STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY

PROVISIONS AND MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES

HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL OR HELD TO BE

PREEMPTED BY FEDERAL LAW

2343

STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY PROVISIONS AND MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL OR HELD TO BE PREEMPTED

BY FEDERAL LAW

Three separate lists of Supreme Court decisions appear below: part I

lists cases holding state constitutional or statutory provisions unconstitutional, part II lists cases holding local laws unconstitutional, and part III

lists cases holding that state or local laws are preempted by federal law.

As Congress acted as the legislature for the District of Columbia until

passage of the Home Rule Act on December 24, 1973, District of Columbia

statutes that were enacted by Congress are treated as federal statutes

(and included in a prior appendix), and District of Columbia statutes enacted by the District of Columbia government are treated as state statutes.

Each case is briefly summarized, and the votes of Justices are indicated unless the Court’s decision was unanimous. Justices who write or

join the majority or plurality opinion are listed under “Justices concurring”, whether or not they write separate concurring opinions, and Justices who do not join the majority or plurality opinion, but write separate

opinions concurring in the result, are listed under “Justices specially concurring.”

Previous editions contained only two lists, one for cases holding state

laws unconstitutional or preempted by federal law, and one for unconstitutional or preempted local laws. The 2002 edition added the third category because of the different nature of preemption cases. State or local

laws held to be preempted by federal law are void not because they contravene any provision of the Constitution, but rather because they conflict

with a federal statute or treaty, and through operation of the Supremacy

Clause. Preemption cases formerly listed in one of the first two categories

have been moved to the third. A few cases with multiple holdings are

listed in more than one category.

I. STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL

1. United States v. Peters, 9 U.S. (5 Cr.) 115 (1809).

A Pennsylvania statute prohibiting the execution of any process

issued to enforce a certain sentence of a federal court, on the ground

that the federal court lacked jurisdiction in the cause, could not oust

the federal court of jurisdiction. A state statute purporting to annul

the judgment of a court of the United States and to destroy rights acquired thereunder is without legal foundation.

2345
2. Fletcher v. Peck, 10 U.S. (6 Cr.) 87 (1810).

A Georgia statute annulling conveyance of public lands authorized by a prior enactment violated the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10)

of the Constitution.

Justices concurring: Marshall, C.J., Washington, Livingston, Todd

Justice dissenting: Johnson (in part)

3. New Jersey v. Wilson, 11 U.S. (7 Cr.) 164 (1812).

A New Jersey law purporting to repeal an exemption from taxation contained in a prior enactment conveying certain lands violated

the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10).

4. Terrett v. Taylor, 13 U.S. (9 Cr.) 43 (1815).

Although subsequently cited as a Contract Clause case (Piqua Branch

Bank v. Knoop, 57 U.S. (16 How.) 369, 389 (1853)), the Court in the

instant decision, without referring to the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10),

voided, as contrary to the principles of natural justice, two Virginia

acts that purported to divest the Episcopal Church of title to property

“acquired under the faith of previous laws.”

5. Sturges v. Crowninshield,17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 122 (1819).

Retroactive operation of a New York insolvency law to discharge

the obligation of a debtor on a promissory note negotiated prior to its

adoption violated the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10).

6. McMillan v. McNeil, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 209 (1819).

A Louisiana insolvency law had no extraterritorial operation, and,

although adopted in 1808, its invocation to relieve a debtor of an obligation contracted by him in 1811, while a resident of South Carolina,

offended the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10).

7. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (1819).

Under the principle of national supremacy (Art. VI), which immunizes instrumentalities of the Federal Government from state taxation, a Maryland law imposing a tax on notes issued by a branch of

the Bank of United States was held unconstitutional.

8. Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819).

A New Hampshire law that altered a charter granted to a private

eleemosynary corporation by the British Crown prior to the Revolution violated the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10).

Justices concurring: Marshall, C.J., Washington, Johnson, Livingston, Story

Justice dissenting: Duvall

2346 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
9. Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Bank v. Smith, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) 131 (1821).

A Pennsylvania insolvency law, insofar as it purported to discharge a debtor from obligations contracted prior to its passage, violated the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10).

10. Green v. Biddle, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 1 (1823).

Because the compact between Virginia and Kentucky negotiated

on the occasion of the separation of the latter from the former stipulated that rights in lands within the ceded area should remain valid

and secure under the laws of Kentucky, and should be determined by

Virginia law as of the time of separation, a subsequent Kentucky law

that diminished the rights of a lawful owner by reducing the scope of

his remedies against an adverse possessor violated the Contracts Clause

(Art. I, § 10).

Justice concurring: Johnson (separately)

11. Osborn v. Bank of the United States, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 738 (1824).

An Ohio statute levying a tax on the Bank of the United States, a

federal instrumentality, was unenforceable (Art VI).

Justices concurring: Marshall, C.J., Washington, Todd, Duvall, Story, Thompson

Justice dissenting: Johnson

12. Ogden v. Saunders, 25 U.S. (12 Wheat.) 213 (1827).

Although a New York insolvency law may be applied to discharge

a debt contracted subsequently to the passage of such law, the statute

could not be accorded extraterritorial enforcement to the extent of discharging a claim sought to be collected by a citizen of another state

either in a federal court or in the courts of other states.

Justices concurring: Johnson, Marshall, C.J., Duvall, Story

Justices dissenting: Washington, Thompson, Trimble

13. Brown v. Maryland, 25 U.S. (12 Wheat.) 419 (1827).

A Maryland statute that required an importer to obtain a license

before reselling in the original package articles imported from abroad

was in conflict with the federal power to regulate foreign commerce

(Art. I, § 8, cl. 3) and with the constitutional provision (Art. I, § 10, cl.

2) prohibiting states from levying import duties.

Justices concurring: Marshall, C.J., Washington, Johnson, Duvall, Story, Trimble

Justice dissenting: Thompson

14. Craig v. Missouri, 29 U.S. (4 Pet.) 410 (1830).

A Missouri act, under the authority of which certificates in denominations of 50 cents to $10 were issued, payable in discharge of taxes

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2347
or debts owned to the state and of salaries due public officers, violated

the constitutional prohibition (Art. I, § 10, cl. 10) against emission of

“bills of credit” by states.

Justices concurring: Marshall, C.J., Duvall, Story, Baldwin

Justices dissenting: Johnson, Thompson, McLean

15. Boyle v. Zacharie, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 635 (1832).

Consistently with the principle of Ogden v. Saunders, a Maryland

insolvency law could not be invoked to effect discharge of an obligation contracted in Louisiana subsequently to its passage.

16. Dobbins v. Commissioners of Erie County, 41 U.S. (16 Pet.) 435 (1842).

A Pennsylvania law that diminished the compensation of a federal officer by subjecting him to county taxes imposed an invalid burden on a federal instrumentality (Art. VI).

17. Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 41 U.S. (16 Pet.) 539 (1842).

A Pennsylvania statute (1826) that penalized an owner’s recovery

of a runaway slave violated Art. IV, § 2, cl. 3, as well as federal implementing legislation.

Justices concurring: Story, Catron, McKinley, Taney (separately), C.J., Thompson (separately), Baldwin (separately), Wayne (separately), Daniel (separately),

McLean (separately)

18. Bronson v. Kinzie, 42 U.S. (1 How.) 311 (1843).

An Illinois mortgage moratorium statute that, when applied to a

mortgage negotiated prior to its passage, reduced the remedies of the

mortgage lender by conferring a new right of redemption upon a defaulting borrower, impaired an obligation of contract contrary to Art.

I, § 10.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., Baldwin, Wayne, Catron, Daniel

Justice dissenting: McLean

19. McCracken v. Hayward, 43 U.S. (2 How.) 608 (1844).

An Illinois mortgage moratorium statute that, when applied to a

mortgage executed prior to its passage, diminished remedies of the mortgage lender by prohibiting consummation of a foreclosure unless the

foreclosure price equaled two-thirds of the value of the mortgaged property, impaired the lender’s obligation of contract contrary to Art. I, § 10.

20. Gordon v. Appeal Tax Court, 44 U.S. (3 How.) 133 (1845).

As to stockholders of Maryland state banks afforded an exemption under prior act of 1821, Maryland statute of 1841 taxing these

stockholders impaired the obligation of contract.

2348 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
21. Planters’ Bank v. Sharp, 47 U.S. (6 How.) 301 (1848).

A Mississippi statute that nullified the power of a bank under a

previously issued charter to discount bills of exchange and promissory

notes and to institute actions for collection of the same was void because it impaired an obligation of contract, in violation of Art. I, § 10.

Justices concurring: McLean, Wayne, Catron, Nelson, Woodbury, Grier

Justices dissenting: Taney, C.J., Daniel

22. Passenger Cases (Smith v. Turner), 48 U.S. (7 How.) 283 (1849).

Collection by New York and Massachusetts of per capita taxes on

alien and domestic passengers arriving in the ports of these states violated Congress’s power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce pursuant to Art. I, § 8, cl. 3.

Justices concurring: McLean (separately), Wayne (separately), Catron (separately),

McKinley (separately), Grier (separately)

Justices dissenting: Taney (separately), C.J., Daniel (separately), Woodbury

(separately), Nelson

23. Woodruff v. Trapnall, 51 U.S. (10 How.) 190 (1851).

A judgment debtor of the State of Arkansas tendered, in satisfaction of the judgment, banknotes in circulation at the time of the repeal by the state of that section of the said bank’s charter providing

that such notes should be received in discharge of public debts. Because of the Contract Clause, the legislative repeal could neither affect such notes nor abrogate the pledge of the state to receive them in

payment of debts.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., McLean, Wayne, McKinley, Woodbury

Justices dissenting: Catron, Daniel, Nelson, Grier

24. Achison v. Huddleson, 53 U.S. (12 How.) 293 (1852).

Because a Maryland statute, assented to by Congress, prohibited tolls

from being levied by that state on passenger coaches carrying mails over

the Cumberland Road, later Maryland law imposing tolls on passengers in such coaches was void because it conflicted with an earlier compact between Maryland and the Federal Government and also because

it imposed a burden on federal carriage of the mails under Art. VI.

25. Trustees for Vincennes University v. Indiana, 55 U.S. (14 How.) 268 (1853).

Because the incorporation by the territorial legislature of the university in 1806 operated to vest in the latter certain federal lands reserved for educational purposes, a subsequent enactment by Indiana

ordering the sale of such lands and use of the proceeds for other purposes was invalid because of impairment of the contractual rights of

the university.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2349
Justices concurring: McLean, Wayne, Nelson, Grier, Curtis

Justices dissenting: Taney, C.J., Catron, Daniel

26. Curran v. Arkansas, 56 U.S. (15 How.) 304 (1854).

Retroactive Arkansas laws that vested all property of the state bank

in Arkansas and thereby prevented the bank from honoring its outstanding bills payable on demand to the holders thereof impaired the

bank’s contractual rights and were void.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., McLean, Wayne, Grier, Curtis, Campbell

Justices dissenting: Catron, Daniel, Nelson

27. State Bank of Ohio v. Knoop, 57 U.S. (16 How.) 369 (1854).

Because state banks, on acceptance of a charter under the Ohio

banking law of 1845, were directed, in lieu of all taxes, to pay six percent of annual dividends to the states, a later statute that exposed

these banks to higher taxes effected an invalid impairment of the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., McLean, Wayne, Nelson, Grier, Curtis

Justices dissenting: Catron, Daniel, Campbell

28. Hays v. The Pacific Mail Steamship Co., 58 U.S. (17 How.) 596 (1855).

California lacked jurisdiction to impose property taxes on vessels

that were owned by a New York company and registered in New York,

as the vessels’ calls at California ports were too brief to establish a

tax situs.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., McLean, Wayne, Catron, Nelson, Grier, Curtis,

Campbell

Justice dissenting: Daniel

29. Dodge v. Woolsey, 59 U.S. (18 How.) 331 (1856).

A levy under an 1851 Ohio law of a bank tax at a higher rate

than that specified in the bank’s charter in 1845 was invalid because

it impaired the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., McLean, Wayne, Nelson, Grier, Curtis

Justices dissenting: Catron, Daniel, Campbell

30. Almy v. California, 65 U.S. (24 How.) 169 (1861).

A California stamp tax imposed on bills of lading for gold or silver transported from California to any place outside the state was void

as a tax on exports forbidden by Art. I, § 10, cl. 2.

31. Howard v. Bugbee, 65 U.S. (24 How.) 461 (1861).

An Alabama statute authorizing redemption of mortgaged property in two years after sale under a foreclosure decree, by bona fide

creditors of the mortgagor could not be applied to sales under mort2350 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
gages executed prior to the enactment without an unconstitutional impairment of the obligation of contracts under Art. I, § 10.

32. Bank of Commerce v. New York City, 67 U.S. (2 Black) 620 (1863).

Securities of the United States being exempt from state taxation,

inclusion of their value in the capital of a bank subjected to taxation

by the terms of a New York law rendered the latter void.

33. Bank Tax Case, 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 200 (1865).

An 1863 New York law, enacted after the Bank of Commerce decision, was held invalid as, in effect, a tax on the securities of the United

States.

34. Hawthorne v. Calef, 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 10 (1865).

A Maine statute terminating the liability of corporate stock for the

debts of the corporation impaired the obligation of contracts with respect to claims of creditors outstanding at the time of such termination.

35. The Binghamton Bridge, 70 U.S. (3 Wall.) 51 (1866).

An obligation of contract was impaired when the New York legislature, after having issued a charter to a bridge company containing

assurances that erection of other bridges within two miles of said bridge

would not be authorized, subsequently chartered a second company to

construct a bridge within a few rods of the first.

36. McGee v. Mathis, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 143 (1867).

An 1855 Arkansas statute that repealed an 1851 grant of a tax

exemption applicable to swamp lands, paid for either before or after

repeal with scrip issued before the repeal, impaired a contract of the

state with holders of such scrip (Art. I, § 10).

37. Cummings v. Missouri, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 277 (1867).

Missouri constitutional provisions that required clergymen, as a

prerequisite to the practice of their profession, to take an oath that

they had never been guilty of hostility to the United States, or of certain other acts that were lawful when committed, was void as a bill of

attainder and as an ex post facto law.

Justices concurring: Wayne, Grier, Nelson, Clifford, Field

Justices dissenting: Swayne, Davis, Miller

38. Von Hoffman v. Quincy, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 535 (1867).

An Illinois law limiting taxing powers granted to a municipality

under a prior law authorizing it to issue bonds and amortize the same

by levy of taxes impaired the obligation of contract under Art. I, § 10.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2351
39. Christmas v. Russell,72 U.S. (5 Wall.) 290 (1866).

A Mississippi statute that prohibited enforcement of a judgment

of a sister state against a resident of Mississippi whenever barred by

the Mississippi statute of limitations violated the Full Faith and Credit

Clause of Art. IV.

40. Steamship Co. v. Portwardens,73 U.S. (6 Wall.) 31 (1867).

A Louisiana statute that provided that port wardens might collect, in addition to other fees, a tax of five dollars from every ship entering the port of New Orleans, whether any service was performed or

not, violated the Commerce Clause (Art. I, § 8, cl. 3).

41. Crandall v. Nevada, 73 U.S. (6 Wall.) 35 (1868).

A Nevada tax collected from every person leaving the state by rail

or stage coach abridged the privileges of United States citizens to move

freely across state lines in fulfillment of their relations with the National Government.

42. Northern Central Ry. v. Jackson, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 262 (1869).

Pennsylvania was without jurisdiction to enforce its law taxing interest on railway bonds secured by a mortgage applicable to railway

property part of which was located in another state.

Justices concurring: Chase, C.J., Nelson, Davis, Field, Miller, Grier

Justices dissenting: Clifford, Swayne

43. Furman v. Nichol, 75 U.S. (8 Wall.) 44 (1869).

A Tennessee statute repealing prior law making notes of the Banks

of Tennessee receivable in payment of taxes impaired the obligation of

contract as to the notes already in circulation (Art. I, § 10).

44. Home of the Friendless v. Rouse, 75 U.S. (8 Wall.) 430 (1869); The Washington University v. Rouse, 75 U.S. (8 Wall.) 439 (1869).

A Missouri statute taxing corporations afforded tax exemption by

their charter impaired the obligation of contract (Art. I, § 10).

Justices concurring: Nelson, Clifford, Grier, Swayne, Davis

Justices dissenting: Chase, C.J., Miller, Field

45. State Tonnage Tax Cases, 79 U.S. (12 Wall.) 204 (1871).

Alabama taxes levied on vessels owned by its citizens and employed in intrastate commerce “at so much per ton of the registered

tonnage” violated the constitutional prohibition against the levy of tonnage duties by states.

2352 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
46. Ward v. Maryland, 79 U.S. (12 Wall.) 418 (1871).

A Maryland law that exacted a traders’ license from nonresidents

at a higher rate than was collected from residents violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Art. IV, § 2.

47. Gibson v. Chouteau, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 92 (1872).

State legislation cannot interfere with the disposition of the public domain by Congress, and therefore a Missouri statute of limitations, which was inapplicable to the United States, could not be applied so as to accord title to an adverse possessor as against a grantee

from the United States, notwithstanding that the adverse possession

preceded the federal conveyance.

Justices concurring: Field, Nelson, Swayne, Clifford, Miller, Bradley, Chase, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Davis, Strong

48. Wilmington R.R. v. Reid, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 264 (1872).

A North Carolina statute that levied a tax on the franchise and

property of a railroad that had been accorded a tax exemption by the

terms of its charter impaired the obligation of contract.

49. White v. Hart, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 646 (1872).

The Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10) precluded reliance on a Georgia constitutional provision of 1868, prohibiting enforcement of any contract, the consideration for which was a slave, to defeat enforcement

of a note based on such consideration and negotiated prior to adoption

of said provision.

Justices concurring: Swayne, Nelson, Davis, Strong, Clifford, Miller, Field, Bradley

Justice dissenting: Chase, C.J.

50. Accord: Osborne v. Nicholson, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 654 (1872), invalidating

a similar Arkansas constitutional provision adopted in 1868.

Justices concurring: Swayne, Nelson, Davis, Strong, Clifford, Miller, Field, Bradley

Justice dissenting: Chase, C.J.

51. Delmas v. Insurance Company, 81 U.S. (14 Wall.) 661 (1872).

A Louisiana constitutional provision rendering unenforceable contracts, the consideration for which was Confederate money, was, because of the Contracts Clause (Art. I, § 10), inapplicable to contracts

consummated before adoption of the former provision.

52. Case of the State Freight Tax, 82 U.S. (15 Wall.) 232 (1873).

A Pennsylvania law that imposed a tax on freight transported interstate, into and out of Pennsylvania, was an invalid regulation of

interstate commerce.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2353
Justices concurring: Story, Chase, C.J., Clifford, Miller, Field, Bradley, Hunt

Justices dissenting: Swayne, Davis

53. State Tax on Foreign-Held Bonds, 82 U.S. (15 Wall.) 300 (1873).

A Pennsylvania law, insofar as it directed domestic corporations

to withhold on behalf of the state a portion of interest due on bonds

owned by nonresidents, impaired the obligation of contract and denied

due process by taxing property beyond its jurisdiction.

Justices concurring: Field, Chase, C.J., Bradley, Swayne, Strong

Justices dissenting: Davis, Clifford, Miller, Hunt

54. Gunn v. Barry, 82 U.S. (15 Wall.) 610 (1873).

A Georgia constitutional provision that increased the amount of a

homestead exemption impaired the obligation of contract, insofar as it

applied to a judgment obtained under a less liberal exemption provision.

