By: Joel Stephen Mattson
These are the most critical and quotable excerpts from Federalist No. 78 by Alexander Hamilton, written in 1788. These statements empower any legal motion or public argument rooted in the supremacy of the Constitution, the limitations of judicial power, and the right to reject unlawful statutes.
1. On the limits of judicial power:
“The judiciary… has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment.”
Argument Use: This confirms that courts do not possess coercive force — they cannot legislate, execute, or compel action without consent.
2. On the duty to uphold the Constitution above statutes:
“No legislative act… contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this would be to affirm that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master…”
Argument Use: When a state statute violates the Constitution, it is void ab initio — it never had lawful authority to begin with.
3. On judicial review and striking down unconstitutional laws:
“It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. If there should happen to be an irreconcilable variance between the two, the Constitution ought to be preferred to the statute…”
Argument Use: Reasserts judicial review and makes it clear that courts must void unlawful statutes, not enforce them.
4. On protecting the people from legislative abuse:
“The courts were designed to be an intermediate body between the people and the legislature… to keep the latter within the limits assigned to their authority.”
Argument Use: Ideal for challenging administrative overreach or legislation that exceeds constitutional limits.
5. On lifetime appointments and independence:
“Nothing can contribute so much to its firmness and independence as permanency in office.”
Argument Use: If judges are pressured by politics or retaliation, their decisions are no longer protected by the constitutional design.
6. On the Constitution’s supremacy as fundamental law:
“A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law. It therefore belongs to them to ascertain its meaning, as well as the meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body.”
Argument Use: Reinforces that courts must interpret the Constitution first, not blindly enforce policy.
Strategic Application:
- Use these quotes to build motions that expose judicial overreach.
- Insert them into constitutional objections, affidavits, or dismissal motions.
- Reference them when rejecting color-of-law actions disguised as legitimate statutes.
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Next Article in the Series: Federalist 78: The Judiciary Has No Power Without Consent
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