Judicial review merely extends a settled hierarchy-of-laws principle upward

Evidence

The power to hold statutes unconstitutional is the logical and inevitable result of the existence of law-making power at different levels of authority. Anglo-American law has long been familiar with the principle that the enactments of an inferior law-making body, such as ordinances, bylaws and administrative regulations, are inoperative when they conflict with the enactments of Parliament, Congress or the General Court, as the case may be. /Citations omittegd The people of America have added to that long established principle nothing but the concept of a law still higher than any made by the legislative branch of government, namely, the fundamental and supreme law made by the people themselves and embodied in a written Constitution. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 3482

Categorization

• DEFINE: Frames constitutional supremacy as continuous with the long-familiar rule that inferior enactments yield to superior ones — an analytic reframing of why courts review legislation.
• XREF: Ties to ch20 (royal writs, higher-law structure) and the legal-process theme of lawmaking power at different levels of authority. — connects to: Courts decide constitutional questions only when a live case compels it — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 3488; Judicial review is the judiciary’s core duty and province — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1368; A legal principle emerges from a long line of decisions. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 134 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• A legal principle emerges from a long line of decisions. #exemplifies (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 134
• Judicial review is the power of courts to strike down unconstitutional government actions. #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1383
• Judicial review is the judiciary’s core duty and province #expands (0.70) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1368