Part One - The Structure of Government · Module 7
Preemption of State and Local Laws
Express, conflict, obstacle, and field preemption — federal law displacing state law under the Supremacy Clause.
Topics
Express preemption. Conflicts preemption. Obstacle preemption. Field preemption.
Reading list
0 of 9 readings published · the rest are in preparation and will appear here as they are edited
- Note Hines v. Davidowitz
- Note Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp.
- Note Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul
- Note Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Development Commission
- Note Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Association
- Note Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council
- Opinion Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly
- Note Wyeth v. Levine
- Opinion Arizona v. United States
- Current case Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, No. 24-1068 (U.S. June 25, 2026) (whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims).
How to read this list
A case named without a marker is assigned as an opinion and is to be read in its entirety. Opinion (edited) means the Professor has cut it for length; the text on this site is the assigned text. Note means the case is not assigned as an opinion at all — its holding, its facts to the extent they matter, and its place in the doctrinal line are given in a note written for this course, and you are responsible for that note exactly as you are responsible for an assigned opinion. Most modules close with a Current case, a recent decision chosen because it shows the doctrine you have just read being applied at its live edge; current cases are assigned as opinions. You are responsible for all assigned required materials, including the notes, questions, problems and commentary that accompany the cases, whether or not we discuss them in class.