55. Pierce v. Carskadon, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 234 (1873).

A West Virginia Act of 1865, depriving defendants of right to rehearing on a judgment obtained under an earlier law unless they made

oath that they had not committed certain offenses, constituted an invalid bill of attainder and ex post facto law.

Justices concurring: Field, Chase, C.J., Clifford, Miller, Swayne, Davis, Strong,

Hunt

Justice dissenting: Bradley

56. Humphrey v. Pegues, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 244 (1873).

South Carolina taxing laws, as applied to a railroad whose charter exempted it from taxation, impaired the obligation of contract.

57. Walker v. Whitehead, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 314 (1873).

A Georgia law restricting remedies for obtaining a judgment, so

far as it affected prior contracts, impaired the obligation of contract.

58. Barings v. Dabney, 86 U.S. (19 Wall.) 1 (1873).

A South Carolina act appropriating for payment of state debts the

assets of an insolvent bank, in which the state owned all the stock,

disadvantaged private creditors of the bank and thereby impaired the

obligation of contract.

59. Peete v. Morgan, 86 U.S. (19 Wall.) 581 (1874).

A Texas act of 1870 imposing a tonnage tax on foreign vessels to

defray quarantine expenses held to violate of Art I, § 10, prohibiting

levy without consent of Congress.

2354 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
60. Pacific R.R. v. Maguire, 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 36 (1874).

A Missouri law that levied a tax on a railroad prior to expiration

of a grant of exemption impaired the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Waite, C.J., Field, Bradley, Swayne, Davis, Hunt

Justices dissenting: Clifford, Miller

61. Insurance Co. v. Morse, 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 445 (1874).

A Wisconsin act admitting foreign insurance companies to transact business within the state, upon their agreement not to remove suits

to federal courts, exacted an unconstitutional condition.

Justices concurring: Clifford, Miller, Field, Bradley, Swayne, Strong, Hunt

Justices dissenting: Waite, C.J., Davis

62. Loan Ass’n v. Topeka, 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 655 (1875).

A Kansas act of 1872, authorizing municipalities to issue bonds

repayable out of tax revenues in support of private enterprise, amounted

to collection of money in aid of a private, rather than public purpose,

and violated due process.

Justices concurring: Strong, Swayne, Davis, Waite, C.J., Miller, Field, Bradley

Justice dissenting: Clifford

63. Wilmington & Weldon R.R. v. King, 91 U.S. 3 (1875).

A North Carolina statute, insofar as it authorized a jury, in suits

on contracts negotiated during the Civil War, to place their own estimates upon the value of such contracts instead of taking the value

stipulated by the parties, impaired the obligation of such contracts.

Justices concurring: Waite, C.J., Clifford, Miller, Field, Swayne, Davis, Strong,

Hunt

Justice dissenting: Bradley

64. Welton v. Missouri, 91 U.S. 275 (1875).

A Missouri act that required payment of a license fee by peddlers

of merchandise produced outside the state, but exempted peddlers of

merchandise produced in the state, imposed an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce.

65. Morrill v. Wisconsin, 154 U.S. 626 (1877).

A Wisconsin statute was held void on the basis of Welton v. Missouri.

66. Henderson v. Mayor of New York, 92 U.S. 259 (1876).

A New York act of 1849 that required the owner of an ocean-going

passenger vessel to post a bond of $300 for each passenger as surety

against their becoming public charges, or, in lieu thereof, to pay a tax

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2355
of $1.50 for each, contravened Congress’s exclusive power to regulate

foreign commerce.

67. Chy Lung v. Freeman, 92 U.S. 275 (1876).

A California law that required the master of a vessel to post a

$500 bond for each alien “lewd and debauched female” passenger arriving from a foreign country contravened the federal power to regulate foreign commerce.

68. Inman Steamship Co. v. Tinker, 94 U.S. 238 (1877).

A New York act of 1865, that provided for collection from docking

vessels of a fee measured by tonnage, imposed a tonnage duty in violation of Art. I, § 10.

69. Foster v. Masters of New Orleans, 94 U.S. 246 (1877).

A Louisiana statute, that required a survey of hatches of every

sea-going vessel arriving at New Orleans, contravened the federal power

to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

70. New Jersey v. Yard, 95 U.S. 104 (1877).

A statute increasing a tax above the rate stipulated in the state’s

contract with railroad corporations impaired the obligation of contract.

71. Railroad Co. v. Husen, 95 U.S. 465 (1878).

A Missouri act prohibiting the bringing of cattle into the state between March and November contravened the power of Congress over

interstate commerce.

72. Hall v. DeCuir, 95 U.S. 485 (1878).

A Louisiana Reconstruction Act that prohibited interstate common carriers of passengers from discriminating on the basis of race or

color was held invalid as a regulation of interstate commerce.

73. Farrington v. Tennessee, 95 U.S. 679 (1878).

A Tennessee law increasing the tax on a bank above the rate specified in its charter was held to impair the obligation of that contract.

Justices concurring: Swayne, Miller, Hunt, Bradley, Harlan, Waite, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Strong, Clifford, Field

74. Edwards v. Kearzey, 96 U.S. 595 (1878).

A North Carolina constitutional provision increasing amount of debtor’s property exempt from sale under execution of a judgment impaired the obligation of contracts negotiated prior to its adoption.

Justices concurring: Waite, C.J., Swayne, Bradley, Strong, Miller

2356 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring specially: Field, Hunt

Justice dissenting: Harlan

75. Keith v. Clark, 97 U.S. 454 (1878).

A provision of the Tennessee Constitution of 1865 that forbade the

receipt for taxes of the bills of the Bank of Tennessee and declared

the issues of the bank during the insurrectionary period void was held

to impair the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Miller, Clifford, Strong, Hunt, Swayne, Field

Justices dissenting: Waite, C.J., Bradley, Harlan

76. Cook v. Pennsylvania, 97 U.S. 566 (1878).

A Pennsylvania act taxing auction sales, when applied to sales of

imported goods in the original packages, was void as a duty on imports and a regulation of foreign commerce.

77. Northwestern University v. Illinois ex rel. Miller, 99 U.S. 309 (1878).

A revenue law of Illinois, insofar as it modified tax exemptions

granted to Northwestern University by an earlier statute, impaired the

obligation of contract.

78. Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303 (1880).

A West Virginia law barring Negroes from jury service violated

the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Strong, Miller, Hunt, Swayne, Bradley, Harlan, Waite, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Field, Clifford

79. Guy v. City of Baltimore,100 U.S. 434 (1879).

A Maryland statute and a Baltimore ordinance, levying tax solely

on products of other states, was held to impose an invalid burden upon

foreign and interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Hunt, Clifford, Strong, Miller, Swayne, Field, Bradley

Justice dissenting: Waite, C.J.

80. Tiernan v. Rinker, 102 U.S. 123 (1880).

A Texas statute, insofar as it levied an occupational tax only upon

the sale of out-of-state beer and wine, violated Congress’s power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

81. Hartman v. Greenhow, 102 U.S. 672 (1880).

A Virginia act, adopted subsequently to a law providing for the

issuance of bonds and the acceptance of interest coupons thereon in

full payment of taxes, that levied a new property tax collectible by

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2357
way of deduction from such interest coupons, impaired the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Field, Clifford, Harlan, Strong, Hunt, Swayne, Bradley,

Waite, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Miller

82. Hall v. Wisconsin, 103 U.S. 5 (1880).

A Wisconsin act that repealed a prior statute authorizing payment of fixed sum for performance of a contract to complete a geological survey, impaired the obligation of contract, notwithstanding that

the second act was enacted prior to total fulfillment of the contract.

83. Webber v. Virginia, 103 U.S. 344 (1881).

Virginia license acts, requiring a license for sale of goods made

outside the state but not within the state, were held to conflict with

the Commerce Clause.

84. United States ex rel. Wolff v. City of New Orleans, 103 U.S. 358 (1881).

A Louisiana act withdrawing from New Orleans the power to levy

taxes adequate to amortize previously issued bonds impaired the obligation of contract.

Accord: Louisiana v. Pilsbury, 105 U.S. 278 (1881).

85. Asylum v. City of New Orleans, 105 U.S. 362 (1881).

The general taxing laws for New Orleans when applied to the property of an asylum, whose charter exempted it from taxation, impaired

the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Bradley, Waite, C.J., Woods, Gray, Harlan, Matthews,

Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Miller, Field

86. Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Texas, 105 U.S. 460 (1882).

A Texas tax collected on private telegraph messages sent out of

the state imposed an invalid burden on foreign and interstate commerce, and, insofar as it was imposed on official messages sent by federal officers, it constituted an unconstitutional burden on a federal instrumentality.

87. Ralls County Court v. United States, 105 U.S. 733 (1881).

A Missouri law that deprived a county of the taxing power requisite to meet interest payments on previously issued bonds impaired

the obligation of contract.

2358 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
88. City of Parkersburg v. Brown, 106 U.S. 487 (1882).

A West Virginia law authorizing a city to issue its bonds in aid of

manufacturers was void because it sanctioned an expenditure of public funds for a private purpose contrary to due process.

89. New York v. Compagnie Gen. Transatlantique, 107 U.S. 59 (1882).

A New York law imposing a tax on every alien arriving from a

foreign country, and holding the vessel liable for payment of the tax,

was an invalid regulation of foreign commerce.

90. Kring v. Missouri, 107 U.S. 221 (1883).

A Missouri law that abolished a rule existing at the time the crime

was committed, under which subsequent prosecution for first degree

murder was precluded after a conviction for second degree murder has

been set aside on appeal, was void as an ex post facto law.

Justices concurring: Miller, Harlan, Field, Blatchford, Woods

Justices dissenting: Matthews, Bradley, Gray, Waite, C.J.

91. Nelson v. St. Martin’s Parish, 111 U.S. 716 (1884).

A Louisiana act that repealed the taxing authority of a municipality to pay judgments previously rendered against it impaired the obligation of contract.

92. Cole v. La Grange, 113 U.S. 1 (1885).

A Missouri act that authorized a city to issue bonds in aid of manufacturing corporations was void because it sanctioned defrayment of

public moneys for other than public purpose and deprived taxpayers

of property without due process.

93. Gloucester Ferry Co. v. Pennsylvania, 114 U.S. 196 (1885).

Pennsylvania taxing laws, when applied to the capital stock of a

New Jersey ferry corporation carrying on no business in the state except the landing and receiving of passengers and freight, was void as

a tax on interstate commerce.

94. Virginia Coupon Cases (Poindexter v. Greenhow), 114 U.S. 270 (1885).

A Virginia act that terminated a privilege accorded bondholders

under prior law of tendering coupons from said bonds in payment of

taxes impaired the obligation of contract (Art. I, § 10).

Justices concurring: Matthews, Field, Harlan, Woods, Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Bradley, Miller, Gray, Waite, C.J.

95. Effinger v. Kenney, 115 U.S. 566 (1885).

Virginia Act of 1867, which provided that in suits to enforce contracts for the sale of property negotiated during the Civil War and paySTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2359
able in Confederate notes, the measure of recovery was to be the value

of the land at the time of sale rather than the value of such notes at

that time, impaired the obligation of contracts (Art. I, § 10).

96. Louisville Gas Co. v. Citizens’ Gas Co., 115 U.S. 683 (1885).

A Kentucky act of 1872 that chartered a corporation and authorized it to supply gas in Louisville, Kentucky, impaired the obligation

of contract resulting from the grant of an exclusive privilege to an older

company in 1869.

97. Fisk v. Jefferson Police Jury, 116 U.S. 131 (1885).

When a public officer has completed services (1871–1874), for which

the compensation was fixed by law, an implied obligation to pay him

at such rate arises, and such contract was impaired by a Louisiana

constitutional provision of 1880 that reduced the taxing power of a parish to such extent as to deprive the officer of any effective means of

collecting the sum due him.

98. City of Mobile v. Watson, 116 U.S. 289 (1886).

An Alabama law that deprived Mobile and its successor of the power

to levy taxes sufficient to amortize previously issued bonds impaired

the obligation of contracts.

99. Walling v. Michigan, 116 U.S. 446 (1886).

A Michigan law taxing nonresidents soliciting sale of foreign liquors to be shipped into the state imposed an invalid restraint on interstate commerce.

100. Royall v. Virginia, 116 U.S. 572 (1886).

When a Virginia law provided that coupons on state bonds were

acceptable in payment of state fees, a subsequent law requiring legal

tender in payment of a professional license fee impaired the obligation of contract between the coupon holder and the state. A law that

imposed a penalty for practice without a license was void when applied where the license had been denied for failure to pay in legal tender.

101. Pickard v. Pullman Southern Car Co., 117 U.S. 34 (1886).

A Tennessee privilege tax on railway sleeping cars was void insofar as it applied to cars moving in interstate commerce.

102. Van Brocklin v. Tennessee, 117 U.S. 151 (1886).

A state cannot validly sell for taxes lands that the United States

owned at the time the taxes were levied, but in which it ceased to

have an interest at the time of sale (Art. VI).

2360 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
103. Wabash, St. L. & P. Ry. Co. v. Illinois,118 U.S. 557 (1886).

An Illinois law that prohibited long-short haul rate discrimination, when applied to interstate transportation, encroached upon the

federal commerce power.

Justices concurring: Miller, Field, Harlan, Woods, Matthews, Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Bradley, Gray, Waite, C.J.

104. Robbins v. Shelby County Taxing Dist.,120 U.S. 489 (1887).

A Tennessee law taxing drummers not operating from a domestic

licensed place of business, insofar as it applied to drummers soliciting

sales of goods on behalf of out-of-state business firms, was an invalid

regulation of interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Bradley, Miller, Harlan, Woods, Matthews, Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Waite, C.J., Gray, Field

105. Corson v. Maryland, 120 U.S. 502 (1887).

A Maryland law licensing salesmen, insofar as it was applied to a

New York resident soliciting orders on behalf of a New York firm, was

an invalid regulation of interstate commerce.

106. Barron v. Burnside, 121 U.S. 186 (1887).

An Iowa law that conditioned admission of a foreign corporation

to do local business on the surrender of its right to invoke the diversity of citizenship jurisdiction of federal courts exacted an invalid forfeiture of a constitutional right.

107. Fargo v. Michigan, 121 U.S. 230 (1887).

A Michigan act, insofar as it taxed the gross receipts of companies and corporations engaged in interstate commerce, was held to be

in conflict with the commerce powers of Congress.

108. Seibert v. Lewis, 122 U.S. 284 (1887).

A Missouri law requiring certain petitions, not exacted when county

bonds were issued, before taxes could be levied to amortize said bonds,

impaired the obligation of contracts.

109. Philadelphia Steamship Co. v. Pennsylvania, 122 U.S. 326 (1887).

A Pennsylvania gross receipts tax on public utilities, insofar as it

was applied to the gross receipts of a domestic corporation derived from

transportation of persons and property on the high seas, was in conflict with the exclusive federal power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2361
110. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Pendleton, 122 U.S. 347 (1887).

An Indiana statute concerning the delivery of telegrams, insofar

as it applied to deliveries sent from Indiana to other states, was an

invalid regulation of commerce.

111. Bowman v. Chicago & Northwestern Ry. Co.,125 U.S. 465 (1888).

An Iowa liquor statute that required interstate carriers to procure a certificate from the auditor of the county of destination before

bringing liquor into the state violated of the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Matthews, Field (separately), Miller, Bradley, Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Gray, Waite, C.J.

112. California v. Pacific R.R., 127 U.S. 1 (1888).

A California tax levied on the franchise of interstate railway corporations chartered by Congress pursuant to its commerce power is

void, Congress not having consented to it.

113. Ratterman v. Western Union Tel. Co., 127 U.S. 411 (1888).

An Ohio law that levied a tax on the receipts of a telegraph company was invalid to the extent that part of such receipts levied on were

derived from interstate commerce.

114. Asher v. Texas, 128 U.S. 129 (1888).

A Texas law that imposed a license tax on drummers violates the

Commerce Clause as enforced against one who solicited orders for the

purchase of merchandise from out-of-state sellers.

115. Stoutenburgh v. Hennick, 129 U.S. 141 (1889).

A clause of a District of Columbia act that required commercial

agents selling by sample to pay a license tax was held a regulation of

interstate commerce when applied to agents soliciting purchases on behalf of principals outside the District of Columbia.

Justices concurring: Fuller, C.J., Field, Bradley, Harlan, Matthews, Gray,

Blatchford, Lamar

Justice dissenting: Miller

116. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Alabama, 132 U.S. 472 (1889).

An Alabama tax law, as applied to revenue of telegraph company

made by sending messages outside the state, was held to be an invalid regulation of commerce.

117. Medley, Petitioner, 134 U.S. 160 (1890).

A Colorado law, when applied to a person convicted of a murder

committed prior to the enactment and that increased the penalty to

be imposed, was void as an ex post facto law.

2362 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Miller, Field, Harlan, Gray, Blatchford, Lamar, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brewer, Bradley

118. Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. v. Minnesota, 134 U.S. 418 (1890).

A state rate-regulatory law that empowered a commission to establish rate schedules that were final and not subject to judicial review

as to their reasonableness violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Blatchford, Miller, Field, Harlan, Brewer, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Bradley, Gray, Lamar

119. Leisy v. Hardin, 135 U.S. 100 (1890).

An Iowa Prohibition law, enforced as to an interstate shipment of

liquor in the original packages or kegs, violated Congress’s power to

regulate interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Fuller, C.J., Miller, Field, Bradley, Blatchford, Lamar

Justices dissenting: Gray, Harlan, Brewer

120. Lyng v. Michigan, 135 U.S. 161 (1890).

A Michigan statute that taxed the sale of imported liquor in original package was held an invalid regulation of interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Fuller, C.J., Miller, Field, Bradley, Blatchford, Lamar

Justices dissenting: Gray, Harlan, Brewer

121. McGahey v. Virginia, 135 U.S. 662 (1890).

Virginia acts that stipulated that, if the genuineness of coupons

tendered in payment of taxes was in issue, the bond from which the

coupon was cut must be produced, that precluded use of expert testimony to establish the genuineness of the coupons, and that, in suits

for payment of taxes, imposed on the defendant tendering coupons as

payment the burden of establishing the validity of said coupons, were

deemed to abridge the remedies available to the bondholders so materially as to impair the obligation of contract.

122. Norfolk & Western R.R. v. Pennsylvania, 136 U.S. 114 (1890).

A Pennsylvania act that imposed a license tax on foreign corporation common carriers doing business in the state was held to be invalid as a tax on interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Lamar, Miller, Field, Bradley, Harlan, Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Gray, Brewer

123. Minnesota v. Barber, 136 U.S. 313 (1890).

A Minnesota statute that made it illegal to offer for sale any meat

other than that taken from animals passed by state inspectors was

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2363
held to discriminate against meat producers from other states and to

place an undue burden upon interstate commerce.

124. Brimmer v. Rebman, 138 U.S. 78 (1891).

A Virginia statute prohibiting sale of meat killed 100 miles or more

from place of sale, unless it was first inspected in Virginia, held void

as interference with interstate commerce and imposing a discriminatory tax.

125. Pennoyer v. McConnaughy, 140 U.S. 1 (1891).

An Oregon act of 1887 that voided all certificates for the sale of

public land unless 20% of the purchase price had been paid prior to

1879, altered the terms of purchase provided under preexisting law

and therefore impaired the obligations of the contract.

