Document Type
Student Comment/Note
Abstract
States resist federal encroachments on their sovereignty. This recalcitrance has been buoyed by the renewed federalism jurisprudence of the Rehnquist and Roberts Courts. Research into state sovereignty typically arranges recalcitrance actions by the policy issue under discussion. This article takes a novel approach and instead evaluates state recalcitrance according to common strategies employed by political actors across the political spectrum. State recalcitrance strategies are categorized into four menu options: (1) Ignore It Exists, (2) Sanctuary Jurisdictions, (3) Pick a Fight, and (4) Political Posturing. The article recognizes these strategies are not mutually exclusive and concludes that the proposed menu of recalcitrance strategies provides states with overlapping justifications for resisting federal policies they disagree with.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.70657/SDLR.V70.I2.344
Recommended Citation
Travis L. Letellier,
State Recalcitrance Strategies for Resisting the Federal Government,
70
S.D. L. Rev.
344
(2025).
Available at:
https://red.library.usd.edu/sdlrev/vol70/iss2/10