West River Bridge v. Dix

Wed, 05 Jan 1848 13:00:00 +0000

Case Basics

Petitioner

West River Bridge

Petitioner Type

Petitioner

Respondent

Dix

Respondent Type

Respondent

Heard By

Taney Court (1846-1851)

Decided By

Taney Court (1846-1851)

Opinion

47 U.S. 507 (1848)

Argued

Wednesday, January 5, 1848

Decided

Monday, January 31, 1848

Facts of the Case

In 1795, Vermont granted an exclusive 100 year franchise to build and operate a toll bridge. In 1843, a Vermont judge ordered the bridge taken for public use on payment of $4000.

Question

Does the taking of the bridge violate the Impairment of Contracts prohibition of Article I Section 10 of the Constitution?

Conclusion

This was not a contract impairment prohibited by the Constitution. The states' eminent domain power was fundamental and had been exercised repeatedly by the states. States could take bridge franchises like any other property provided the states offered just compensation. This was the first Supreme Court case to deal with the states' power of eminent domain.

Luther v. Borden

Mon, 24 Jan 1848 13:00:00 +0000

Location

Luther's residence Warren, RI

United States

41° 43' 49.3644" N, 71° 16' 57.1764" W

See map: Google Maps

Case Basics

Petitioner

Luther

Petitioner Type

Petitioner

Respondent

Borden

Respondent Type

Respondent

Heard By

Taney Court (1846-1851)

Decided By

Taney Court (1846-1851)

Opinion

48 U.S. 1 (1849)

Argued

Monday, January 24, 1848

Decided

Wednesday, January 3, 1849

Facts of the Case

In 1841, Rhode Island was still operating under an archaic system of government established by a royal charter of 1663. The charter strictly limited suffrage and made no provision for amendment. Dissident groups, protesting the charter, held a popular convention to draft a new constitution and to elect a governor. The old charter government declared martial law and put down the rebellion, although no federal troops were sent. One of the insurgents, Martin Luther, brought suit claiming the old government was not "a republican form of government" and all its acts were thereby invalid.

Question

Did the Court have the constitutional authority to declare which group constituted the official government of Rhode Island?

Conclusion

The Court held that "the power of determining that a state government has been lawfully established" did not belong to federal courts, and that it was not the function of such courts to prescribe the qualifications for voting in the States. The Court held that the creation of republican forms of government and the control of domestic violence were matters of an essentially political nature committed by the Constitution to the other branches of government. Hence, the Court should defer to Congress and the President when confronted with such issues.

Cases - 1848 term

West River Bridge v. Dix

Luther v. Borden

Location