126. Crutcher v. Kentucky, 141 U.S. 47 (1891).

A Kentucky law that required a license from foreign express corporation agents before doing business in the state was held invalid

under the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Bradley, Field, Harlan, Blatchford, Lamar, Brewer

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Gray

127. Voight v. Wright, 141 U.S. 62 (1891).

A Virginia statute that required state inspection of all but domestic flour held invalid under Commerce Clause.

128. Mobile & Ohio R.R. v. Tennessee, 153 U.S. 486 (1894).

Tennessee statutes that levied taxes on a railroad company enjoying tax exemption under an earlier charter impaired the obligation of

contract.

Justices concurring: Jackson, Field, Harlan, Brown, White

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Gray, Brewer, Shiras

129. New York, L. E. & W. R.R. v. Pennsylvania, 153 U.S. 628 (1894).

A Pennsylvania act of 1885 that required a New York corporation,

when paying interest in New York City on its outstanding securities,

to withhold a Pennsylvania tax levied on resident owners of such securities, violated due process because of its application to property beyond the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania. The act also impaired the obligation of contracts by increasing the conditions originally exacted of

the railroad in return for permission to construct and operate over trackage in Pennsylvania.

2364 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
130. Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Co. v. Kentucky, 154 U.S. 204 (1894).

A Kentucky act regulating toll rates on bridge across the Ohio River

was an unconstitutional regulation of interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Brown, Harlan, Brewer, Shiras, Jackson

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Field, Gray, White

131. Bank of Commerce v. Tennessee, 161 U.S. 134 (1896).

Tennessee revenue laws that imposed a tax on stock beyond that

stipulated under the provision of a state charter impaired the obligation of contracts.

132. Barnitz v. Beverly, 163 U.S. 118 (1896).

A Kansas law granting to mortgagor a right to redeem foreclosed

property, which right did not exist when the mortgage was negotiated,

impaired the obligation of contracts.

133. Illinois Central R.R. v. Illinois, 163 U.S. 142 (1896).

An Illinois statute that required a railroad to run its New Orleans train into Cairo and back to mail line, although there was already adequate service to Cairo, was held to be an unconstitutional

obstruction of interstate commerce and of passage of United States mails.

134. Missouri Pacific Ry. v. Nebraska, 164 U.S. 403 (1896).

A Nebraska statute that compelled a railroad to permit a third

party to erect a grain elevator on its right of way deprived of property

violated due process.

135. Scott v. Donald, 165 U.S. 58 (1897).

A South Carolina act regulating the sale of alcoholic beverages exclusively at state dispensaries, when enforced against a resident importing out-of-state liquor, unconstitutionally discriminated against interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Shiras, Field, Harlan, Gray, White, Peckham, Fuller

Justice dissenting: Brown

136. Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. v. Ellis, 165 U.S. 150 (1897).

A Texas law that required railroads to pay court costs and attorneys’ fees to litigants successfully prosecuting claims against them deprived the railroads of due process and equal protection of the law.

Justices concurring: Brewer, Field, Harlan, Brown, Shiras, Peckham

Justices dissenting: Gray, White, Fuller, C.J.

137. Allgeyer v. Louisiana, 165 U.S. 578 (1897).

A Louisiana law imposing a penalty for soliciting contracts of

insurance on behalf of insurers who had not complied with LouisiSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2365
ana law effected a denial of liberty of contract contrary to due process when applied to an insurance contract negotiated in New York

with a New York company and with premiums and losses to be

paid in New York.

138. Smyth v. Ames, 169 U.S. 466 (1898).

A Nebraska statute setting intrastate freight rates was held to impose rates so low as to be unreasonable and to amount to a deprivation of property without due process of law.

139. Houston & Texas Cent. Ry. v. Texas, 170 U.S. 243 (1898).

A Texas constitutional provision, as enforced to recover certain sections of land held by a railroad company under a previous legislative

grant, impaired the obligation of contract.

140. Thompson v. Utah, 170 U.S. 343 (1898).

A provision in Utah’s constitution, providing for the trial of noncapital criminal cases in courts of general jurisdiction by a jury of eight

persons, was held an ex post facto law as applied to felonies committed before the territory became a state.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Gray, Brown, Shiras, White, McKenna, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brewer, Peckham

141. Schollenberger v. Pennsylvania, 171 U.S. 1 (1898).

A Pennsylvania law that prohibited the manufacture and sale of

oleomargarine was invalid to the extent that it prohibited interstate

importation and resale of oleomargarine in original packages.

Justices concurring: Fuller, C.J., Brewer, Brown, Shiras, White, Peckham, McKenna

Justices dissenting: Gray, Harlan

142. Collins v. New Hampshire, 171 U.S. 30 (1898).

A New Hampshire law that prohibited the sale of oleomargarine

unless it was pink in color, was invalid as an arbitrary means of rendering the product unmarketable and also could not be enforced to prevent the interstate transportation and resale of oleomargarine produced in another state and not pink in color.

Justices concurring: Fuller, C.J., Brewer, Brown, Shiras, White, Peckham, McKenna

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Gray

143. Blake v. McClung, 172 U.S. 239 (1898).

Tennessee acts that granted Tennessee creditors priority over nonresident creditors having claims against foreign corporations admitted

to do local business infringed the Privileges and Immunities Clause of

Art. IV, § 2.

2366 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Harlan, Gray, Brown, Shiras, White, McKenna, Peckham

Justices dissenting: Brewer, Fuller, C.J.

144. Norwood v. Baker, 172 U.S. 269 (1898).

The exaction, as authorized by Ohio law, from the owner of property, via special assessment, of the cost of a public improvement in

substantial excess of the benefits accruing to him amounted to a taking of property for public use without compensation, and violated due

process.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Brown, White, Peckham, McKenna, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brewer, Gray, Shiras

145. Dewey v. City of Des Moines, 173 U.S. 193 (1899).

An Iowa statute deprived a nonresident owner of property in Iowa

of due process by subjecting him to personal liability to pay a special

assessment when the state did not acquire personal jurisdiction via

service of process.

146. Lake Shore & Mich. So. Ry. v. Smith, 173 U.S. 684 (1899).

A Michigan act that required railroads to sell 1,000-mile tickets

at a fixed price in favor of the purchaser, his wife, and children, with

provisions for forfeiture if presented by any other person in payment

of fare, and for expiration within two years, subject to redemption of

unused portion and collection of 3 cents per mile already traveled, effected a taking of property without due process and a denial of equal

protection.

Justices concurring: Peckham, Harlan, Brewer, Brown, Shiras, White

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Gray, McKenna

147. Houston & Texas Cent. R.R. v. Texas, 177 U.S. 66 (1900).

Subsequent repeal of a Texas statute that permitted treasury warrants to be given to the state for payment of interest on bonds issued

by a railroad and held by the state, with accompanying endeavor to

hold the railroad liable for back interest paid on the warrants, impaired the obligation of contract.

148. Cleveland, C.C. & St. L. Ry. v. Illinois, 177 U.S. 514 (1900).

An Illinois law that required all regular passenger trains to stop

at county seats for receipt and discharge of passengers imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce when applied to an express train

serving only through passengers between New York and St. Louis.

149. Stearns v. Minnesota, 179 U.S. 223 (1900).

A Minnesota statute repealing all former tax exemption laws and

providing for the taxation of lands granted to railroads impaired the

obligation of contracts.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2367
Duluth & I. R.R. v. St. Louis County, 179 U.S. 302 (1900).

150. Cotting v. Kansas City Stock Yards Co., 183 U.S. 79 (1901).

A Kansas statute that regulated public stock yards violated the

Equal Protection Clause because it applied to only one stockyard company in the state.

151. Louisville & Nashville R.R. v. Eubank, 184 U.S. 27 (1902).

A Kentucky constitutional provision on long and short haul railroad rates was held invalid where interstate shipments were involved.

Justices concurring: Peckham, Harlan, Brown, Shiras, White, McKenna, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brewer, Gray

152. Connolly v. Union Sewer Pipe Co., 184 U.S. 540 (1902).

An Illinois statute that regulated monopolies, but exempted agricultural products and livestock in the hands of the producer from the

operation of the law, was held to deny the equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Brewer, Brown, Shiras, White, Peckham, Fuller, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McKenna

153. Stockard v. Morgan, 185 U.S. 27 (1902).

A Tennessee license tax on agents soliciting and selling by sample

for a company in another state was held an invalid regulation of commerce.

154. Louisville & J. Ferry Co. v. Kentucky,188 U.S. 385 (1903).

An Indiana franchise granted to a Kentucky corporation for operating a ferry from the Indiana to the Kentucky shore had its tax situs

in Indiana; accordingly, Kentucky lacked jurisdiction with the result

that its law that authorized a levy on the Indiana franchise deprived

it of property without due process of law.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Brewer, Brown, White, Peckham, McKenna, Holmes

Justices dissenting: Shiras, Fuller, C.J.

155. The Roanoke, 189 U.S. 185 (1903).

A Washington law that accorded a contractor or subcontractor a

lien on a foreign vessel for work done and that made no provision for

protection of owner in event contractor was fully paid before notice of

subcontractor’s lien was received deprived the owner of normal defenses and constituted an invalid interference with admiralty jurisdiction exclusively vested in federal courts by Article III.

2368 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
156. The Robert W. Parsons, 191 U.S. 17 (1903).

New York statutes giving a lien for repairs upon vessels, and providing for the enforcement of such liens by proceedings in rem, were

held void as in conflict with the exclusive admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the federal courts.

Justices concurring: Brown, White, McKenna, Holmes, Day

Justices dissenting: Brewer, Peckham, Harlan, Fuller, C.J.

157. Allen v. Pullman Company, 191 U.S. 171 (1903).

A Tennessee tax of $500 per year per Pullman car, when applied

to cars moving in interstate as well as intrastate commerce, imposed

an invalid burden on interstate commerce.

158. Bradley v. Lightcap, 195 U.S. 1 (1904).

An Illinois law, passed after a mortgage was executed, that provided that, if a mortgagee did not obtain a deed within five years after the period of redemption had lapsed, he lost the estate (whereas

under the law existing when the mortgage was executed, failure by

the mortgagee to take out a deed had no effect on the title of the mortgagee against the mortgagor), was held void as impairing the obligation of contract and depriving the mortgagee of property rights without due process.

159. Central of Georgia Ry. v. Murphey, 196 U.S. 194 (1905).

Georgia statutes that imposed the duty on common carriers of reporting on the shipment of freight to the shipper were held void when

applied to interstate shipments.

160. Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905).

A New York statute establishing a 10-hour day in bakeries violated due process because it interfered with the employees’ freedom to

contract in relation to their labor.

Justices concurring: Peckham, Brewer, Brown, McKenna, Fuller

Justices dissenting: Harlan, White, Day, Holmes (separately)

161. Union Transit Co. v. Kentucky, 199 U.S. 194 (1905).

Because tangible personal property acquires a tax situs in the

state where it is permanently located, an attempt by Kentucky, in

which the owner was domiciled, to tax railway cars located in Indiana, was void and amounted to a deprivation of property without

due process.

Justices concurring: Brown, Harlan, Brewer, Peckham, McKenna, Day

Justices dissenting: Holmes, White, Fuller, C.J.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2369
162. Houston & Texas Central R.R. v. Mayes, 201 U.S. 321 (1906).

A Texas statute exacting of an interstate railroad an absolute requirement that it furnish a certain number of cars on a given day to

transport merchandise to another state imposed an invalid, unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Brewer, Brown, Peckham, Holmes, Day

Justices dissenting: Harlan, McKenna, Fuller, C.J.

163. Powers v. Detroit & Grand Haven Ry., 201 U.S. 543 (1906).

When a railroad is reorganized under a special act but no new

corporation is chartered, a tax concession granted by such act amounted

to a contract that could not be impaired by a subsequent Michigan

enactment that purported to alter the rate of the tax.

Justices concurring: Brewer, Harlan, Brown, Peckham, McKenna, Holmes, Day,

Fuller, C.J.

Justice dissenting: White

164. Mayor of Vicksburg v. Vicksburg Waterworks Co., 202 U.S. 453 (1906).

A water company owning an exclusive franchise to supply a city

with water was entitled to an injunction restraining impairment of such

contract by attempted erection by city of its own water system pursuant to Mississippi statutory authorization.

Justices concurring: Day, Brewer, Brown, White, Peckham, McKenna, Holmes,

Fuller, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Harlan

165. American Smelting Co. v. Colorado, 204 U.S. 103 (1907).

A Colorado statute stipulating that foreign corporations, as a condition for admission to do business, pay a fee based on their capital

stock whereupon they would be subjected to all the liabilities and restrictions imposed upon domestic corporations amounted to a contract, the obligation of which was invalidly impaired by a later statute that imposed higher annual license fees on foreign corporations

admitted under the preceding terms than were levied on domestic corporations, whose corporate existence had not expired.

Justices concurring: Peckham, Brewer, White, McKenna, Day

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Holmes, Moody, Fuller, C.J.

166. Adams Express Co. v. Kentucky, 206 U.S. 129 (1907).

A Kentucky law proscribing C.O.D. shipments of liquor, providing

that the place where the money is paid or the goods delivered shall be

deemed to be the place of sale, and making the carrier jointly liable

with the vendor was, as applied to interstate shipments, an invalid

regulation of interstate commerce.

2370 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Brewer, Holmes, Peckham, Moody, White, Day, McKenna,

Fuller, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Harlan

Accord: American Express Co. v. Kentucky, 206 U.S. 139 (1907).

167. Central of Georgia Ry. v. Wright, 207 U.S. 127 (1907).

A Georgia statutory assessment procedure that afforded taxpayer

no opportunity to be heard as to valuation of property not returned by

him under honest belief that it was not taxable, and that permitted

him to challenge the assessment only for fraud and corruption, violated due process.

168. Darnell & Son Co. v. City of Memphis,208 U.S. 113 (1908).

A Tennessee tax law that exempted domestic crops and manufactured products, but applied the levy to like products of out-of-state origin, imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce.

169. Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908).

A Minnesota railroad rate statute that imposed such excessive penalties that parties affected were deterred from testing its validity in

the courts denied a railroad the equal protection of the laws.

170. Galveston, H. & S.A. Ry. v. Texas, 210 U.S. 217 (1908).

A Texas gross receipts tax insofar as it was levied on railroad receipts that included income derived from interstate commerce unconstitutionally burdened interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Brewer, Peckham, Day, Moody

Justices dissenting: Harlan, White, McKenna, Fuller, C.J.

171. Willcox v. Consolidated Gas Co., 212 U.S. 19 (1909).

A New York law that required a public utility to perform its service in such a manner that its entire plant would have to be rebuilt at

a cost on which no return could be obtained under the rates fixed unconstitutionally deprived the utility of its property without due process.

172. Louisville & Nashville R.R. v. Stock Yards Co., 212 U.S. 132 (1909).

A Kentucky constitutional provision that required a carrier to deliver its cars to connecting carriers without providing adequate protection for their return or compensation for their use effected an invalid

taking of property without due process of law.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Brewer, White, Peckham, Day, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McKenna, Harlan, Moody

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2371
173. Nielson v. Oregon, 212 U.S. 315 (1909).

For want of jurisdiction, Oregon could not validly prosecute as a

violator of its law prohibiting the use of purse nets one who, pursuant

to a license from Washington, used such a net on the Washington side

of the Columbia River.

174. Adams Express Co. v. Kentucky, 214 U.S. 218 (1909).

A Kentucky law proscribing the sale of liquor to an inebriate, as

applied to a carrier delivering liquor to such person from another state,

violated the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Brewer, Holmes, Peckham, Moody, White, Day, McKenna,

Fuller, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Harlan

175. Louisiana ex rel. Hubert v. Mayor of New Orleans, 215 U.S. 170 (1909).

A Louisiana act of 1870 providing for registration and collection

of judgments against New Orleans, so far as it delayed payment, or

collection of taxes for payment, of contract claims existing before its

passage, impaired the obligation of such contracts.

176. North Dakota ex rel. Flaherty v. Hanson, 215 U.S. 515 (1910).

A North Dakota statute that required the recipient of a federal

retail liquor license, solely because of payment therefor and without

reference to the doing of any act within North Dakota, to publish official notices of the terms of such license and of the place where it is

posted, to display on his premises an affidavit confirming such publication, and to file an authenticated copy of such federal license together with a $10 fee, was void for imposing a burden on the federal

taxing power.

Justices concurring: White, Harlan, Brewer, Day

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., McKenna, Holmes

177. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Kansas, 216 U.S. 1 (1910).

A Kansas statute imposing a charter fee, computed as a percentage of authorized capital stock, on corporations for the privilege of doing business in Kansas, could not validly be collected from a foreign

corporation engaged in interstate commerce, and also violated due process insofar as it was imposed on property, part of which was located

beyond the limits of that state.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Brewer, White (separately), Day, Moody

Justices dissenting: Holmes, McKenna, Peckham, Fuller, C.J.

178. Ludwig v. Western Union Tel. Co., 216 U.S. 146 (1910).

An Arkansas law that required a foreign corporation engaged in

interstate commerce to pay, as a license fee for doing an intrastate

2372 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
business, a given amount of its entire capital stock, whether employed

in Arkansas or elsewhere, was void by reason of imposing a burden on

interstate commerce and embracing property outside the jurisdiction

of the state.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Moody, Lurton, White, Day, Brewer

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., McKenna, Holmes

179. Southern Ry. v. Greene, 216 U.S. 400 (1910).

An Alabama law that imposed on foreign corporations already admitted to do business an additional franchise or privilege tax not levied on domestic corporations denied the foreign corporations equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Day, Harlan, Brewer, White

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., McKenna, Holmes

180. International Textbook Co. v. Pigg, 217 U.S. 91 (1910).

A Kansas law that imposed upon foreign corporations engaged in interstate commerce, as a condition for admission and retention of the right

to do business in that state, procurement of a license and submission of

an annual financial statement, and that prohibited such foreign corporations from filing actions in Kansas courts unless such conditions were

met, imposed an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Harlan, White, Holmes, Day, Lurton

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., McKenna

181. St. Louis S.W. Ry. v. Arkansas, 217 U.S. 136 (1910).

An Arkansas law, and a commission order issued under it, that

required an interstate carrier, upon application of a local shipper, to

deliver promptly the number of freight cars requested for loading

purposes and that, without regard to the effect of such demand on

its interstate traffic, exposed it to severe penalties for noncompliance, imposed an invalid, unreasonable burden on interstate commerce. The rules of the American Railway Association as to availability of a member carrier’s cars for interstate shipments being a

matter of federal regulation, it was beyond the power of a state

court to pass on their sufficiency.

Justices concurring: White, Harlan, McKenna, Holmes, Day, Lurton

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J.

182. Missouri Pacific Ry. v. Nebraska, 217 U.S. 196 (1910).

A Nebraska law compelling railroad, at its own expense, and upon

request of grain elevator operators, to install switches connecting such

elevators with its right of way, deprived the carrier of property without due process of law.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2373
Justices concurring: Holmes, White, Day, Lurton, Fuller, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, McKenna

183. Dozier v. Alabama, 218 U.S. 124 (1910).

An Alabama law that imposed a license tax on agents not having

a permanent place of business in that state and soliciting orders for

the purchase and delivery of pictures and frames manufactured in, and

delivered from, another state, with the title remaining in the vendor

until the agent collected the purchase price, imposed an invalid burden on interstate commercial transactions.

