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It is this power which actually allows the court system to uphold the constitution as the supreme law of the land. It judges all laws against that of the constitution. if there is discrepancy, it is not the constitution that changes, but the law in question.

The Supreme Court can find a law passed either by Congress or any of the states conflicts with the constitution and declare that it is invalid and of no force or effect. The Court has no power to simply do this on its own. The issue must come to it via a proper lawsuit which alleges that the law unconstitutionally harms a protected right. This is called the power of "judicial review". An example is the case of Gibbons v. Ogden, which involved a claim that a New York law that gave a person exclusive rights to run a ferry service between New York and New Jersey. The Supreme Court ruled that the New York law was in conflict with the provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the sole power to regulate interstate commerce. The Court ruled the law was unconstitutional and not binding because the Constitution is supreme over state laws.

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13y ago
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12y ago

declaring a state law unconstititional

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Q: What action can be taken by the US Supreme Court to illustrate the concept that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land?
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