But in regard to the interfering acts of a superior and subordinate
authority, of an original and derivative power, the nature and reason of
the thing indicate the converse of that rule as proper to be followed.
They teach us that the prior act of a superior ought to be preferred to
the subsequent act of an inferior and subordinate authority; and that
accordingly, whenever a particular statute contravenes the Constitution,
it will be the duty of the judicial tribunals to adhere to the latter
and disregard the former.
It can be of no weight to say that the courts, on the pretense of a
repugnancy, may substitute their own pleasure to the constitutional
intentions of the legislature. This might as well happen in the case of
two contradictory statutes; or it might as well happen in every
adjudication upon any single statute. The courts must declare the sense
of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise WILL instead of
JUDGMENT, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their
pleasure to that of the legislative body. The observation, if it prove
any thing, would prove that there ought to be no judges distinct from
that body.
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