184. Herndon v. Chicago, R.I. & P. Ry., 218 U.S. 135 (1910).

When a railroad already has provided adequate accommodations

at any point, a Missouri regulation that required interstate trains

to stop at such point imposed an invalid, unreasonable burden on

interstate commerce. Also, a Missouri law that forfeited the right of

an admitted foreign carrier to do a local business upon its instituting a right of action in a federal court imposed an unconstitutional

condition.

185. Bailey v. Alabama, 219 U.S. 219 (1911).

An Alabama law that made a refusal to perform labor contracted

for, without return of money or property advanced under the contract,

prima facie evidence of fraud and that was enforced under local rules

of evidence that precluded one accused of such fraud from testifying

as to uncommunicated motives, was an invalid peonage law proscribed by the Thirteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Hughes, Lamar, Harlan, Day, Van Devanter, McKenna,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Lurton

186. Oklahoma v. Kansas Natural Gas Co.,221 U.S. 229 (1911).

An Oklahoma law that withheld from foreign corporations engaged in interstate commerce a privilege afforded domestic corporations engaged in local commerce, namely, of building pipe lines across

its highways and transporting to points outside its boundaries natural gas extracted and reduced to possession therein, was invalid as a

restraint on interstate commerce and as a deprivation of property without due process of law.

Justices concurring: McKenna, Harlan, Day, Van Devanter, Lamar, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Lurton, Hughes

187. Berryman v. Whitman College, 222 U.S. 334 (1912).

A Washington statute of 1905, as interpreted to authorize taxation of Whitman College, impaired the obligation of contract by nullifying the College’s exemption from taxation conferred by its charter.

2374 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
188. Louisville & Nashville R.R. v. Cook Brewing Co., 223 U.S. 70 (1912).

A Kentucky statute prohibiting common carriers from transporting intoxicating liquors to “dry” points in Kentucky was constitutionally inapplicable to interstate shipments of such liquor to consignees

in Kentucky.

189. Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry. v. O’Connor, 223 U.S. 280 (1912).

A Colorado law levying tax of 2 cents on each $1,000 of a corporation’s capital stock could not constitutionally be collected from a Kansas corporation engaged in interstate commerce, the greater part of

whose property and business was located and conducted outside Colorado.

190. Oklahoma v. Wells, Fargo & Co., 223 U.S. 298 (1912).

An Oklahoma law that purported to be an ad valorem tax on the

property of corporations, levied in the form of a three-percent gross

receipts tax, and computed, in the case of express companies doing an

interstate business, as a percentage of gross receipts from all sources,

interstate as well as intrastate, which is equal to the proportion that

its business in Oklahoma bears to its total business, was void as applied to such express companies. The tax burdened interstate commerce and was levied, contrary to due process, on property in the form

of income from investments and bonds located outside the state.

191. Haskell v. Kansas Natural Gas Co., 224 U.S. 217 (1912).

An Oklahoma conservation law, insofar as it withheld from foreign corporations the right to lay pipe lines across highways for purposes of transporting natural gas in interstate commerce, imposed an

invalid burden on interstate commerce.

192. St. Louis, I. Mt. & So. Ry. v. Wynne,224 U.S. 354 (1912).

An Arkansas law compelling railroads to pay claimants within 30

days after notice of injury to livestock caused by their trains, and, upon

default thereof, authorizing claimants to recover double the damages

awarded by a jury plus an attorney’s fee, notwithstanding that the amount

sued for was less than the amount originally claimed, in effect penalized the railroads for their refusal to pay excessive claims, and accordingly effected an arbitrary deprivation of property without due process of law.

193. Bucks Stove Co. v. Vickers, 226 U.S. 205 (1912).

A Kansas law that imposed certain requirements, such as obtaining permission of the State Charter Board, paying filing and license

fees, and submitting annual statements listing all stockholders, as a

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2375
condition prerequisite to doing business in Kansas and suing in its courts

could not constitutionally be applied to foreign corporations engaged

in interstate commerce. A state cannot exact a franchise for the privilege of engaging in such commerce.

194. Crenshaw v. Arkansas, 227 U.S. 389 (1913).

An Arkansas statute, exacting a license and fee from peddlers of

lightning rods and other articles, as applied to representatives of a Missouri corporation soliciting orders for the sale and subsequent delivery of stoves by said corporation, imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce.

Accord: Rogers v. Arkansas, 227 U.S. 401 (1913).

195. Accord: Stewart v. Michigan, 232 U.S. 665 (1914), voiding application of

a similar Michigan law.

196. Ettor v. City of Tacoma, 228 U.S. 148 (1913).

A Washington statute of 1907 repealing a prior act of 1893, with

the result that rights to consequential damages for a change of street

grade that had already accrued under the earlier act were destroyed,

amounted to a deprivation of property without due process of law.

197. Missouri Pacific Ry. v. Tucker, 230 U.S. 340 (1913).

A Kansas statute that did not permit a carrier to have the sufficiency of rates established under it determined by judicial review and

that exposed the carrier, when sued for charging rates in excess thereof,

to a liability for liquidated damages in the sum of $500, which was

unrelated to actual damages, deprived carrier of property without due

process of law.

198. Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. v. Polt, 232 U.S. 165 (1914).

A South Dakota law that made railroads liable for double damages in case of failure to pay a claim, within 60 days after notice, or

to offer to pay a sum equal to what a jury found the claimant entitled

to, was arbitrary and deprived the carriers of property without due

process of law.

Accord: Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. v. Kennedy, 232 U.S. 626 (1914).

199. Harrison v. St. Louis, S. F. & T. R.R., 232 U.S. 318 (1914).

An Oklahoma law that prohibited foreign corporations, upon penalty of forfeiting their license to do business in that state, from invoking the diversity of citizenship jurisdiction of federal courts, imposed

an unconstitutional condition.

2376 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
200. Foote v. Maryland, 232 U.S. 495 (1914).

The Maryland oyster inspection tax of 1910, levied on oysters coming from other states, the proceeds from which were used partly for

inspection and partly for other purposes, such as the policing of state

waters, was void as imposing a burden on interstate commerce in excess of the expenses absolutely necessary for inspection.

201. Farmers Bank v. Minnesota, 232 U.S. 516 (1914).

Minnesota tax on bonds issued by a municipality of the Territory

of Oklahoma and held by Minnesota corporations was void as a tax on

a federal instrumentality (Art. VI).

202. Russell v. Sebastian, 233 U.S. 195 (1914).

Amendment in 1911 of California constitution of 1879, and municipal ordinances of Los Angeles adopted in pursuance of the amendment were ineffectual by reason of the prohibition against impairment of contracts contained in Art. I, § 10, of the Federal Constitution,

to deprive a utility of rights acquired before said amendment, which

embraced the privilege of laying gas pipes under the streets of Los

Angeles.

203. Singer Sewing Machine Co. v. Brickell, 233 U.S. 304 (1914).

Alabama sewing machine license tax could not be collected from

those agencies of a foreign corporation engaged wholly in an interstate business, that is, in soliciting orders for machines to be accepted

and fulfilled at the Georgia office of the seller.

204. Tennessee Coal Co. v. George, 233 U.S. 354 (1914).

Because venue is not part of a transitory cause of action, an Alabama law that created such a cause of action by making the employer

liable to the employee for injuries attributable to defective machinery

was inoperative insofar as it sought to withhold from such employee

the right to sue on such action in courts of any state other than Alabama; the Full Faith and Credit Clause of Art. IV does not preclude a

court in another state that acquired jurisdiction from enforcing such

right of action.

205. Carondelet Canal Co. v. Louisiana, 233 U.S. 362 (1914).

Louisiana act of 1906 repealing prior act of 1858 and sequestering with compensation certain property acquired by a canal company

under the repealed enactment impaired an obligation of contact.

206. Smith v. Texas, 233 U.S. 630 (1914).

Texas act of 1914 stipulating that only those who have previously

served two years as freight train conductors or brakemen shall be eliSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2377
gible to serve as railroad train conductors was arbitrary and effected

a denial of the equal protection of the laws.

207. International Harvester Co. v. Kentucky, 234 U.S. 216 (1914).

Kentucky criminal and antitrust provisions, both constitutional and

statutory, were void for vagueness and hence violated due process because a prohibition of combinations that establish prices that are greater

or lower than the “real market value” of an article as established by

“fair competition” and “under normal market conditions” afforded no

standard that was possible to know in advance and to obey.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Hughes, Lamar, Day, Lurton, Van Devanter,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McKenna, Pitney

Accord: International Harvester Co. v. Kentucky, 234 U.S. 579 (1914);

Collins v. Kentucky, 234 U.S. 634 (1914); American Machine Co. v. Kentucky, 236 U.S. 660 (1915).

208. Missouri Pacific Ry. v. Larabee, 234 U.S. 459 (1914).

Kansas statute empowering a Kansas court to award against a

litigant attorney’s fees attributable to the presentation before the United

States Supreme Court of an appeal in a mandamus proceeding was

inoperative consistently with the principle of national supremacy, for

a state court cannot be empowered by state law to assess fees for services rendered in a federal court when such assessment is sanctioned

neither by federal law nor by the rules of the Supreme Court.

209. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Brown, 234 U.S. 542 (1914).

South Carolina law making mental anguish resulting from negligent non-delivery of a telegram a cause of action could not be invoked to

support an action for negligent non-delivery in the District of Columbia, an area beyond the jurisdiction of South Carolina and, consistent with

due process, removed from the scope of its legislative power. The statute, as applied to messages sent from South Carolina to another jurisdiction, also was an invalid regulation of interstate commerce.

210. United States v. Reynolds, 235 U.S. 133 (1914).

An Alabama law that permitted a person convicted of an offense

to contract with another whereby, in consideration of the latter’s becoming surety for the convicted person’s fine, the convicted person agreed

to perform certain services, and that further stipulated that, if such

contract were breached, the convicted person would become subject to

a fine equal to the damages sustained by the other contracting party

and payment of which would be remitted to that contracting party, imposed a form of peonage proscribed by the Thirteenth Amendment.

2378 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Holmes (separately)

211. McCabe v. Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry.,235 U.S. 151 (1914).

Oklahoma Separate Coach Law violated the Equal Protection Clause

by permitting carriers to provide sleeping, dining, and chair cars for

whites but not for Negroes.

Justices concurring: White (separately), C.J., Holmes (separately), Lamar

(separately), McReynolds (separately)

212. Sioux Remedy Co. v. Cope, 235 U.S. 197 (1914).

A South Dakota law that required a foreign corporation to appoint a local agent to accept service of process as a condition precedent to suing in state courts to collect a claim arising out of interstate commerce imposed an invalid burden on said commerce.

213. Choctaw & Gulf R.R. v. Harrison, 235 U.S. 292 (1914).

An Oklahoma privilege tax, insofar as it was levied on sale of coal

extracted from lands owned by Indian tribes and leased on their behalf by the Federal Government, was invalid as a tax on federal instrumentality.

214. Coppage v. Kansas, 236 U.S. 1 (1915).

Kansas law proscribing “yellow dog” contracts whereby the employer exacted of employees an agreement not to join or remain a member of a union as a condition of acquiring and retaining employment

deprived employees of liberty of contract contrary to due process.

Justices concurring: Pitney, McKenna, Van Devanter, Lamar, McReynolds,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Day, Hughes, Holmes (separately)

215. Heyman v. Hays, 236 U.S. 178 (1915).

Tennessee county privilege tax law, insofar as it was enforced as

to a liquor dealer doing a strictly mail-order business confined to shipments to out-of-state destinations was void as a burden on interstate

commerce.

Accord: Southern Operating Co. v. Hayes, 236 U.S. 188 (1915).

216. Northern Pacific Ry. v. North Dakota ex rel. McCue, 236 U.S. 585 (1915).

North Dakota law compelling carriers to haul certain commodities at less than compensatory rates deprived them of property without due process.

Justices concurring: Hughes, McKenna, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, Lamar,

McReynolds, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Pitney

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2379
217. Norfolk & Western Ry. v. Conley, 236 U.S. 605 (1915).

A West Virginia law that compelled carriers to haul passengers at

noncompensatory rates deprived them of property without due process.

Justices concurring: Hughes, McKenna, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, Lamar,

McReynolds, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Pitney

218. Wright v. Central of Georgia Ry., 236 U.S. 674 (1915).

Since the lessee of two railroads, built under special charters containing irreparable contracts exempting the railway property from taxation in excess of a given rate was to be viewed as in the same position

as the owners, Georgia’s levy of an ad valorem tax on the lessee in

excess of the charter rate impaired the obligation of contract (Art. I,

§ 10).

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Hughes, Pitney, McReynolds

Accord: Wright v. Louisville & Nashville R.R., 236 U.S. 687 (1915).

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Hughes, Pitney, McReynolds

219. Davis v. Virginia, 236 U.S. 697 (1915).

Solicitation by a peddler in Virginia of orders for portraits made

in another State, with an option to the purchaser to select frames upon

delivery of the portrait by the peddler, amounted to a single transaction in interstate commerce, and Virginia therefore could not validly

impose a peddler’s license tax on the solicitor of such orders.

220. Chicago, B. & Q. Ry. v. Wisconsin R.R. Comm’n, 237 U.S. 220 (1915).

Wisconsin statute requiring interstate trains to stop at villages of

a specified number of inhabitants, without regard to the volume of business done there, was void as imposing an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.

221. Coe v. Armour Fertilizer Works, 237 U.S. 413 (1915).

Florida statute denied due process insofar as it provided, after execution against a corporation had been returned “no property,” a second execution to issue against a stockholder for the same debt to be

enforced against his property to the extent of any unpaid subscription

owing on his stock and without notice to such stockholder.

222. Charleston & W. Car. Ry. v. Varnville Co., 237 U.S. 597 (1915).

A South Carolina law that imposed a penalty on carriers for their

failure to adjust claims within 40 days imposed an invalid burden on

2380 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
interstate commerce and also was in conflict with the federal Carmack

Amendment.

223. Atchison, T. & S. F. Ry. v. Vosburg, 238 U.S. 56 (1915).

The Kansas Reciprocal Demurrage Law of 1905, which allowed recovery of an attorney’s fee by the shipper in case of delinquency by

the carrier, but accorded the carrier no like privilege in case of delinquency on the part of the shipper, denied the carrier equal protection

of the law.

224. Guinn v. United States, 238 U.S. 347 (1915).

An Oklahoma grandfather clause, in its 1910 constitution, exempting from a literacy requirement and automatically enfranchising all

entitled to vote as of January 1, 1866, or who were descendants of

those entitled to vote on the latter date, violated the Fifteenth Amendment’s protection of Negroes from discriminatory denial of the right to

vote based on race.

225. Accord: Mayers v. Anderson, 238 U.S. 368 (1915), voiding a similar Maryland grandfather clause.

226. Southwestern Tel. Co. v. Danaher, 238 U.S. 482 (1915).

An Arkansas statute was held to be unreasonable and to violate

due process because, as enforced, it subjected a telephone company to

a $6,300 penalty for discriminatory refusal to serve when, pursuant to

company regulations known to the state and uniformly enforced for

economical collection of its approved rates, it suspended services to a

delinquent and refused to resume services, while the delinquency remained unpaid, at the reduced rate afforded to those who paid the

monthly service charge in advance.

227. Chicago, M. & St. P. R.R. v. Wisconsin, 238 U.S. 491 (1915).

A Wisconsin statute that compelled sleeping car companies, if an

upper berth was not sold, to accord use of the space to the purchaser

of a lower berth, took salable property from the owner without compensation and therefore deprived the owner of property without due process of law.

Justices concurring: Lamar, Day, Hughes, Van Devanter, Pitney, McReynolds,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McKenna, Holmes

228. Truax v. Raich, 239 U.S. 33 (1915).

An Arizona statute that compelled establishments hiring five or

more workers to reserve 80 percent of the employment opportunities

to U.S. citizens denied aliens equal protection of the laws.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2381
Justices concurring: Hughes, Holmes, Pitney, Lamar, Day, Van Devanter,

McKenna, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

229. Provident Savings Ass’n v. Kentucky, 239 U.S. 103 (1915).

Kentucky statute levying tax, in the nature of a license tax for

the doing of local business, on premiums collected in New York by a

foreign insurance company after it had ceased to do business in that

state violated due process because it affected activities beyond the jurisdiction of the state.

230. Indian Oil Co. v. Oklahoma, 240 U.S. 522 (1916).

Oklahoma tax on lessee’s interest in Indian lands, acquired pursuant to federal statutory authorization, was void as a tax on a federal

instrumentality.

231. Rosenberger v. Pacific Express Co., 241 U.S. 48 (1916).

Texas statute imposing special licenses on express companies maintaining offices for C.O.D. delivery of interstate shipments of alcoholic

beverages imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce under

the terms of the Wilson Act of 1890 (26 Stat. 313).

232. McFarland v. American Sugar Co., 241 U.S. 79 (1916).

A Louisiana law that established a rebuttable presumption that

any person systematically purchasing sugar in Louisiana at a price

below that which he paid in any other state was a party to a monopoly or conspiracy in restraint of trade violated both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment because it declared an individual presumptively guilty of a crime and

exempted countless others paying the same price.

233. Wisconsin v. Philadelphia & Reading Coal Co., 241 U.S. 329 (1916).

A Wisconsin law that revoked the license of any foreign corporation that removed to a federal court a suit instituted against it by a

Wisconsin citizen imposed an unconstitutional condition.

234. Detroit United Ry. v. Michigan, 242 U.S. 238 (1916).

Construction of acts of 1905 and 1907 as compelling a Detroit City

Railway to extend its lines to suburban areas annexed by Detroit only

on the same terms as were contained in its initial franchise as authorized by the Detroit ordinance of 1889, wherein its fare was fixed, operated to impair the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Pitney, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, McReynolds, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Clarke, Brandeis

2382 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
235. Rowland v. Boyle, 244 U.S. 106 (1917).

The two-cent passenger rate fixed by act of the Arkansas legislature was confiscatory and accordingly deprived the railroad of its property without due process.

236. Seaboard Air Line Ry. v. Blackwell, 244 U.S. 310 (1917).

Georgia “Blow-Post” law imposed an unconstitutional burden on

interstate commerce insofar as compliance with it would have required an interstate train to come practically to a stop at each of 124

ordinary grade crossings within a distance of 123 miles in Georgia and

would have added more than six hours to the running time of the train.

Justices concurring: McKenna, Holmes, McReynolds, Day, Clarke, Van Devanter

Justices dissenting: White, C.J., Pitney, Brandeis

237. Western Oil Ref. Co. v. Lipscomb, 244 U.S. 346 (1917).

A Tennessee privilege tax could not validly be imposed on interstate sales consummated at either destination in Tennessee by an Indiana corporation that, for the purpose of filling orders taken by its

salesmen in Tennessee, shipped thereto a tank car of oil and a carload

of barrels and filled the orders through an agent who drew the oil from

the tank car into the barrels, or into barrels furnished by customers,

and then made delivery and collected the agreed price, and thereafter

moved the two cars to another point in Tennessee for effecting like

deliveries.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Holmes, Brandeis, Pitney, McReynolds, Day,

Clarke, McKenna

Justice dissenting: White, C.J.

