American Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Law - Essay Example In his ruling Justice Marshall asserted that even as congress did not have the explicit power to authorize the incorporation of the national bank, the appropriate and essential clause offered a foundation for Congress to act. After establishing the legality of the exercise of this authority, the judge made a ruling that the federal government, even while being limited in its power had supremacy within the Union (McAlinn et al. 78-85). Following the Civil War, the judgments of the Supreme Court favored the states more by invoking the tenth amendment. The tenth amendment asserts that the federal government only has power which has been delegated to it by the states and the people. Since the 1930s, the court started invoking the supremacy clause more which gave the federal government wider powers than before. The court mandated that the federal government cannot be subjected to the legislation or policy of the states unless it wills to do so. The Supremacy clause puts it upon the states to make legislation while taking into account the policy of the federal government. ... Congress may also make policies that are geared towards coexistence of state and federal policy. Some of the Union policies may be preemptive for reasons of fostering uniformity of national policy. A good example is the Wagner Act of 1935 which guides all state law regarding labor unions and relations between employee and employer. A watershed case in the issue of the supremacy clause and the tenth amendment is the 1956 case of Pennsylvania versus Nelson. This case made provisions for assessment criteria in instances of the federal government preempting the states without an explicit stating of intent. The criteria asks questions on; whether federal law is so pervasive so as to lead to the presumption that Congress left the states with no leeway but to apply it as it; whether Union interest is so dominant that there is a presumption of an exclusion of enforcement of state law on an issue and lastly if the state laws present reasonable danger of conflicting with federal programs (McAl innet al. 200-212). Question 4 The case of the father promising to pay $5000 dollars to his son if he refrained from taking Marijuana is very similar to the Hamer v. Sidway case. The contention by the defendant is that there is no consideration to support the promise made by the plaintiff making the promise unenforceable. The defendant would assert that the plaintiff benefited from his non usage of Marijuana. The father would argue on the basis that with or without the promise, the son benefitted from his abstinence from Marijuana. The father would also argue that he received no consideration from the promise and thus there is no contract. Such an agreement however lacks a basis in law since it would make contracts of mutuality unenforceable (McAlinn et al 156-8).