The United States, after a long struggle with an inefficient government, in 1787, the people decided to come up with an entirely different document called the constitution after a lengthy discussion. The constitution delegated powers to both the central federal government and the state. In 1791, Congress debated and came up with the tenth amendment that is still in use today. Although it is thought that the ultimate power lies in the Federal government, critics argue that the tenth amendment gives a clear-cut directive that the state governments have the final say given that they have to make tailor-made decisions that suit the different states.
In the contemporary setting, a landmark case in the state involved a court ruling by the federal courts in which a plaintiff presented his case in court for wrongful termination of his job after he was caught using marijuana an illegal substance under the Controlled Substances Act. The plaintiff claimed he was under prescription and he was only using it as a medical remedy. The state came to his aid by presenting a petition to support the use of medical marijuana which was in line with the state’s laws. The Federal Court, however, was right in its decision, the state claimed to reign supreme within its borders.
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Another case involved the sentencing of a first-degree murder suspect to the hang man’s noose by the Supreme Court which is a federal government arm of justice. The evidence clearly pointed out the crime and the bench were right in their decision, however, in the state, the death penalty was abolished no matter how treacherous the crimes committed were. The state, therefore, could not hand over the convicted felon to the federal government for the death penalty.
Many argue that the federal government should be the supreme authority on the land, but there always will be grey lines that bring about conflicts between the federal, state and local governments.
References
10th Amendment - constitution | Laws.com . (2017). Constitution.laws.com . Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://constitution.laws.com/10th-amendment
EPPS, G. (2017). A State-Federal Standoff over the Death Penalty . The American Prospect . Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://prospect.org/article/state-federal-standoff-over-death-penalty
Greeley, P. (2017). States rights vs. federal government debated by Steve Gunn, MLive readers . MLive.com . Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/04/states_rights_vs_federal_gover.html