238. Adams v. Tanner, 244 U.S. 590 (1917).

A Washington law that proscribed private employment agencies

by prohibiting them from collecting fees for their services deprived individuals of the liberty to pursue a lawful calling contrary to due process of law.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Pitney, Van Devanter, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McKenna, Brandeis, Holmes, Clarke

239. Hendrickson v. Apperson, 245 U.S. 105 (1917).

Kentucky act of 1906, amending act of 1894 and construed in such

manner as to enable a county to avoid collection of taxes to repay judgment on unpaid bonds impaired the obligation of contract.

Accord: Hendrickson v. Creager, 245 U.S. 115 (1917).

240. Looney v. Crane Co., 245 U.S. 178 (1917).

A Texas law that, under the guise of taxing the privilege of doing

an intrastate business, imposed on an Illinois corporation a license tax

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2383
based on its authorized capital stock, was void not only as imposing a

burden on interstate commerce, but also as contravening the Due Process Clause by affecting property outside the jurisdiction of Texas.

241. Crew Levick Co. v. Pennsylvania, 245 U.S. 292 (1917).

Pennsylvania gross receipts tax on wholesalers, as applied to a merchant who sold part of his merchandise to customers in foreign countries either as the result of orders received directly from them or as

the result of orders solicited by agents abroad was void as a regulation of foreign commerce and as a duty on exports.

242. International Paper Co. v. Massachusetts, 246 U.S. 135 (1918).

License fee or excise of a given per cent of the par value of the

entire authorized capital stock of a foreign corporation doing both a

local and interstate business and owning property in several States

was a tax on the entire business and property of the corporation and

was void both as an illegal burden on interstate commerce and as a

violation of due process by reason of affecting property beyond the borders of the taxing State.

Accord: Locomobile Co. v. Massachusetts, 246 U.S. 146 (1918).

243. Cheney Brothers Co. v. Massachusetts, 246 U.S. 147 (1918).

When a Connecticut corporation maintains and employs a Massachusetts office with a stock of samples and an office force and traveling salesmen merely to obtain local orders subject to confirmation at

the Connecticut office and with deliveries to be made directly from the

latter, its business was interstate commerce and a Massachusetts annual excise could not be validly applied thereto.

244. New York Life Ins. Co. v. Dodge, 246 U.S. 357 (1918).

Liberty of contract, as protected by the due process clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment, precluded enforcement of the Missouri

nonforfeiture statute, prescribing how net value of a life insurance policy

is to be applied to avert a forfeiture in the event the annual premium

is not paid, so as to prevent a Missouri resident from executing in the

New York office of the insurer a different agreement sanctioned by New

York law whereby the policy was pledged as security for a loan and

later canceled in satisfaction of the indebtedness.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, McKenna, Holmes, Van Devanter, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Day, Pitney, Clarke

245. Georgia v. Cincinnati So. Ry., 248 U.S. 26 (1918).

Georgia act of 1916 revoking a grant in 1879 of a perpetual right

of way to a railroad impaired the obligation of contract (Art. I, § 10).

2384 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
246. Union Pac. R.R. v. Public Service Comm’n, 248 U.S. 67 (1918).

Missouri act, insofar as it authorized the Missouri Public Service

Commission to exact a fee of $10,000 for a certificate of authority for

issuance by an interstate railroad, doing no intrastate business in Missouri, of a $30,000,000 mortgage bond issue to meet expenditures incurred but in small part in that State, imposed an invalid burden on

interstate commerce.

247. Flexner v. Farson, 248 U.S. 289 (1919).

Kentucky law, insofar as it authorized a judgment against nonresident individuals based on service against their Kentucky agent after

his appointment had expired, violated due process.

248. Central of Georgia Ry. v. Wright, 248 U.S. 525 (1919).

Tax exemptions in charters granted to certain railroads inured to

their lessee, and, accordingly, a Georgia tax authorized by a constitutional provision postdating such charters and imposed on the leasehold interest of the lessee impaired the obligation of contract.

249. Union Tank Line Co. v. Wright, 249 U.S. 275 (1919).

A Georgia law under which a New Jersey company’s tank cars operating in and out of that state were assessed upon a track-mileage

basis, i.e., in an amount bearing the same ratio to the value of all its

cars and other personal property as the ratio of the miles of railroad

over which the cars were run in Georgia to the total miles over which

they were run in all states, was invalid because the rule bore no necessary relation to the real value in Georgia and hence conflicted with

due process.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, McKenna, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Pitney, Brandeis, Clarke

250. Standard Oil Co. v. Graves, 249 U.S. 389 (1919).

A Washington law under which, in a ten-year period, inspection

fees collected on oil products brought into the state for use or consumption amounted to $335,000, of which only $80,000 was disbursed for

expenses, was deemed to impose an excessive charge and accordingly

an invalid burden on interstate commerce.

251. Chalker v. Birmingham & N.W. Ry., 249 U.S. 522 (1919).

Tennessee act that made the annual tax for the privilege of doing

railway construction work dependent on whether the person taxed had

his chief office in Tennessee, i.e. $25 if he had and $100 if he did not,

violated the Privilege and Immunities Clause of Art. IV, § 2.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2385
252. Travis v. Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., 252 U.S. 60 (1920).

New York income tax law that allowed exemptions to residents,

with increases for married persons and dependents but that allowed

no equivalent exemptions to nonresidents abridged the Privileges and

Immunities Clause of Art. IV, § 2.

253. Oklahoma Operating Co. v. Love, 252 U.S. 331 (1920).

The Oklahoma constitution and laws, under which an order of the

State Corporation Commission declaring a laundry a monopoly and limiting its rates was not judicially reviewable, and that compelled litigant, for purposes of obtaining a judicial test of rates, to disobey the

order and invite serious penalty for each day of refusal pending completion of judicial appeal, violated due process insofar as rates were enforced by penalties.

254. Accord: Oklahoma Gin Co. v. Oklahoma, 252 U.S. 339 (1920).

An Illinois law denying Illinois courts jurisdiction in actions for

wrongful death occurring in another state, which was construed to

bar jurisdiction of actions on a sister state judgment founded upon

a like cause, was as so applied, in violation of the Full Faith and

Credit Clause.

255. Askren v. Continental Oil Co., 252 U.S. 444 (1920).

New Mexico law levying annual license on distributors of gasoline

plus 2 cents per gallon on all gasoline sold was a privilege tax, and,

as applied to parties who bring gasoline from without and sell it in

New Mexico, imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce insofar as it related to their business of selling in tank car lots and in

barrels or packages as originally imported.

256. Wallace v. Hines, 253 U.S. 66 (1920).

North Dakota act, as administered, imposed invalid burden on interstate commerce and took property without due process by reason of

taxing an interstate railroad by assessing the value of its property in

the state at that proportion of the total value of its stock and bonds

that the main track mileage within the state bore to the main track

mileage of the entire line; this formula was indefensible inasmuch as

the cost of construction per mile was within than without the taxing

state, and the large and valuable terminals of the railroad were located elsewhere.

257. Hawke v. Smith (No. 1), 253 U.S. 221 (1920).

Action of Ohio legislature ratifying proposed Eighteenth Amendment could not be referred to the voters, and the provisions of the Ohio

2386 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
constitution requiring such referendum were inconsistent with Article

V of the Federal Constitution.

Accord: Hawke v. Smith (No. 2), 253 U.S. 231 (1920), applicable

to proposed Nineteenth Amendment.

258. Ohio Valley Water Co. v. Ben Avon Borough, 253 U.S. 287 (1920).

Since Pennsylvania Public Service Commission Law failed to provide opportunity by way of appeal to the courts or by injunctive proceedings to test issue as to whether rates fixed by Commission are confiscatory, order of Commission establishing maximum future rates violated

due process of law.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Day, Van Devanter, Pitney, McKenna, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes, Clarke

259. Royster Guano Co. v. Virginia, 253 U.S. 412 (1920).

A Virginia law that taxed all income of local corporation derived

from business within and without Virginia, while exempting entirely

income derived outside of Virginia by local corporations that did no

local business, violated the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Pitney, McReynolds, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, Clarke,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes

260. Johnson v. Maryland, 254 U.S. 51 (1920).

A Maryland law requiring an operator’s license of drivers of motor trucks could not constitutionally be applied to a Postal Department employee operating a federal mail truck in the performance of

official duty.

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, Brandeis, Clarke,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Pitney, McReynolds

261. Turner v. Wade, 254 U.S. 64 (1920).

The Georgia Tax Equalization Act denied due process insofar as it

authorized an increase in the assessed valuation of the taxpayer’s property without notice and hearing and accorded him an abortive remedy

of arbitration which was nullified by the inability of the arbitrators to

agree on a lower assessment before the expiration of the time when

the assessment became final and binding.

262. Bank of Minden v. Clement, 256 U.S. 126 (1921).

A Louisiana law that exempted proceeds of an insurance policy,

payable upon death of insured to his executor, from the claims of insured’s creditors impaired the obligation of contract as enforced against

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2387
a debt on a promissory note antedating such laws and also as enforced against policies that antedated the law.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, McKenna, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, Pitney,

Brandeis, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Clarke

263. Bethlehem Motors Corp. v. Flynt, 256 U.S. 421 (1921).

North Carolina statute that exacted a $500 license fee of every

automobile manufacturer as a condition precedent to selling cars in

the state, and which imposed a like requirement on any firm selling

cars of a manufacturer who had not paid the tax, but that reduced

the fee to $100 in the event that the manufacturer had invested threefourths of his assets in North Carolina state and municipal securities

or properties, violated the Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection

Clause when enforced against nonresident manufacturers selling cars

in North Carolina directly or through local dealers.

Justices concurring: McKenna, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Clarke

Justices dissenting: Pitney, Brandeis

264. Bowman v. Continental Oil Co., 256 U.S. 642 (1921).

New Mexico statute that imposed a tax of 2 cents per gallon sold

on distributors of gasoline was void insofar as it embraced interstate

transactions, but the annual license fee of $50 imposed thereby on each

gasoline station was totally void insofar as interstate sales could not

be separated from the intrastate sales.

265. Kansas City So. Ry. v. Road Improv. Dist. No. 6, 256 U.S. 658 (1921).

Arkansas statute that authorized local assessments for road improvements denied equal protection of the laws insofar as railroad property was burdened for local improvement on a basis totally different

from that used for measuring the contribution demanded of individual

owners.

266. Eureka Pipe Line Co. v. Hallanan, 257 U.S. 265 (1921).

West Virginia statute that forbade engaging in the business of transporting petroleum in pipe lines without the payment of a tax of 2¢ for

each barrel of oil transported imposed an invalid burden on interstate

commerce as applied to company’s volume of oil produced in, but moving out of, West Virginia to extra-state destinations.

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Clarke, Pitney, Brandeis

Accord: United Fuel Gas Co. v. Hallanan, 257 U.S. 277 (1921), voiding like application of the West Virginia tax to the interstate movement of natural gas.

2388 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Holmes, Pitney, McReynolds, Day, Van Devanter, McKenna,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Clarke

267. Dahnke-Walker Co. v. Bondurant, 257 U.S. 282 (1921).

A Kentucky law prescribing conditions under which foreign corporations could do business in that state, and that precluded enforcement in Kentucky courts of contracts made by foreign corporations not

complying with such conditions, could not be enforced against Tennessee corporation that sued in a Kentucky court for breach of a contract

consummated in that state for the purchase of grain to be delivered to

and used in Tennessee; such transaction was in interstate commerce,

notwithstanding that the Tennessee purchaser might change its mind

after delivery to a carrier in Kentucky and sell the grain in Kentucky

or consign it to some other place in Kentucky.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Holmes, Pitney, Day, McKenna, McReynolds,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Clarke

268. Truax v. Corrigan, 257 U.S. 312 (1921).

An Arizona statute that regulated injunctions in labor disputes,

but exempted ex-employees, when committing tortious injury to the

business of their former employer in the form of mass picketing, libelous utterances, and inducement of customers to withhold patronage,

while leaving subject to injunctive restraint all other tortfeasors engaged in like wrongdoing, deprived the employer of property without

due process and denied him equal protection of the law.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Day, McKenna, McReynolds, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Pitney, Clarke, Brandeis

269. Gillespie v. Oklahoma, 257 U.S. 501 (1922).

An Oklahoma income tax law could not validly be enforced as to

net income of lessee derived from the sales of his share of oil and gas

received under leases of restricted Indian lands which constituted him

in effect an instrumentality used by the United States in fulfilling its

duties to the Indians.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, McKenna, McReynolds, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Pitney, Brandeis, Clarke

270. Terral v. Burke Constr. Co., 257 U.S. 529 (1922).

An Arkansas law that revoked the license of a foreign corporation

to do business in that state whenever it resorted to the federal courts

sitting in that state exacted an unconstitutional condition.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2389
271. Lemke v. Farmers Grain Co., 258 U.S. 50 (1922).

A North Dakota statute that required purchasers of grain to obtain a license to act under a defined system of grading, inspection, and

weighing, and to abide by regulations as to prices and profits imposed

an invalid burden on interstate commerce insofar as it was applied to

a North Dakota association which bought grain in the state and loaded

it promptly on cars for shipment to other states for sale, notwithstanding occasional diversion of the grain for local sales.

Justices concurring: Day, McKenna, McReynolds, Van Devanter, Pitney, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes, Clarke

Accord: Lemke v. Homer Farmers Elevator Co., 258 U.S. 65 (1922).

Justices concurring: Day, McKenna, McReynolds, Pitney, Van Devanter, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Clarke

272. Newton v. Consolidated Gas Co.,258 U.S. 165 (1922).

Rates fixed for the sale of gas by New York statute were confiscatory and deprived the utility of its property without due process of law.

Accord: Newton v. New York Gas Co., 258 U.S. 178 (1922); Newton v. Kings County Lighting Co., 258 U.S. 180 (1922); Newton v. Brooklyn Union Gas Co., 258 U.S. 604 (1922); Newton v. Consolidated Gas

Co., 259 U.S. 101 (1922).

273. Forbes Pioneer Boat Line v. Everglades Drainage Dist., 258 U.S. 338

(1922).

A Florida law retroactively validating collection of fee for passage

through a canal, the use of which was then free by law, was ineffective; a legislature could not retroactively approve what it could not lawfully do.

274. Texas Co. v. Brown, 258 U.S. 466 (1922).

A Georgia law levying inspection fees and providing for inspection of oil and gasoline was unconstitutional as applied to gasoline

and oil in interstate commerce; for the fees clearly exceeded the

cost of inspection and amounted to a tariff levied without the consent of Congress.

275. Chicago & N.W. Ry. v. Nye Schneider Fowler Co., 260 U.S. 35 (1922).

A Nebraska law, as construed, that authorized imposition against

carrier, in favor of claimant, of an additional attorney’s fee of $100,

upon the basis of the service rendered, time and labor bestowed, and

recovery secured by claimant’s attorney in resisting appeal by which

the carrier obtained a large reduction of an excessive judgment was

unreasonable in that it deterred the carrier from vindicating its rights

by appeal and therefore violated due process.

2390 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
276. St. Louis Compress Co. v. Arkansas, 260 U.S. 346 (1922).

An Arkansas law exacting of persons insuring property in Arkansas a five-percent tax on amounts paid on premiums to insurers not

authorized to do business in Arkansas violated due process insofar as

it was applied to insurance contracted and paid for outside Arkansas

by a foreign corporation doing a local business.

277. Champlain Co. v. Brattleboro, 260 U.S. 366 (1922).

A Vermont levy of a property tax on logs under control of the owner

which, in the course of their interstate journey, were being temporarily detained by a boom to await subsidence of high waters and for the

sole purpose of saving them from loss, was void as a burden on interstate commerce.

278. Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922).

A Pennsylvania law that forbade mining in such a way as to cause

subsidence of any human habitation or public street or building and

which thereby made commercially impracticable the removal of valuable coal deposits was deemed arbitrary and amounted to a deprivation of property without due process. As applied to an owner of land

who, prior to this enactment, had validly deeded the surface with express reservation of right to remove coal underneath and subject to

waiver by grantee of damage claims resulting from such mining, said

law also impaired the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, Pitney, McReynolds,

Sutherland, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Brandeis

279. Columbia G. & E. Ry. v. South Carolina, 261 U.S. 236 (1923).

A South Carolina statute, as construed, that sought to convert a

covenant in a prior legislative contract into a condition subsequent,

and to impose as a penalty for its violation the forfeiture of valuable

property, impaired the obligation of contract.

280. Federal Land Bank v. Crosland, 261 U.S. 374 (1923).

A first mortgage executed to a Federal Land Bank is a federal instrumentality and cannot be subjected to an Alabama recording tax.

281. Phipps v. Cleveland Refg. Co., 261 U.S. 449 (1923).

An Ohio law that applied to interstate and intrastate commerce,

and that exacted fees for inspection of petroleum products in excess of

the legitimate cost of inspection, imposed an invalid import tax to the

extent that the excess could not be separated and assigned solely to

intrastate commerce.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2391
282. Thomas v. Kansas City So. Ry., 261 U.S. 481 (1923).

Insofar as drainage district tax authorized under an Arkansas law

imposed upon a railroad a levy disproportionate to the value of the

benefits derived from an improvement, the tax violated the Equal Protection Clause.

283. Davis v. Farmers Co-operative Co.,262 U.S. 312 (1923).

A Minnesota law that provided that interstate railroads that had

an agent in Minnesota to solicit traffic over lines outside Minnesota

may be served with summons by delivery of copy of it to the agent

imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce as applied to a carrier that owned and operated no facilities in Minnesota and that was

sued by a plaintiff who did not reside in Minnesota on a cause of action arising outside the state.

284. Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).

A Nebraska law that forbade the teaching of any language other

than English in any school, private, denominational, or public, maintaining classes for the first eight grades denied liberty without due

process of law.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Brandeis, Butler, Sanford, Van Devanter,

McKenna, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Sutherland

285. Accord: Bartels v. Iowa, 262 U.S. 404 (1923). A similar Iowa law violates due process. Same division of Justices as in Meyer v. Nebraska.

286. Accord: Bohning v. Ohio, 262 U.S. 404 (1923), as to an Ohio law.

287. Georgia Ry. v. Town of Decatur,262 U.S. 432 (1923).

A Georgia law that extended corporate limits of a town and that,

as judicially construed, had the effect of rendering applicable to the

added territory street railway rates fixed by an earlier contract between the town and the railway impaired the obligation of that contract by adding to its burden.

Accord: Georgia Ry. v. College Park, 262 U.S. 441 (1923).

288. Wolff Packing Co. v. Industrial Court, 262 U.S. 522 (1923).

A Kansas law that compelled a business engaged in the manufacturing and processing of food to continue operation in the event of a

labor dispute, to submit the controversy to an arbitration board, and

to abide by the latter’s recommendations pertaining to the payment of

minimum wages, subjected both employers and employees to a denial

of liberty without due process of law.

2392 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Accord: Dorchy v. Kansas, 264 U.S. 286 (1924), same Kansas law

voided when applied to labor disputes affecting coal mines; Wolff Packing Co. v. Industrial Court, 262 U.S. 522 (1923), voiding other provisions of this Kansas law that authorized an arbitration tribunal in the

course of compulsory arbitration, to fix the hours of labor to be observed by an employer involved in a labor dispute.

