SUPREMACY CLAUSE

popularized title for Article VI, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which is the main foundation of the federal government's power over the states, providing that the acts of the federal government are operative as supreme law throughout the union. EXAMPLE: The United States Supreme Court rules that no person can be arrested in his or her home without an arrest warrant issued by a judge. Regardless of the procedures the various states used before the supreme Court decision, the Supremacy Clause mandates that the Supreme Court's decision govern future police practice.' Source: Barron's Dictionary of Legal Terms, Steven H. Gifis, 5th Edition; © 2016