As usurpation is the exercise of power, which another has a right to; so tyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which no body can have a right to.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Usurpation is exercising power that belongs to another; tyranny is exercising power beyond any lawful right — both are unlawful, but tyranny is the graver offense because no one can ever have a right to it.

Where this applies

• A federal agency takes over a function that the Constitution assigns exclusively to the states, and the states challenge it as usurpation — the exercise of a power that rightfully belongs to another.
• A president issues executive orders that effectively make new laws without Congress, and courts hold this is tyranny — the exercise of power beyond any right, which no one can lawfully possess.
• A governor declares an indefinite state of emergency and rules by decree, bypassing the legislature entirely — the court condemns this as tyranny because it is the exercise of power beyond right.