law. Its opinions should be respected but not worshiped. Each branch has equal duty to uphold the Constitution as written, not just as interpreted.
So the fight I’m sniffing at is the same one Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln all raised: do we live under a Constitution, or under nine lawyers in robes?