Section 10 [of the California "No Vigilantes Act"] requires any non-uniformed "federal law enforcement officer" operating in California, with narrow exceptions, to "visibly display identification" while performing federal law enforcement duties.
asserted
Section → require → duties
Officers who violate the law may be criminally prosecuted by the State.
uncertain
who → violate → State
We previously granted the United States's motion for an injunction pending appeal.
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We → grant → appeal
As before, we conclude that … § 10 of the No Vigilantes Act attempts [in violation of the Supremacy Clause] to directly regulate the United States in its performance of governmental functions, and Congress has not authorized such regulation.
asserted
Congress → conclude → regulation
Indeed, we conclude that the United States is certain to succeed….
asserted
States → conclude → ?
"[U]nder the intergovernmental immunity component of the Supremacy Clause to the United States Constitution, states may not directly regulate the Federal Government's operations or property."
uncertain
states → regulate → operations
"It is of the very essence of supremacy," the Supreme Court has emphasized, "to remove all obstacles to its action within its own sphere, and so to modify every power vested in subordinate governments, as to exempt its own operations from their own influence."
asserted
Court → emphasize → influence
To that end, "states have no power" to "in any manner control[ ] the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by congress to carry into execution the powers vested in the general government."
asserted
states → have → government
And "where 'Congress does not affirmatively declare its instrumentalities or property subject to regulation,' 'the federal function must be left free' of regulation" by the States.
asserted
function → declare → States
Intergovernmental immunity "prohibit[s] state laws that either 'regulat[e] the United States directly or discriminat[e] against the Federal Government or those with whom it deals' (e.g., contractors)."
asserted
it → prohibit[ → whom
A direct regulation is one that "lays hold of" federal officers "in their specific attempt to obey orders and requires qualifications in addition to those that the [federal] Government has pronounced sufficient."
asserted
Government → lay → those
It imposes conditions upon "a function of government," and it regulates "the right to carry on the business" of the federal government.
asserted
it → impose → government
Put another way, a direct regulation regulates the government qua government; it controls how the government conducts specifically governmental functions.
asserted
government → put → functions
The Supremacy Clause prohibits States from directly regulating federal operations even when regulating state operations in the same manner….
asserted
Clause → prohibit → manner
"[E]ven the most unquestionable and most universally applicable of state laws, such as those concerning murder, will not be allowed to control the conduct of a marshal of the United States acting under and in pursuance of the laws of the United States."
asserted
unquestionable → concern → States
And critically, "Supreme Court case law compels the rejection of a de minimis exception to the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity."
asserted
law → compel → immunity
So "[a] state or local law that directly regulates the conduct of the federal government or discriminates against it is invalid, even if it is no more restrictive than federal law.
asserted
it → regulate → law
In sum, if a state law directly regulates the governmental conduct of the United States without congressional authorization, it is void irrespective of whether the regulated activities are essential to federal functions or operations, and irrespective of the degree to which the state law interferes with such functions or operations….
asserted
law → regulate → functions
Section 10 of the No Vigilantes Act expressly applies to federal officers.
asserted
Section → apply → officers
It controls the conduct of those federal officers in performing law enforcement operations.
asserted
It → control → operations
Section 10 explicitly overrides the federal government's power to determine whether, how, and when to publicly identify its officers.
asserted
Section → override → officers
And in so doing, it regulates the manner and conditions under which federal agents can enforce federal law.
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agents → do → law
Again, § 10 defines "law enforcement officer" as including "any federal law enforcement officer."
asserted
§ → define → officer
And any non-uniformed federal law enforcement officer "operating in California" "shall visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number or both name and badge number when performing their enforcement duties.
asserted
that → operate → duties
These provisions "lay[ ] hold of" federal agencies and officers "in their specific attempt to obey orders and require[ ] qualifications in addition to those that the [federal] Government has pronounced sufficient."
asserted
Government → lay → those
As a result, § 10 regulates the performance of "governmental action[s]" which are "carried on by the United States itself"—not merely "persons who [a]re acting for themselves and not for the United States."
asserted
who → regulate → States
Indeed, it applies only to law enforcement agencies and their officers, including federal law enforcement agencies and federal law enforcement officers.
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it → apply → agencies
Section 10 thus directly regulates inherently sovereign functions.
asserted
Section → regulate → functions
Because Congress has not authorized such legislation, it is barred by intergovernmental immunity.
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it → authorize → immunity
The United States has also shown that "no set of circumstances exists under which the Act would be valid."
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Act → show → which
Again, § 10 exclusively regulates quintessentially government conduct: law enforcement.
asserted
§ → regulate → conduct
So as applied to federal agencies and federal officers carrying out their duties under federal authority, the statute is invalid in all applications.
asserted
statute → apply → applications
The United States is therefore likely—indeed, certain—to succeed on the merits of its facial challenge to § 10's constitutionality….
asserted
States → succeed → constitutionality
California … advances its view that a state statute constitutes an impermissible direct regulation only when the law "impose[s] substantial burdens on federal operations." …
asserted
law → advance → operations
The district court applied, and California urges us to adopt, the standard applicable to States' regulation of federal contractors and third-party employers—not the standard that governs direct regulation of the United States's governmental activities.
asserted
that → apply → activities
"Private contractors do not stand on the same footing as the federal government, so states can impose many laws on federal contractors that they could not apply to the federal government itself."
uncertain
they → stand → government
But "where, as here, the governmental action is carried on by the United States itself and Congress does not affirmatively declare its instrumentalities or property subject to regulation or taxation, the inherent freedom [from direct regulation] continues."
asserted
freedom → carry → regulation
So the burden of the regulation on federal operations, whether substantial or otherwise, is irrelevant because, as discussed, there is no de minimis exception to the United States's immunity from direct regulation.
asserted
burden → discuss → regulation
To be sure, the Supremacy Clause likely does not "bar[ ] all state regulation which may touch the activities of the Federal Government."
uncertain
which → bar → Government
For example, in Johnson v. Maryland (1920), the Supreme Court suggested that "when the United States has not spoken," States might be able to impose on federal officers "general rules that might affect incidentally the mode of carrying out the[ir] employment—as, for instance, a statute or ordinance regulating the mode of turning at the corners of streets.
uncertain
that → suggest → streets
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
