The Unambiguous Supremacy Clause

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s Supremacy Clause jurisprudence has reached a confusing junction. The Court recently declined to say whether the Supremacy Clause supplies a cause of action for federal court litigants. As a result, lower courts and litigants are caught between conflicting doctrines, one that suggests cause of action power exists within the Clause and one that denies the Clause could ever possess such power. Neither line of cases definitely answers the question. A cause of action is a necessary component for a federal court plaintiff to maintain a suit. This note attempts to answer whether potential plaintiffs should be able to rely on the Supremacy Clause when applicable federal law does not otherwise contain a cause of action. Navigating the history of the Supremacy Clause, the contours of dueling lines of precedent, and policy ramifications, the note concludes that in the midst of the confusion, state defendants should seize the opportunity to argue against the notion that the Supremacy Clause supplies a cause of action for plaintiffs.