289. Kentucky Co. v. Paramount Exch., 262 U.S. 544 (1923).

A Wisconsin law that required a foreign corporation not doing business in Wisconsin, or having property there, other than that sought to

be recovered in a suit, to send, as a condition precedent to maintaining such action, its officer with corporate records pertinent to the matter in controversy, and to submit to an adversary examination before

answer, but which did not subject nonresident individuals to such examination, except when served with notice and subpoena within Wisconsin, and then only in the court where the service was had, and which

limited such examinations, in the case of residents of Wisconsin, individual or corporate, to the county of their residence violated the Equal

Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Sanford, Butler, McKenna, McReynolds,

Sutherland, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes

290. Pennsylvania v. West Virginia, 262 U.S. 553 (1923).

A West Virginia law that required pipe line companies to fill all

local needs before endeavoring to export any natural gas extracted in

West Virginia was void as a prohibited interference with interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Sutherland, Butler, McKenna, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, McReynolds, Brandeis, Sanford

291. Clallam County v. United States, 263 U.S. 341 (1923).

Washington state and county property taxes cannot be levied on

the property of a corporation that, though formed under Washington

law, was a federal instrumentality created and operated by the United

States as an instrument of war.

292. Tampa Interocean Steamship Co. v. Louisiana, 266 U.S. 594 (1925).

A Louisiana license tax law could not validly be enforced as to the

business of companies employed as agents by owners of vessels engaged exclusively in interstate and foreign commerce when the services performed by the agents consisted of the soliciting and engaging

of cargo, and the nomination of vessels to carry it, etc. (See Texas Transp.

Co. v. New Orleans, 264 U.S. 150 (1924), voiding like application of a

similar New Orleans ordinance.)

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2393
293. Burns Baking Co. v. Bryan, 264 U.S. 504 (1924).

A Nebraska law that prescribed the minimum weights of loaves

of bread to be made and sold and that, in order to prevent the palming off of smaller for larger sizes, fixed a maximum for each class and

allowed a “tolerance” of only two ounces per pound in excess of the

minimum was found to be unreasonable, to be unnecessary to protect

purchasers against the imposition of fraud by short weights, and therefore to deprive bakers and sellers of bread of their liberty without due

process of law.

Justices concurring: Butler, Sanford, McReynolds, Sutherland, McKenna, Van

Devanter, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes

294. Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry. v. Wells, 265 U.S. 101 (1924).

A Texas law that permitted a nonresident to prosecute a case which

arose outside of Texas against a railroad corporation of another state,

which was engaged in interstate commerce and neither owned nor operated facilities in Texas, was inoperative because it burdened interstate commerce.

295. Air-Way Corp. v. Day, 266 U.S. 71 (1924).

An Ohio law that levied an annual fee on foreign corporations for

the privilege of exercising their franchise in the state, which was computed at the rate of 5¢ per share upon the proportion of the number

of shares of authorized common stock represented by property owned

and used and business transacted in Ohio, was void as imposing a burden on interstate commerce when applied to a foreign corporation all

of whose business, intrastate and interstate, and all of whose property were represented by the shares outstanding; application of the

rate to all shares authorized, or even to a greater number than the

total outstanding, amounted to a burden on all property and business

including interstate commerce. As imposed, the tax also violated the

Equal Protection Clause.

296. Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Dunken, 266 U.S. 389 (1924).

An insurance policy originally issued to insurer in Tennessee and converted by him in Texas from term insurance to 20 year payment life was

deemed to be a mere continuation of the original policy, and upon suit on

the policy in Texas, a Texas law imposing a penalty and allowing an attorney’s fee could not constitutionally be applied against the insurer for

the reason that Texas could not regulate contracts consummated outside its limits in conformity with the laws of the place where the contract was made without violating Full Faith and Credit Clause.

2394 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
297. Ozark Pipe Line Corp. v. Monier, 266 U.S. 555 (1925).

A Missouri law that required foreign corporations doing business In

Missouri to pay an annual franchise tax of 1/10 of 1% of the par value

of capital stock and surplus employed in business in the state could not

constitutionally be exacted of a pipe line company for the privilege of doing in Missouri what was exclusively an interstate business.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Holmes, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Butler,

Sanford, McKenna, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Brandeis

298. Michigan Comm’n v. Duke, 266 U.S. 570 (1925).

A Michigan law that converted an interstate contract motor carrier into a public utility by legislative fiat in effect took property for

public use without compensation in violation of the due process clause,

and also imposed unreasonable conditions on the right to carry on interstate commerce.

299. Flanagan v. Federal Coal Co., 267 U.S. 222 (1925).

In a suit for breach of contract, a plaintiff’s right to sue could not

be barred by his failure to pay a Tennessee license tax, because the

state law levying the tax could not be applied to a contract for the

purchase of coal to be delivered to customers in other states; that is,

in interstate commerce.

300. Buck v. Kuykendall, 267 U.S. 307 (1925).

A Washington law that prohibited motor vehicle common carriers

for hire from using its highways without obtaining a certificate of convenience could not validly be exacted of an interstate motor carrier;

the law was not a regulation designed to promote public safety but a

prohibition of competition and, accordingly, burdened interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Sanford, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Butler, Holmes,

Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

301. Accord: Bush Co. v. Maloy, 267 U.S. 317 (1925), voiding like application

of a similar Maryland law.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Holmes, Sanford, Butler,

Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2395
302. Accord: Allen v. Galveston Truck Line Corp., 289 U.S. 708 (1933), voiding like application of a Texas law.

303. Shafer v. Farmers Grain Co., 268 U.S. 189 (1925).

The North Dakota Grain Grading Act, which required locally grown

wheat, 90% of which was for interstate shipment, to be graded by licensed inspectors, and imposed various requirements, such as the keeping of records of quantity purchased and price paid and the exaction

of bonds from purchasers maintaining grain elevators, was not supportable as an inspection law and imposed undue burdens on interstate

commerce.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Holmes, Butler, McReynolds, Sutherland,

Sanford, Stone, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Brandeis

304. Alpha Cement Co. v. Massachusetts, 268 U.S. 203 (1925).

A Massachusetts law that imposed excise tax on foreign corporations doing business in the state, measured by a combination of the

total value of capital shares attributable to transactions therein and

the proportion of net income attributable to such transactions, could

not validly be applied to a foreign corporation which transacted only

as interstate business therein. The tax as here imposed also violated

due process by affecting property beyond Massachusetts borders.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Holmes, Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland,

Stone, Sanford, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Brandeis

305. Frick v. Pennsylvania, 268 U.S. 473 (1925).

Pennsylvania estate tax law, insofar as it measured the tax on the

transfer of that part of the decedent’s estate located within Pennsylvania by taking the whole of the decedent’s estate which included tangible personal property located outside Pennsylvania, violated due process.

306. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925).

Oregon Compulsory Education Law that required every parent to

send his child to a public school was an unconstitutional interference

with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing of

children and violated due process.

307. Lee v. Osceola Imp. Dist., 268 U.S. 643 (1925).

An Arkansas statute that imposed special assessment on lands acquired by private owners from the United States on account of benefits resulting from road improvements completed before the United

2396 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
States parted with title effected a taking of property without due process of law.

308. Connally v. General Const. Co., 269 U.S. 385 (1926).

An Iowa law that imposed severe, cumulative punishments upon

contractors with the state who paid their workers less than “the current rate of per diem wages in the locality where the work is performed” was void for vagueness and violated due process.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Holmes

309. Browning v. Hooper, 269 U.S. 396 (1926).

A Texas statute that permitted property taxpaying voters to originate an election approving creation of a road improvement district with

power to float bond issue and to levy taxes to amortize the same, with

provision for establishment of the district if approved by two-thirds of

those voting in the election, was procedurally defective in that each

taxpayer to be assessed for the improvement was not accorded a notice and opportunity to be heard on the question of the benefits and

hence denied due process.

310. Rhode Island Trust Co. v. Doughton, 270 U.S. 69 (1926).

A North Carolina law purporting to tax inheritance of shares owned

by nonresident in a foreign corporation having 50% or more of its property in North Carolina violated due process because the property of a

corporation is not owned by a shareholder and presence of corporate

property in the state did not give it jurisdiction over his shares for

tax purposes.

311. Schlesinger v. Wisconsin, 270 U.S. 230 (1926).

A Wisconsin law that established a conclusive presumption that

all gifts of a material part of a decedent’s estate made by him within

six years of his death were made in contemplation of death and therefore subject to the graduated inheritance tax created an arbitrary classification that violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Butler, Sutherland, Sanford, Van Devanter,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

Accord: Uihlein v. Wisconsin, 273 U.S. 642 (1926).

312. Weaver v. Palmer Bros., 270 U.S. 402 (1926).

A Pennsylvania law that prohibited the use of shoddy, even when

sterilized, in the manufacture of bedding materials, was so arbitrary

and unreasonable as to violate due process.

Justices concurring: Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland, Sanford, McReynolds,

Taft, C.J.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2397
Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

313. Fidelity & Deposit Co. v. Tafoya, 270 U.S. 426 (1926).

A New Mexico law that forbade insurance companies authorized

to do business in that state to pay any nonresident any fee for the

obtaining or placing of any policies covering risks in New Mexico violated due process because it attempted to control conduct beyond the

jurisdiction of New Mexico.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Van Devanter, Sutherland, Stone, Butler, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Brandeis, Sanford

314. Childers v. Beaver, 270 U.S. 555 (1926).

An Oklahoma inheritance tax law, applied to inheritance by Indians of Indian lands as determined by federal law, was void as a tax

on a federal instrumentality.

315. Appleby v. City of New York, 271 U.S. 365 (1926).

Acts of New York of 1857 and 1871 authorizing New York City to

erect piers over submerged lots impaired the obligation of contract as

embraced in deeds to such submerged lots conveyed to private owners

for valuable consideration through deeds executed by New York City

in 1852.

316. Appleby v. Delaney, 271 U.S. 403 (1926).

Act of New York of 1871 that authorized New York City to construct certain harbor improvements impaired the obligation of contract embraced in prior deeds to grantees whereunder the latter were

accorded the privilege of filling in their underwater lots and constructing piers thereover.

317. Frost Trucking Co. v. Railroad Comm’n, 271 U.S. 583 (1926).

A California law that provided that private carriers by automobile for hire could not operate over California highways between fixed

points in the state without obtaining a certificate of convenience and

submitting to regulation as common carriers exacted an unconstitutional condition and effected a denial of due process.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, McReynolds (separately), Taft, C.J., Sanford,

Stone, Butler, Van Devanter

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis

318. Jaybird Mining Co. v. Wier, 271 U.S. 609 (1926).

An Oklahoma law that levied an ad valorem tax on ores mined

and in bins on the land was void as a tax on federal instrumentality

when applied to a lessee of Indian land leased with the approval of

the Secretary of the Interior.

2398 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Butler, Stone, Holmes, Sanford, Sutherland, Van Devanter,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Brandeis

319. Hughes Bros. v. Minnesota, 272 U.S. 469 (1926).

A Minnesota law levying personal property tax could not be collected on logs cut in Minnesota pursuant to a contract of sale for delivery in Michigan while they were in transit in interstate commerce by

a route from Minnesota to Michigan.

320. Hanover Fire Ins. Co. v. Harding, 272 U.S. 494 (1926).

When an Illinois tax law originally is construed as a personal property tax whereby the local net receipts of foreign insurance companies

were subjected to assessment at only 30% of full value, but at a later

date is construed as a privilege tax with the result that all the local

net income of such foreign companies was taxed at the rate applicable

to personal property while domestic companies continued to pay the

tax on their personal property assessed at the reduced valuation, the

resulting discrimination denied the foreign companies the equal protection of the laws.

321. Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. v. Doughton,272 U.S. 567 (1926).

A North Carolina inheritance tax law could not validly be applied

to property constituting a trust fund in Massachusetts established under the will of a Massachusetts resident and bestowing a power of appointment upon a North Carolina resident who exercised that power

through a will made in North Carolina; the levy by a state of the tax

on property beyond its jurisdiction violated due process.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

322. Ottinger v. Consolidated Gas Co., 272 U.S. 576 (1926).

Act of New York prescribing a gas rate of $1 per thousand feet

was confiscatory and deprived the utility of its property without due

process of law.

Accord: Ottinger v. Brooklyn Union Co., 272 U.S. 579 (1926).

323. Miller v. City of Milwaukee, 272 U.S. 713 (1927).

A Wisconsin law that exempted income of corporation derived from

interest received from tax exempt federal bonds owned by said corporation, but which attempted to tax such income indirectly by taxing

only so much of the stockholder’s dividends as corresponded to the corporate income not assessed, was invalid.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Stone

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2399
324. Di Santo v. Pennsylvania, 273 U.S. 34 (1927).

A Pennsylvania law exacting a license from persons engaged in

the state in the sale of steamship tickets and orders for transportation to or from foreign countries was void as imposing an undue burden on foreign commerce.

Justices concurring: Butler, McReynolds, Van Devanter, Sutherland, Sanford,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes, Stone

325. Tyson & Bro. v. Banton, 273 U.S. 418 (1927).

A New York law that prohibited ticket agencies from selling theater tickets at prices in excess of 50¢ over the price printed on the

ticket was void because it regulated a business not affected with the

public interest and deprived such business of due process.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Van Devanter, Butler, McReynolds, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone, Sanford

326. Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510 (1927).

An Ohio law that compensated mayors serving as judges in minor

prohibition offenses solely out of the fees and costs collected from defendants who were convicted violated due process.

327. Nixon v. Herndon, 273 U.S. 536 (1927).

Texas White Primary Law that barred Negroes from participation

in Democratic party primary elections denied them the equal protection of the laws.

328. Fairmont Co. v. Minnesota, 274 U.S. 1 (1927).

A Minnesota law that punished anyone who discriminated between different localities of that state by buying dairy products in one

locality at a higher price than was paid for the same commodities in

another locality infringed liberty of contract as protected by the Due

Process Clause.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Butler, Van Devanter, Sanford, Sutherland,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

329. Ohio Pub. Serv. Co. v. Ohio ex rel. Fritz, 274 U.S. 12 (1927).

An Ohio law that destroyed assignability of a franchise previously

granted to an electric company by a municipal ordinance impaired the

obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Sutherland, Stone, Sanford, Butler, Van Devanter,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis

2400 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
330. Southern Ry. v. Kentucky, 274 U.S. 76 (1927).

A Kentucky law that imposed a franchise tax on railroad corporations was constitutionally defective and violated due process insofar

as it was computed by including mileage outside the state that did

not in any plain and intelligible way add to the value of the road and

the rights exercised in Kentucky.

Justices concurring: Butler, Holmes, Sutherland, Stone, McReynolds, Van Devanter,

Sanford, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Brandeis

331. Road Improv. Dist. v. Missouri Pacific R.R., 274 U.S. 188 (1927).

Special assessments levied against a railroad by a road district

pursuant to an Arkansas statute and based on real property and rolling stock and other personalty were unreasonably discriminatory and

excessive and deprived the railroad of property without due process

because other assessments for the same improvement were based solely

on real property.

332. Fiske v. Kansas, 274 U.S. 380 (1927).

As construed and applied to an organization not shown to have

advocated any crime, violence, or other unlawful acts, the Kansas criminal syndicalism law violated due process.

333. Cline v. Frink Dairy Co., 274 U.S. 445 (1927).

Because of the exception it contained, under which its prohibitions were not to apply to conduct engaged in by participants whenever necessary to obtain a reasonable profit from products traded in,

the Colorado Antitrust Law was void for want of a fixed standard for

determining guilt and a violation of due process.

334. Power Mfg. Co. v. Saunders, 274 U.S. 490 (1927).

As applied to a foreign corporation having a fixed place of business and an agent in one county, but no property, debts or anything

also in the county in which it was sued, Arkansas law that authorized

actions to be brought against a foreign corporation in any county in

the state, while restricting actions against domestic corporations to the

county where it had a place of business or where its chief officer resided, deprived the foreign corporation of equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Stone, Sanford,

Butler, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2401
335. Northwestern Ins. Co. v. Wisconsin, 275 U.S. 136 (1927).

A Wisconsin law levying a tax on the gross income of domestic

insurance companies was void where the income was derived in part

as interest on United States bonds.

336. Wuchter v. Pizzutti, 276 U.S. 13 (1928).

A New Jersey statute that provided that in suits by residents against

nonresidents for injuries resulting from operation of motor vehicles by

the latter, service might be made on the Secretary of State as their agent,

but that failed to provide any assurance that notice of such service would

be communicated to the nonresidents, violated due process.

Justices concurring: Taft, C.J., Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland, Sanford,

McReynolds

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes, Stone

337. Accord: Consolidated Flour Mills Co. v. Muegge, 278 U.S. 559 (1928),

voiding similar service as authorized by an Oklahoma law.

338. Missouri ex rel. Robertson v. Miller, 276 U.S. 174 (1928).

A Mississippi statute that terminated the right of a retired revenue agent to prosecute suits for unpaid taxes in the name of his

successor by requiring that the successor approve and join in such

suits, and that stipulated that the successor share equally in the

commissions that had accrued solely to the retired agent, was held

to impair the latter’s rights under the Contract Clause insofar as it

was enforced retroactively to accord a share to the successor in

suits instituted by the retired agent before this legislative alteration.

339. New Brunswick v. United States, 276 U.S. 547 (1928).

Property taxes assessed under New Jersey law on land acquired

from the United States Housing Corporation by private purchasers subject to retention of mortgage by the federal agency could not be collected by sale of the land unless the federal liens were excluded and

preserved as prior liens.

Justices concurring: Sanford, Stone, Sutherland, Butler, Brandeis, Holmes, Van

Devanter, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

340. Brooke v. City of Norfolk, 277 U.S. 27 (1928).

State and city taxes authorized under laws of Virginia may not be

levied on the corpus of a trust located in Maryland, the income from

which accrued to a beneficiary resident in Virginia; the corpus was beyond the jurisdiction of Virginia and accordingly the assessments violated due process.

2402 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
341. Louisville Gas Co. v. Coleman, 277 U.S. 32 (1928).

A Kentucky law that conditioned the recording of mortgages not

maturing within five years upon the payment of a tax of 20 cents

for each $100 of value secured, but that exempted mortgages maturing within that period, was void as denying equal protection of

the laws.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Sanford, Stone

342. Long v. Rockwood, 277 U.S. 142 (1928).

A Massachusetts income tax law could not validly be imposed on

income received by a citizen as royalties for the use of patents issued

by the United States.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Butler, Van Devanter, Sanford, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Sutherland, Stone

343. Standard Pipe Line v. Highway Dist., 277 U.S. 160 (1928).

An Arkansas law that purported to validate assessments by the

district was ineffective to sustain an arbitrary assessment against the

pipe line at the rate of $5,000 per mile in view of the fact that the

pipe line originally was constructed in 1909–1915 at a cost under $9,000

per mile, and the benefit, if any, that accrued to the pipe line was small.

344. Panhandle Oil Co. v. Mississippi ex rel. Knox, 277 U.S. 218 (1928).

A Mississippi law imposing tax on the sale of gasoline was void

as applied to sales to federal instrumentalities such as the Coast Guard

or a Veterans’ Hospital.

Justices concurring: Butler, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Sanford, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone, McReynolds

345. Accord: Graysburg Oil Co. v. Texas, 278 U.S. 582 (1929), voiding application of Texas gasoline tax statute to gasoline sold to the United

States.

346. Ribnik v. McBride, 277 U.S. 350 (1928).

A New Jersey law empowering the Secretary of Labor to fix the

fees charged by employment agencies violated due process because

the regulation was not imposed on a business affected with a public

interest.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Taft, C.J., Sanford, Butler, McReynolds, Van

Devanter

Justices dissenting: Stone, Holmes, Brandeis

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2403
347. Quaker City Cab Co. v. Pennsylvania, 277 U.S. 389 (1928).

