COYLE v. SMITH

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
941
Petitioner 
Coyle
Respondent 
Smith
Decided By 
White Court (1911)
Opinion 
221 U.S. 559 (1911)
Argued 
Wednesday, April 5, 1911
Decided 
Monday, May 29, 1911
Term:
Location: Congress
Facts of the Case 

In 1910, Oklahoma enacted a law moving its state capital from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. In admitting Oklahoma to the Union, the Congress declared the temporary capital to be Briscoe and that a change to some other location would not occur until 1913.

Question 

Does Oklahoma have the power to locate its seat of government when Congress has imposed conditions limiting that location?

Conclusion 

Yes. This was congressional overreaching. States are on an equal footing to determine their own location for the seat of government.

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COYLE v. SMITH. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 27 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1910/1910_941>.
COYLE v. SMITH, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1910/1910_941 (last visited April 27, 2013).
"COYLE v. SMITH," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 27, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1910/1910_941.