Hugo Black,
Testa v. Katt (330 U.S. 386) — Opinion of the Court
“ For whatever consideration they may be entitled in the field in which they are relevant, those decisions did not bring before us our instant problem of the effect of the supremacy clause on the relation of federal laws to state courts. ”
Hugo Black,
Testa v. Katt (330 U.S. 386) — Opinion of the Court
“ Our question concerns only the right of a state to deny enforcement to claims growing out of a valid federal law.It is conceded that this same type of claim arising under Rhode Island law would be enforced by that State's courts. Its courts have enforced claims for double damages growing out of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq. [12] Thus the Rhode Island courts have jurisdiction adequate and appropriate under established local law to adjudicate this action. [13] Under these circumstances the State courts are not free to refuse enforcement of petitioners' claim. ”
Hugo Black,
Testa v. Katt (330 U.S. 386) — Opinion of the Court
“ So far as the question of whether the Rhode Island courts properly declined to try this action, it makes no difference into which of these categories the Rhode Island court chose to place the statute which Congress has passed. For we cannot accept the basic premise on which the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that it h § no more obligation to enforce a valid penal law of the United States than it has to enforce a penal law of another state or a foreign country. Such a broad assumption flies in the face of the fact that the States of the Union constitute a nation. ”