A Pennsylvania law that taxed gross receipts of foreign and domestic corporations derived from intrastate operation of taxicabs, but exempted like receipts derived by individuals and partnerships, denied

equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Butler, Sutherland, Sanford, Van Devanter, McReynolds,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

348. Foster-Fountain Packing Co. v. Haydel, 278 U.S. 1 (1928).

The Louisiana Shrimp Act, which permitted shipment of shrimp

taken in Louisiana tidal waters only if the heads and hulls had previously been removed, and which was designed to favor the canning in

Louisiana of shrimp destined for the interstate market, was unconstitutional; those taking the shrimp immediately became entitled to ship

them in interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Butler, Sutherland, Sanford, Stone, Van Devanter, Holmes,

Brandeis, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

349. Accord: Johnson v. Haydel, 278 U.S. 16 (1928), voiding the Louisiana

Oyster Act for like reasons.

350. Louis K. Liggett Co. v. Baldridge, 278 U.S. 105 (1928).

A Pennsylvania law that prohibited corporate ownership of a

drug store unless all of the stockholders were licensed pharmacists

had no reasonable relationship to public health and therefore violated due process.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, Stone, Sanford, McReynolds,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis

351. Williams v. Standard Oil Co., 278 U.S. 235 (1929).

A Tennessee law that fixed the prices at which gasoline may be

sold violated due process because the business sought to be regulated

was not affected with a public interest.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Stone (separately), Sanford, McReynolds, Butler,

Brandeis (separately), Van Devanter, Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Holmes

352. Cudahy Co. v. Hinkle, 278 U.S. 460 (1929).

Where the local property of a foreign corporation and the part of

its business transacted in the state, less than half of which was intrastate, were but small fractions of its entire property and its nationwide business, Washington law that taxed the corporation in the form

2404 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
of a filing fee and a license tax, both reckoned upon its authorized capital stock, was inoperative because it burdened interstate commerce and

reached property beyond the state contrary to due process.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Sutherland, Stone, Sanford, Butler, Van Devanter,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes

353. Frost v. Corporation Comm’n, 278 U.S. 515 (1929).

An Oklahoma law that permitted an individual to engage in the

business of ginning cotton only upon a showing of public necessity, but

allowed a corporation to engage in that business in the same locality

without such a showing, denied the individual equal protection of the

law.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sanford,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes, Stone

354. Manley v. Georgia, 279 U.S. 1 (1929).

A Georgia banking law that declared that every insolvency of a

bank shall be deemed to have been fraudulent, with provision for rebutting that presumption, was arbitrary and unreasonable and violated due process.

355. Carson Petroleum Co. v. Vial, 279 U.S. 95 (1929).

A Louisiana tax law could not be enforced against oil purchased

at interior points for export in foreign commerce for the oil did not

lose its character as goods in foreign commerce merely because, after

shipment to the exporter at a Louisiana port, the oil was temporarily

stored there preparatory to loading on vessels of foreign consignees.

Justices concurring: Taft, C.J., Holmes, Brandeis, Stone, Sanford, Van Devanter,

Butler

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Sutherland

356. London Guarantee & Accident Co. v. Industrial Comm’n, 279 U.S. 109

(1929).

California workmen’s compensation act could not be applied in settlement of a claim for the death of a seaman in a case that was subject

to the exclusive maritime jurisdiction of federal courts.

Justices concurring: Taft, C.J., Holmes, Stone, Sanford, Sutherland, McReynolds,

Butler, Van Devanter

Justice dissenting: Brandeis

357. Helson v. Kentucky, 279 U.S. 245 (1929).

A Kentucky law imposing a tax on the sale of gasoline could not

be applied to gasoline purchased outside Kentucky for use in a ferry

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2405
engaged as an instrumentality of interstate commerce, that is, in operation on the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, Sanford, Stone (separately),

Brandeis (separately), Holmes (separately), Taft, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

358. Macallen Co. v. Massachusetts, 279 U.S. 620 (1929).

A Massachusetts law imposing an excise on domestic business corporations was in reality a statute imposing a tax on income rather

than a tax on the corporate privilege and, as an income tax law, could

not be imposed on income derived from United States bonds nor, because it impaired the obligation of contract, on income from local county

and municipal bonds exempt by statutory contract.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Sanford, Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stone, Holmes, Brandeis

359. Western & Atlantic R.R. v. Henderson, 279 U.S. 639 (1929).

A Georgia law that viewed a fatal collision between railroad and

motor car at grade crossing as raising a presumption of negligence on

the part of the railroad and as the proximate cause of death and that

permitted the jury to weigh the presumption as evidence against the

testimony of the railroad’s witnesses tending to prove due care was

unreasonable and violated due process.

360. Safe Deposit & Trust Co. v. Virginia, 280 U.S. 83 (1929).

A Virginia law that levied a property tax on corpus of a trust consisting of securities managed by a Maryland trustee who paid over to

children of settlor, all of whom resided in Virginia, the income from

the trust, violated due process because it taxed intangibles with a taxable situs in Maryland, where the trustee and owner of the legal title

was located.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland, Sanford,

Stone (separately), Brandeis (separately), Holmes (separately), Taft, C.J.

361. Farmers Loan Co. v. Minnesota, 280 U.S. 204 (1930).

A Minnesota inheritance tax law, insofar as it was applied to Minnesota securities kept in New York by the decedent who died domiciled in New York, violated due process.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland, Sanford,

Stone (separately), Taft, C.J.

362. New Jersey Tel. Co. v. Tax Board, 280 U.S. 338 (1930).

A New Jersey franchise tax law, levied at the rate of 5% of gross

receipts of a telephone company engaged in interstate and foreign commerce, was a direct tax on foreign and interstate commerce and void.

2406 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Butler, Sutherland, Sanford, Van Devanter, McReynolds

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis

363. Moore v. Mitchell, 281 U.S. 18 (1930).

Indiana was powerless to give any force or effect beyond her borders to its 1927 law that purported to authorize a county treasurer to

sue for unpaid taxes owed by a nonresident; such officer derived no

authority in New York from this Indiana law and hence had no legal

capacity to sue in a federal court in New York.

364. Missouri ex rel. Missouri Ins. Co. v. Gehner, 281 U.S. 313 (1930).

A Missouri law that provided that, in taxing assets of insurance

companies, the amounts of their legal reserves and unpaid policy claims

should first be deducted, was invalid as applied to a company owning

nontaxable United States bonds insofar as the law was construed to

require that the deduction should be reduced by the proportion of the

value that such bonds bore to total assets; the company thus was saddled

with a heavier tax burden than would have been imposed had it not

owned such bonds.

Justices concurring: Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Hughes

(separately), C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stone, Holmes, Brandeis

365. Home Ins. Co. v. Dick, 281 U.S. 397 (1930).

A Texas law that forbade insurance stipulations limiting the

time for suit on a claim to less than two years could not be applied, consistently with due process, to permit recovery contrary to

the terms of a fire insurance policy executed in Mexico by a Mexican insurer and covered in part by reinsurance effected in Mexico

and New York by New York insurers licensed to do business in

Texas who defended against a Texas claimant to whom the policy

was assigned while he was a resident of Mexico and where he resided when the loss was sustained.

366. Baldwin v. Missouri, 281 U.S. 586 (1930).

Missouri, not having jurisdiction for tax purposes of various intangibles, such as bank accounts and federal securities held in banks in

Missouri and owned by a decedent domiciled in Illinois, its transfer

tax law could not be applied, consistently with due process, to the transfer of such intangibles, under a will probated in Illinois, to the decedent’s son who also was domiciled in Illinois.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Van Devanter, Sutherland, Butler

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone (separately)

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2407
367. Surplus Trading Co. v. Cook, 281 U.S. 647 (1930).

Arkansas personal property tax laws could not be enforced against

the purchaser of army blankets situate within an army cantonment in

that state, as to which exclusive federal jurisdiction attached under

Art. I, § 8, cl. 17.

368. Beidler v. South Carolina Tax Comm’n, 282 U.S. 1 (1930).

South Carolina inheritance tax law could not be applied, consistently with due process, to affect the transfer by will of shares in a

South Carolina corporation and debts owed by the latter belonging to

a decedent who died domiciled in Illinois; such intangibles were not

shown to have acquired any taxable business situs in South Carolina.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Holmes (separately), Brandeis (separately),

Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Butler, Stone, Roberts

369. Chicago, St. P., M. & O. Ry. v. Holmberg, 282 U.S. 162 (1930).

A Nebraska law, as construed, that required a railroad to provide

an underground cattle-pass across its right of way partly at its own

expense for the purpose, not of advancing safety, but merely for the

convenience of a farmer owning land on both sides of the railroad, deprived the latter of property without due process.

370. Furst v. Brewster, 282 U.S. 493 (1931).

An Arkansas law that withheld from a foreign corporation the right

to sue in state courts unless it had filed a copy of its charter and a

financial statement and had designated a local office and an agent to

accept service of process could not constitutionally be enforced to prevent suit by a non-complying foreign corporation to collect a debt which

arose out of an interstate transaction for the sale of goods.

371. Coolidge v. Long, 282 U.S. 582 (1931).

A Massachusetts law that imposed succession taxes on all property in Massachusetts transferred by deed or gift intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment after the death of the grantor, or transferred to any person absolutely or in trust, could not, consistently with

due process or the Contract Clause, be enforced with reference to rights

of succession or rights effected by gift that vested under trust agreements created prior to passage of the act, notwithstanding that the

settlor died after its passage.

Justices concurring: Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Roberts, Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

372. Hans Rees’ Sons v. North Carolina,283 U.S. 123 (1931).

A North Carolina income tax law, as applied to income of New

York corporation that manufactured leather goods in North Carolina

2408 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
for sale in New York, violated due process because the formula for allocating income to that state, namely, that part of the corporation’s

net income that bears the same ratio to entire net income as the value

of its tangible property in North Carolina bears to the value of all its

tangible property, attributed to North Carolina a portion of total income that was out of all appropriate proportion to the business of the

corporation conducted in North Carolina.

373. Interstate Transit, Inc. v. Lindsey, 283 U.S. 183 (1931).

A Tennessee law that imposed a privilege tax graduated to carrying capacity on motor buses, the proceeds from which were not segregated for application to highway maintenance, was void insofar as the

privilege tax was imposed on a bus carrier engaged exclusively in interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland, Roberts, Stone,

Holmes, Hughes, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

374. Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359 (1931).

A California law that prohibited the display of a red flag in a public or meeting place as a symbol of opposition to organized government or as a stimulus to anarchistic action or as an aid to seditious

propaganda was so vague and indefinite as to permit punishment of

the fair use of opportunity for free political discussion and therefore,

as enforced, denied liberty without due process.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Holmes, Stone, Brandeis, Roberts, Van Devanter,

Sutherland

Justices dissenting: Butler, McReynolds

375. Smith v. Cahoon, 283 U.S. 553 (1931).

Florida law that required motor carriers to furnish bond or an insurance policy for the protection of the public against injuries but which

exempted vehicles used exclusively in delivering dairy products and

carriers engaged exclusively in transporting fish, agricultural, and dairy

products between production to shipping points en route to primary

market denied the equal protection of the laws; and insofar as it subjected carriers for hire to the same requirements as to procurement of

a certificate of convenience and necessity and rate regulation as were

exacted of common carriers the law violated due process.

376. Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697 (1931).

A Minnesota law that authorized the enjoinder of one engaged regularly in the business of publishing a malicious, scandalous, and defamatory newspaper or magazine, as applied to publications charging neglect of duty and corruption on the part of state law enforcement officers,

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2409
effected an unconstitutional infringement of freedom of the press as

safeguarded by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Brandeis, Holmes, Stone, Roberts

Justices dissenting: Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland

377. State Tax Comm’n v. Interstate Natural Gas Co., 284 U.S. 41 (1931).

A Mississippi privilege tax could not be enforced as to an interstate pipe line company that sold gas wholesale to local, independent

distributors from a supply which passed into and through the state in

interstate commerce; fact that pipe line company, in order to make delivery, used a thermometer and reduced pressure, did not convert the

sale into an intrastate transaction.

378. Hoeper v. Tax Comm’n, 284 U.S. 206 (1931).

A Wisconsin income tax law that authorized an assessment against

a husband of a tax computed on the combined total of his and his wife’s

incomes, augmented by surtaxes resulting from the combination, notwithstanding that under the laws of Wisconsin the husband had no

interest in, or control over, the property or income of his wife, violated

the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Stone

379. First Nat’l Bank v. Maine, 284 U.S. 312 (1932).

A Maine transfer tax law could not be applied, consistently with

due process, to the inheritance of shares in a Maine corporation passing under the will of a Massachusetts testator who died a resident of

Massachusetts and owning the shares.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, Roberts, McReynolds,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stone, Holmes, Brandeis

380. New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262 (1932).

An Oklahoma law that prohibited anyone from engaging in the

manufacture, sale, or distribution of ice without a state license, to be

issued only on proof of public necessity and capacity to meet public

demand, constituted an invalid regulation of a business not affected

with a public interest and a denial of liberty to pursue a lawful calling contrary to due process.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Butler, Roberts,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Stone

2410 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
381. Coombes v. Getz, 285 U.S. 434 (1932).

Repeal of a California constitutional provision making directors of

corporations liable to creditors for all moneys misappropriated or embezzled impaired the obligation of contract as to creditors who dealt

with corporations during the period when the constitutional provision

was in force, and inclusion in the state constitution of another provision under which the state reserved the power to alter or repeal all

existing or future laws concerning corporations could not be invoked

to destroy vested rights contrary to due process.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Roberts, Butler, McReynolds, Van Devanter,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone

382. Nixon v. Condon, 286 U.S. 73 (1932).

Texas White Primary Law that empowered the state executive committee of a political party to prescribe the qualifications of members

of the party and thereby to exclude Negroes from voting in primaries

conducted by the party amounted to state action in violation of the

Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone, Roberts, Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland

383. Champlin Rfg. Co. v. Corporation Comm’n, 286 U.S. 210 (1932).

An Oklahoma statute that provided that any person violating it

shall be subject to having his oil-producing property placed in the hands

of a receiver by a court upon the state attorney general’s filing suit,

but that restricted such receivership to the operation of producing wells

and the marketing of the production of such wells in conformity with

this law, was a penal provision and as such violated due process clause

because it punished violations of regulatory provisions of the statute

that were too vague to afford a standard of conduct.

384. Anglo-Chilean Corp. v. Alabama, 288 U.S. 218 (1933).

An Alabama law that subjected foreign corporations to an annual

franchise tax for doing business, levied at the rate of $2 for each $1,000

of capital employed in the state, violated both Art. I, § 10, cl. 2, prohibiting state import duties, and the Commerce Clause, when enforced

against a foreign corporation, whose sole business in Alabama consisted of the landing, storing, and selling in original packages of goods

imported from abroad.

Justices concurring: Butler, McReynolds, Van Devanter, Roberts, Sutherland,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2411
385. Louis K. Liggett Co. v. Lee, 288 U.S. 517 (1933).

The Florida Chain Store Tax Law, which levied a heavier privilege tax per store on the owner whose stores were in different counties than on the owner whose stores were all in the same county, denied equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Roberts, McReynolds, Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Cardozo, Stone

386. Consolidated Textile Co. v. Gregory, 289 U.S. 85 (1933).

A Wisconsin law, insofar as it authorized service of process on a

foreign corporation that sold goods in Wisconsin through a controlled

subsidiary and hence was not carrying on any business in the state at

the time of the attempted service, violated due process, notwithstanding that the summons was served on an officer of the corporation temporarily in Wisconsin for the purpose of negotiating a controversy with

a local attorney.

387. Johnson Oil Co. v. Oklahoma,290 U.S. 158 (1933).

An Oklahoma property tax law could not be enforced, consistently

with due process, against the entire fleet of tank cars of an Illinois

corporation that were used in transporting oil from its refinery in Oklahoma to other states; instead, the state may base its tax on the number of cars that on the average were physically present within its boundaries.

388. Southern Ry. v. Virginia, 290 U.S. 190 (1933).

A Virginia law that authorized an administrative officer to require railroads to eliminate grade crossing whenever, in his opinion,

such alterations were necessary to promote public safety and convenience and afforded the railroads no notice or hearing on the existence of such necessity and no means of reviewing the officer’s decision violated due process.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Roberts, Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland,

Brandeis

Justices dissenting: Hughes, C.J., Stone, Cardozo

389. Morrison v. California, 291 U.S. 82 (1934).

A section of the California Alien Land Law that provided that, when

the state, in a prosecution for violating such law, proved use or occupancy by an alien lessee, alleged in the indictment to be an alien ineligible for naturalization, the onus of proving citizenship shall devolve

upon the defense, was arbitrary and violated due process as applied

to the lessee because a lease of land conveys no hint of criminality

2412 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
and there is no practical necessity for relieving the prosecution of the

obligation of proving Japanese race.

390. Standard Oil Co. v. California, 291 U.S. 242 (1934).

A California law that levied a license tax upon every distributor

for each gallon of motor vehicle fuel sold and delivered by him in the

state could not constitutionally be applied to the sale and delivery of

gasoline to a military reservation as to which the United States had

acquired exclusive jurisdiction.

391. Hartford Accident & Ins. Co. v. Delta Pine Land Co., 292 U.S. 143 (1934).

Mississippi statutes, as judicially construed, that deemed all contracts of insurance and surety covering its citizens to have been made

in Mississippi and that were enforced to facilitate recovery under an

indemnity contract consummated in Tennessee in conformity with the

law of Tennessee, where the insured, a Mississippi corporation, also

conducted its business, and to nullify as contrary to Mississippi law

nonobservance of a contractual stipulation as to the time for filing claims,

violated due process because the Mississippi laws were accorded effect

beyond the territorial limits of Mississippi.

392. McKnett v. St. Louis & S.F. Ry.,292 U.S. 230 (1934).

An Alabama law, as judicially construed, that precluded Alabama

courts from entertaining actions against foreign corporations arising

in other states under federal law, while permitting entertainment of

such actions arising in other states under state law, violated the Constitution.

393. W. B. Worthen Co. v. Thomas, 292 U.S. 426 (1934).

An Arkansas law that exempted life insurance proceeds from judicial process, when applied to prevent recovery by a creditor of the insured who had garnished the insurer prior to passage of the law, impaired the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Cardozo, Brandeis, Roberts, Stone, Sutherland

(separately), Van Devanter (separately), McReynolds (separately), Butler (separately)

394. Concordia Ins. Co. v. Illinois, 292 U.S. 535 (1934).

Illinois tax laws violated the Equal Protection Clause because they

(1) subjected foreign insurance companies selling fire, marine, inland

marine, and casualty insurance to two property taxes, one on tangible

property and a second, on net receipts, including net receipts from their

casualty business, while subjecting competing foreign insurance companies selling only casualty insurance to the single tax on tangible propSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2413
erty; and (2) insofar as the net receipts were assessed at full value

while other personal property in general was assessed at only 60% of

value.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Sutherland, Butler, McReynolds, Roberts

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone

395. Cooney v. Mountain States Tel. Co., 294 U.S. 384 (1935).

Montana laws that imposed an occupation tax on every telephone

company providing service in the state imposed an invalid burden on

interstate commerce when applied to a company that used the same

facilities to furnish both interstate as well as intrastate services.

