| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | MA passes an act restricting trade with Burma. Congress later passes a statute with conditions and sanctions on Burma. |
| Posture: | Ct. App. 1st Cir. finds that the MA act unconstitutionally interferes with the federal government's foreign affairs powers, the foreign commerce clause, and is preempted by the federal Burma act. |
| Issue: | Is the MA law invalid under the supremacy clause? |
| Holding: | Yes. |
| Rule: | A state can't pass laws that frustrate the objectives of national laws. |
| Reasoning: | The president has the authority to make foreign policy decisions, and this would undermine that aim. Congress has the power to pre-empt state laws. |
| Dicta: | Scalia (concurring): the legislative history is irrelevant. |