Isabella Carter
The US Constitution contains sections that govern interstate relations, often referred to as horizontal federalism. These sections cover state entrance into interstate compacts, interstate disputes, full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, and the rendition of fugitives from justice. The Constitution also empowers Congress to regulate foreign, interstate, and Indian nation commerce, creating an economic union of states where products, labour, raw materials, and services can move freely across boundaries. Interstate compacts, agreements between two or more states, are a key aspect of interstate relations, with approximately 200 such compacts in effect in 2019. The US Supreme Court, established to interpret the Constitution and adjudicate interstate disputes, plays a crucial role in interstate relations, exercising jurisdiction over interstate suits on a discretionary basis.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Interstate disputes | Involving boundaries and other matters |
| Interstate compacts | Agreements between two or more states |
| Full faith and credit | Important with respect to the interstate enforcement of child support orders |
| Privileges and immunities | Ensuring that sojourners are treated the same as the state's citizens |
| Rendition of fugitives from justice |
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What You'll Learn
Interstate compacts
The US Constitution contains sections that govern interstate relations, including interstate compacts, disputes, full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, and the rendition of fugitives from justice.
While the Compact Clause (Article I, Section 10, Clause 3) of the US Constitution stipulates that congressional consent is required for interstate compacts, the Supreme Court has ruled that explicit consent is not necessary for agreements where the federal government has no objection or interest. However, congressional consent is required for compacts that may alter the balance of power between the federal and state governments or among state governments.
The process of obtaining congressional consent for an interstate compact can be complex. In some cases, the compact must be approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the President. The Supreme Court has played a significant role in interpreting and enforcing interstate compacts, as seen in cases such as Virginia v. Tennessee (1893) and U.S. Steel Corp. v. Multistate Tax Commission (1978).
Examples of interstate compacts include the Connecticut River Basin Atlantic Salmon Restoration Interstate Compact, enacted by Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Merrimack River Anadromous Fish Restoration Administrative Agreement between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. These compacts demonstrate how states cooperate through interstate relations to address shared concerns.
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Interstate disputes
The US Constitution contains sections pertaining to interstate disputes. The Constitution grants the Supreme Court original (trial) jurisdiction over interstate suits, which it exercises on a discretionary basis. The Court's role in adjudicating interstate disputes was one of the reasons for its creation.
Congress may give consent to compacts either before or after the states have agreed to them, and this consent may be explicit or inferred from circumstances. Any compact that would give a state power designated to the federal government must be explicitly approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the President.
Compacts can take various forms, including border agreements, advisory compacts, and administrative compacts, which involve persistent governance structures tasked with conducting designated services. In addition to compacts, states also cooperate through interstate administrative agreements, which may be verbal or written and can cover similar subjects to compacts.
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Full faith and credit
The US Constitution contains sections that govern interstate relations, including interstate compacts, disputes, full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, and the rendition of fugitives from justice. The "Full Faith and Credit" clause, derived from Article IV, Section I of the Constitution, mandates that state courts respect the laws, public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states. This clause aims to prevent conflicts between states and ensure the consistency of judgments across the country.
The "Full Faith and Credit" clause requires courts to follow the judgments made on the same issue in another state, preventing individuals from relitigating issues in different states to seek a favorable outcome. This helps to avoid varying judgments that could lead to competition among states. The clause is based on the doctrines of res judicata and issue preclusion and applies as long as the original judgment was made by a court with the appropriate jurisdiction.
However, there are exceptions to the "Full Faith and Credit" clause. Courts may disregard the judgments of other courts if the prior court did not have jurisdiction or follow constitutionally mandated procedures. For example, a court in one state can ignore a judgment from another state if the defendant was not properly served.
The "Full Faith and Credit" clause also raises interpretive questions. While the first sentence of the clause requires states to recognize the acts and proceedings of other states, the second sentence authorizes Congress to specify the effect of those acts and proceedings. The reasons for this discrepancy are not entirely clear, and it has been a subject of scholarly analysis.
The "Full Faith and Credit" clause has been applied in various contexts, including the interstate enforcement of child support orders issued by state courts. It is also relevant to the recognition of marriages performed in other states. Additionally, the clause has been interpreted to require states to hear claims based on the laws of other states under certain circumstances.
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Privileges and immunities
The Privileges and Immunities Clause, outlined in Article IV, Section 2 of the US Constitution, is designed to promote interstate citizenship and ensure that all citizens are treated equally across the different states. The clause states that "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states". This provision is often referred to as the Comity Clause.
The clause protects the fundamental rights of individual citizens and prevents states from discriminating against citizens from other states. These fundamental rights include the right to live in and travel through states, the right to sue in courts, and the right to acquire and possess property. It also protects the right of non-residents to ply their trade, practice their occupation, or pursue a common calling on substantially the same terms as state citizens.
The Privileges and Immunities Clause is distinct from the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, which protect the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States against state encroachment. The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1, states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and the State in which they reside". It also states that no state shall make or enforce any law that abridges the privileges or immunities of US citizens.
The significance of the Privileges and Immunities Clause has been somewhat diminished by the Fourteenth Amendment, as challenges to state abridgment of constitutional rights are now more often asserted under the latter. However, the clause remains important in ensuring interstate citizenship and preventing discrimination against citizens from other states.
In addition to the Privileges and Immunities Clause, the US Constitution also addresses interstate relations through the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). This clause grants Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states, with foreign nations, and with Indian tribes. The Supreme Court has interpreted this clause to include the regulation of intrastate economic goods that are part of a scheme to regulate interstate commerce.
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Rendition of fugitives from justice
The US Constitution contains sections pertaining to interstate compacts, interstate disputes, full faith and credit, privileges and immunities, and the rendition of fugitives from justice. The rendition of fugitives from justice is the extradition of a fugitive to the state where the crime was committed.
According to Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the US Constitution, also known as the Extradition Clause, a fugitive charged with a crime in one state and found in another state shall, on the demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the state with jurisdiction over the crime. This is also known as the "Duty to Surrender Fugitives from Justice".
The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of this legislation, but the duty to surrender is not absolute and unqualified. If the laws of the state to which the fugitive has fled have been enforced against them, and they are imprisoned there, the demands of those laws may be satisfied before the duty of obedience to the requisition arises.
In Kentucky v. Dennison, the Court held that the Federal Government "has no power to impose on a state officer, as such, any duty whatever, and compel him to perform it". However, Dennison was formally overruled in 1987, and now states and territories may invoke the power of federal courts to enforce against state officers the rights created by federal statute, including equitable relief to compel performance of federally imposed duties.
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Frequently asked questions
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). It states that the United States Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with Indian tribes.
Interstate compacts are agreements between two or more states that establish multi-state agencies to coordinate policy or perform tasks on behalf of member states. They are distinct from model acts, executive agreements, state-level trigger laws, and state-level laws.
The U.S. Supreme Court was established to interpret the provisions of the Constitution and adjudicate interstate disputes involving boundaries and other matters. Section 2 of Article III grants the Court nonexclusive original (trial) jurisdiction over interstate suits, which was made exclusive by Congress in 1789.
Examples of interstate administrative agreements include the Connecticut River Basin Atlantic Salmon Restoration Interstate Compact and the Merrimack River Anadromous Fish Restoration Administrative Agreement, which were enacted by the state legislatures of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
