Understanding Legal Definitions and Doctrines: What is Constitutional Law?

Every day of our lives, we are impacted by the law and the legal decisions that are made all around us. However, very rarely do we stop to think about what these laws are, where they come from, and the actual effects that they can have upon us. Contrary to what some may think, there are actually many sources of law, and there are any number of sources which have come together to create the system we live under today. From laws derived from our Constitution, to Statutory laws, to administrative laws and legal decisions that have been made and ratified in the past, there are many, many sources of our present law system, and it can make a major impact if we are able to understand these many sources.

With this in mind, one of the most important and most authorities sources of law that we deal with on an every day basis is referred to as Constitutional Law. Contrary to popular belief, Constitutional law does not come solely from the United States Constitution. Rather, our government has laws from Constitutions at both the state and federal level. Each state has it's own Constitution, containing laws and procedures that are unique to each state. However, often these laws are very similar to each other, and generally mirror those laws expressed in the United States Constitution.

Of course, simply by watching the news every now and then, we become aware of the fact that there are occasional conflicts between state law and federal law. Herein we have one of the most important parts of Constitutional law as a whole. The United States Constitution is the "supreme law of the land". This statement is expressed in Article VI of the Constitution. In short, this means that laws cannot be passed in states or judicial decision of the state level which conflict or go against the United States Constitution. Such laws are declared unconstitutional, and they cannot be made legal, enforceable, or binding under any circumstances.

However, this leads us to the question, then, of what exactly state constitutional law can consist of. To answer this question, we need to simply look at the Bill of Rights present in the United States Constitution. The Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights states that the states have all powers not expressively granted to the federal government. This generally includes provisions such as laws governing transportation and education. Of course, exceptions can be made in these cases as well, and of the most recent and prominent examples of one of these exceptions can be found in the No Child Left Behind Act, a government mandate that is ratified in every state government.

Thus, we are now aware that the United States Constitution, as a source of law, is the most powerful and binding of all legal applications, even within specific states. This is not to say, though, that state law has no application whatsoever. In fact, within any given state, if the Untied States Constitution does not specify otherwise, the laws contained within that state constitution are the highest laws in the land.

It does not take a lot of thought to realize how incredibly important constitutional law, whether it be in state or federal form, is to out general legal form and our overall presence of law and legal ability within the country. Although it is far from our only source of law, Constitutional law takes an incredibly important place in the legal system as one of the most powerful and most well know forms of law that affects our legal system today.