California is resurrecting the discredited Nullification Doctrine that states can nullify and not obey federal law they do not agree with. In 1832, South Carolina passed the Nullification Ordinance  that stated that the Federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were "null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers[,] or [its] citizens." The basis for the nullification theory is that the federal union was a compact of sovereign states.  The federal government was the states' agent with specified, delegated powers.  Many agree that the Constitution gave the federal government only specific enumerated powers, and not a general mandate to pass laws.  But the Nullification Doctrine goes further to state that the states have authority to determine when the federal government exceeded its powers and that the states can declare acts to be "void and of no force" in their jurisdictions. It is legitimate and within...(Read Full Post)