396. Baldwin v. G.A.F. Seelig, Inc.,294 U.S. 511 (1935).

The New York Milk Control Act, insofar as it prohibited the sale

of milk imported from another state unless the price paid to the producer in the other state equaled the minimum prescribed for purchases from local producers, imposed an unconstitutional burden on

interstate commerce irrespective of resale of such milk in the original

or other containers.

397. Stewart Dry Goods Co. v. Lewis, 294 U.S. 550 (1935).

A Kentucky law that taxed the sales of retailers at the rate of 1⁄20

of 1% on the first $400,000 of gross sales, and that imposed increasing rates on each additional $100,000 of gross sales up to $1,000,000,

with a maximum rate of 1% on sales over $1,000,000, was arbitrary

and violated the Equal Protection Clause because there was no reasonable relation between the amount of the tax and the value of the privilege of merchandising or between gross sales, the measure of the tax,

and net profits.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Butler, McReynolds,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone

398. Accord: Valentine v. A. & P. Tea Co., 299 U.S. 32 (1936), voiding a similar Iowa Chain Store Tax Act.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Sutherland, Butler, McReynolds, Van Devanter,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Cardozo

399. Panhandle Co. v. Highway Comm’n, 294 U.S. 613 (1935).

A Kansas law that, as judicially construed, empowered the state

highway commission to order a pipe line company, at its own expense,

to relocate its pipe and telephone lines, then located on a private right

of way, in order to conform to plans adopted for new highways across

2414 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
the right of way, deprived the company of property without due process of law.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland, Brandeis,

Roberts, Stone (separately), Cardozo (separately), Hughes, C.J.

400. Broderick v. Rosner, 294 U.S. 629 (1935).

A New Jersey law that prohibited suits in New Jersey courts to

enforce a stockholder’s statutory personal liability arising under the

laws of another state, and that was invoked to bar a suit by the New

York Superintendent of Banks to recover assessments levied on New

Jersey residents holding stock in a New York bank, violated the Full

Faith and Credit Clause.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, Stone, Roberts,

McReynolds, Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Cardozo

401. Worthen Co. v. Kavanaugh, 295 U.S. 56 (1935).

An Arkansas law that reduced the remedies available to mortgagees in the event of a default on mortgage bonds issued by an improvement district, with the result that they were deprived of effective means

of recovery for 61⁄2 years, impaired the obligation of contract.

402. Georgia Ry. & Electric Co. v. City of Decatur,295 U.S. 165 (1935).

Insofar as a Georgia statute that authorized a municipality to effect certain street improvements and to assess railways having tracks

on such streets with the cost of such improvements, included an irrebuttable presumption that a benefit accrued to the railway from such

improvements, the statute denied the railway a hearing essential to

due process of law.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Roberts,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stone, Brandeis, Cardozo

403. Senior v. Braden, 295 U.S. 422 (1935).

Insofar as trust certificates held by a resident represented interests in various parcels of land located in, and outside of, Ohio, and

afforded the holder no voice in the management of such property but

only a right to share in the net income from it and in the proceeds

from the sale of it, such interests could be taxed only by a uniform

rule according to value, and an Ohio law that levied an intangible property tax on such interests, which was measured by income, violated

the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Butler, Van Devanter, Sutherland, Roberts,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stone, Brandeis, Cardozo

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2415
404. Colgate v. Harvey, 296 U.S. 404 (1935).

A Vermont law that levied a 4% tax on income derived from loans

made outside the state, but that exempted entirely like income derived from money loaned within Vermont at interest not exceeding 5%

per year, constituted arbitrary discrimination in violation of the privileges and immunities of United States citizens under the Fourteenth

Amendment.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Van Devanter, Butler, McReynolds, Roberts,

Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stone, Brandeis, Cardozo

405. Treigle v. Acme Homestead Ass’n, 297 U.S. 189 (1936).

A Louisiana law that abolished a requirement that building and

loan associations, when income was insufficient to pay all demands of

withdrawing stockholders within 60 days, set apart 50% of receipts to

pay such withdrawals and provided, instead, that the directors be vested

with sole discretion as to the amount to be allocated for such withdrawals, impaired the obligation of contract as to a stockholder who, prior

to the amendment, gave notice of withdrawal and whose demand had

not been paid.

406. Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233 (1936).

A Louisiana law that imposed a tax on the gross receipts derived

from the sale of advertisements by newspapers enjoying a circulation

of more than 20,000 copies per week unconstitutionally restricted freedom of the press contrary to the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

407. Mayflower Farms v. Ten Eyck, 297 U.S. 266 (1936).

The New York Milk Control Act, which permitted milk dealers without well-advertised trade names who were in business before April 10,

1933, to sell milk in New York City at a price one cent below the minimum that was binding on competitors with well-advertised trade names,

denied equal protection to dealers without well-advertised names who

established their business after that date.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Hughes, C.J., Van Devanter, Sutherland, Butler,

McReynolds

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone

408. Bingaman v. Golden Eagle Lines, 297 U.S. 626 (1936).

A New Mexico law that imposed an excise tax on the sale and use

of gasoline and motor fuel and collected a license tax of $25 from users who import for use in New Mexico gasoline purchased in another

state could not validly be imposed on a motor vehicle carrier, engaged

exclusively in interstate commerce, that imported out-of-state gasoline

2416 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
for use in New Mexico. This was because the tax was levied, not as

compensation for the use of that state’s highways, but on the use of

an instrumentality of interstate commerce.

409. Fisher’s Blend Station v. State Tax Comm’n, 297 U.S. 650 (1936).

A Washington statute that levied an occupation tax measured by

gross receipts of radio broadcasting stations within that state whose

programs were received by listeners in other states imposed an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce.

410. International Steel & I. Co. v. National Surety Co., 297 U.S. 657 (1936).

A Tennessee law concerning the settlement of public construction

contracts, which retroactively released the surety on a bond given by

a contractor as required by prior law for the security of claims of materialmen and substituted, without the latter’s consent, the obligation of another bond, impaired the obligation of contract.

411. Graves v. Texas Co., 298 U.S. 393 (1936).

An Alabama law that imposed an excise tax on the sale of gasoline could not be enforced as to sales of gasoline to the United States.

Justices concurring: Butler, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Roberts, Hughes, C.J.,

McReynolds

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis

412. Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo, 298 U.S. 587 (1936).

A New York law that required employers to pay women minimum

wages that would be not only equal to the fair and reasonable value

of the services rendered but also sufficient to meet the minimum cost

of living necessary for health deprived employers and employees of their

freedom of contract without due process of law.

Justices concurring: Butler, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Roberts

Justices dissenting: Hughes, C.J., Brandeis, Stone, Cardozo

413. Binney v. Long, 299 U.S. 280 (1936).

A Massachusetts succession tax law under which succession to property through failure of an intestate to exercise a power of appointment under a non-testamentary conveyance of the property by deed

or trust made after September 1, 1907, was not taxed, whereas if the

conveyance were made before that date, the succession was not only

taxable but the rate might be substantially increased by aggregating

the value of that succession with other interests derived by the transferee by inheritance from the donee of the power, violated the Equal

Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Hughes, C.J., Van Devanter, Butler, Sutherland,

McReynolds

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2417
Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis

414. DeJonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353 (1937).

The Oregon Criminal Syndicalism Law, invoked to punish participation in the conduct of a public meeting devoted to a lawful purpose

merely because the meeting had been held under the auspices of an

organization that taught or advocated the forcible overthrow of government but did not engage in such advocacy during the meeting, violated freedom of assembly and freedom of speech guaranteed by the

Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

415. New York ex rel. Rogers v. Graves, 299 U.S. 401 (1937).

A New York income tax law could not be extended to salaries of

employees of the Panama Railroad Company because the company together with its employees was a federal instrumentality (Art. VI).

416. Ingels v. Morf, 300 U.S. 290 (1937).

The California Caravan Act, which imposed a $15 fee on each motor vehicle transported from another state into California for the purposes of sale, imposed an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce; the proceeds from such fees were not used to meet the cost of

highway construction or maintenance, but instead to reimburse the state

for the added expense of policing caravan traffic, and for that purpose

the fee was excessive.

417. Herndon v. Lowry, 301 U.S. 242 (1937).

A Georgia insurrection statute, which punished as a crime the acts

of soliciting members for a political party and conducting meetings of

a local unit of that party, where one of the doctrines of the party, established by reference to a document not shown to have been exhibited by anyone, may be said to embrace ultimate resort in the indefinite future to violence against government, invaded freedom of speech

as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Brandeis, Stone, Hughes, C.J., Cardozo

Justices dissenting: Van Devanter, McReynolds, Butler, Sutherland

418. Lindsey v. Washington, 301 U.S. 397 (1937).

A Washington statute that increased the severity of a penalty for

a specific offense by mandating a sentence of 15 years, thereby removing the discretion of the judge to sentence for less than the maximum

of 15 years, when applied retroactively to a crime committed before

its enactment, was invalid as an ex post facto law.

2418 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
419. Hartford Ins. Co. v. Harrison, 301 U.S. 459 (1937).

A Georgia law that prohibited stock insurance companies writing

fire and casualty insurance from acting through agents who were their

salaried employees, but that permitted mutual companies writing such

insurance to do so, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Butler, Hughes, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Roberts, Brandeis, Stone, Cardozo

420. Puget Sound Stevedoring Co. v. State Tax Comm’n, 302 U.S. 90 (1937).

A Washington gross receipts tax law could not validly be enforced

as to receipts accruing to a stevedoring corporation acting as an independent contractor in loading and unloading cargoes of vessels engaged in interstate or foreign commerce by longshoremen subject to

its own direction and control; such business was a form of interstate

and foreign commerce.

421. James v. Dravo Contracting Co., 302 U.S. 134 (1937).

A West Virginia gross receipts tax law could not validly be enforced to sustain a levy on that part of gross receipts of a federal contractor working on a federal installation in West Virginia that was derived from the fabrication of equipment at its Pennsylvania plant for

which the contractor received payment prior to installation of such equipment on the West Virginia site owned by the Federal Government; for

such compensable activities were completed beyond the jurisdiction of

West Virginia.

422. Connecticut Gen. Life Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 303 U.S. 77 (1938).

A California law that levied a privilege tax on admitted foreign

insurers, measured by gross premiums received, violated due process

insofar as it affected premiums received in Connecticut on contracts of

reinsurance consummated in the latter state and covering policies of

life insurance issued by other insurers to residents of California; California was without power to tax activities conducted beyond its borders.

Justices concurring: Stone, Hughes, C.J., McReynolds, Brandeis, Butler, Roberts

Justice dissenting: Black

423. Indiana ex rel. Anderson v. Brand, 303 U.S. 95 (1938).

An Indiana law of 1933 that repealed tenure rights of certain teachers accorded under a Tenure Act of 1927 impaired the obligation of

contract.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Hughes, C.J., McReynolds, Brandeis, Butler, Stone

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2419
Justice dissenting: Black

Accord: Indiana ex rel. Valentine v. Marker, 303 U.S. 628 (1938).

424. Adams Mfg. Co. v. Storen, 304 U.S. 307 (1938).

An Indiana gross receipts tax law could not constitutionally be applied to gross receipts derived by an Indiana corporation from sales in

other states of goods manufactured in Indiana; as thus applied the law

burdened interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Hughes, C.J., Brandeis, Butler, Stone, Reed

Justices dissenting: Black (in part), McReynolds (in part)

425. Freeman v. Hewit, 329 U.S. 249 (1946).

Indiana’s gross income tax imposed an unconstitutional burden on

interstate commerce when applied to the receipt by one domiciled in

the state of the proceeds of a sale of securities sent out of the state to

be sold.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson , Rutledge , Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Murphy

426. Indiana Dep’t of Revenue v. Nebeker, 348 U.S. 933 (1955).

Indiana’s gross receipts tax also could not be levied on receipts

from the purchase and sale on margin of securities by resident owners through a nonresident broker engaged in interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Burton, Clark, Minton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas

427. Collins v. Yosemite Park Co., 304 U.S. 518 (1938).

The provisions of the California Alcoholic Beverages Control Act

that imposed a fee for a license to import alcoholic beverages and controlled the importation of such beverages, could not be enforced, consistently with the Twenty-first Amendment, against a retail dealer doing business in a National Park as to which California retained no

jurisdiction.

428. Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337 (1938).

A Missouri statute that accorded Negro residents financial aid to

enable them to obtain instruction at out-of-state universities equivalent to that afforded exclusively to white students at the University of

Missouri denies such Negroes the equal protection of the laws. The

obligation of a state to give equal protection of the laws can be performed only where its laws operate; that is, within its own jurisdiction.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Brandeis, Stone, Roberts, Black, Reed

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Butler

2420 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
429. Gwin, White & Prince, Inc. v. Henneford, 305 U.S. 434 (1939).

A Washington gross receipts tax levied on the privilege of engaging in business in the state cannot constitutionally be imposed on the

gross receipts of a marketing agent for a federation of fruit growers

whose business consists of the marketing of fruit shipped from Washington to places of sale in other states and foreign countries. Such a

tax burdens interstate and foreign commerce contrary to Art. I, § 8, cl.

3.

Justices concurring: Butler, McReynolds, Hughes, C.J., Brandeis, Stone, Roberts,

Reed

Justice dissenting: Black

430. Hale v. Bimco Trading Co., 306 U.S. 375 (1939).

A Florida statute imposing an inspection fee of 15 cents per cwt.

(60 times the cost of the inspection) on cement imported from abroad

is invalid under the Commerce Clause (Art. I, § 8, cl. 3).

431. Lanzetta v. New Jersey, 306 U.S. 451 (1939).

A New Jersey statute that provides, “Any person not engaged in a

lawful occupation, known to be a member of any gang consisting of

two or more persons, who had been convicted at least three times of

being a disorderly person, or who has been convicted of any crime in

this or any other State, is declared to be a gangster . . . ” and punishable upon conviction, violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because of vagueness and uncertainty.

432. Lane v. Wilson, 307 U.S. 268 (1939).

An Oklahoma statute that provided that all persons, other than

those who voted in 1914, who were qualified to vote in 1916 but failed

to register between April 30 and May 11, 1916, should be perpetually

disenfranchised, was found to violate the Fifteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Roberts, Black, Reed, Frankfurter

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Butler

433. Thornhill v. Alabama, 310 U.S. 88 (1940).

An Alabama statute that forbids the publicizing of facts concerning a labor dispute, whether by printed sign, pamphlet, word of mouth,

or otherwise, in the vicinity of the business involved, and without regard to the number of persons engaged in such activity, the peaceful

character of their conduct, the nature of the dispute, or the accuracy

or restraint of the language used in imparting information, violates

freedom of speech and press as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause

of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Stone, Roberts, Black, Reed, Frankfurter,

Douglas, Murphy

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2421
Justice dissenting: McReynolds

434. Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940).

A Connecticut statute that forbids any person to solicit money or

valuables for any alleged religious cause, unless he has first procured

a license from an official who is required to determine whether the

cause is a religious one and who may deny issuance if he determines

that the cause is not, imposes a prior restraint of the free exercise of

religion in violation of due process.

435. McCarroll v. Dixie Lines, 309 U.S. 176 (1940).

Gasoline carried by interstate motor busses through Arkansas for

use as fuel in interstate transportation beyond the Arkansas line cannot be subject to an Arkansas tax imposed for maintenance of state

highways and collected on every gallon of gasoline above 20 brought

into the state in any motor vehicle for use in operating the same. The

statute levying this tax unconstitutionally burdens interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Stone, Hughes, C.J., Roberts, Reed (separately)

Justices dissenting: Black, Frankfurter, Douglas

436. Best v. Maxwell, 311 U.S. 454 (1940).

A North Carolina statute that levies an annual privilege tax of

$250 on every person or corporation, not a regular retail merchant in

the state, who displays samples in any hotel room or house rented for

the purpose of securing retail orders, cannot be applied to a nonresident merchant who took orders in the state and shipped interstate directly to customers. In view of the imposition of a one dollar per year

license tax collected from regular retail merchants, the enforcement of

the statute as to nonresidents unconstitutionally discriminates in favor of intrastate commerce contrary to Art. I, § 8, cl. 3.

437. Wood v. Lovett, 313 U.S. 362 (1941).

When Arkansas, with the help of a statute curing irregularities in

a tax proceeding, sold land under a tax title that was valid, subsequent repeal of the curative statute impaired the obligation of contract (Art. I, § 10, cl. 1).

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Stone, Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Murphy

438. Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941).

A California statute making it a misdemeanor for anyone knowingly to bring, or assist in bringing, into the state a nonresident, indigent person imposes an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce.

2422 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter, Byrnes, Douglas,

Black, Murphy, Jackson would have rested the invalidity on § 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

439. Taylor v. Georgia, 315 U.S. 25 (1942).

A Georgia statute that makes it a crime for any person to contract with another to perform services of any kind, and under such

contract to obtain in advance money or other thing of value, with intent not to perform such service, and providing further that failure to

perform the service or to return the money, without good and sufficient cause, shall amount to presumptive evidence of intent, at the time

of making the contract, not to perform such service, violates the Thirteenth Amendment.

440. Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson, 316 U.S. 535 (1942).

As applied to one convicted once of stealing chickens, and twice of

robbery, an Oklahoma statute providing for the sterilization of habitual criminals, other than those convicted of embezzlement, or violation of prohibition and revenue laws, violates the Equal Protection Clause

of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring specially: Stone, C.J., Jackson

441. Pacific Coast Dairy v. Department of Agriculture, 318 U.S. 285 (1943).

A provision of the California Agricultural Code provided that the

selling and delivery of milk “at less than the minimum wholesale, retail prices effective in a marketing area” was an unfair practice warranting revocation of license or prosecution. Sales and deliveries of milk

to the War Department on a federal enclave within a state over which

the United States has acquired exclusive jurisdiction are not subject

to regulation under a state milk stabilization law.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Roberts, Black, Reed, Douglas, Jackson

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Murphy

442. Mayo v. United States, 319 U.S. 441 (1943).

The Florida Commercial Fertilizer Law, a comprehensive regulation of the sale or distribution of commercial fertilizer that required a

label or stamp on each bag evidencing the payment of an inspection

fee, could not constitutionally be applied to fertilizer that the United

States owned and was distributing within the state pursuant to a provision of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Federal

instrumentalities are immune from state taxation and regulation unless Congress provides otherwise, and Congress had not done so.

443. Taylor v. Mississippi, 319 U.S. 583 (1943).

The General Laws of Mississippi, 1943, ch. 178, provided, in part,

that the teaching and dissemination of printed matter designed to enSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2423
courage disloyalty to the national and state governments, and the distribution of printed matter reasonably tending “to create an attitude

of stubborn refusal to salute, honor, or respect the flag or Government

of the United States, or of the State of Mississippi” was a felony. The

Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits the imposition

of punishment for: (1) urging and advising on religious grounds that

citizens refrain from saluting the flag; and (2) the communication of

beliefs and opinion concerning domestic measures and trends in national and world affairs, when this is without sinister purpose and not

in advocacy of, or incitement to, subversive action against the nation

or state and does not involve any clear and present danger to our institutions or our government. Conviction under the statute for disseminating literature reasonably tending to create an attitude of stubborn

refusal to salute, honor or respect the national and state flags and governments denies the liberty guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

444. Pollock v. Williams, 322 U.S. 4 (1944).

Florida Statute of 1941, sec. 817.09 and sec. 817.10, made it a misdemeanor to induce advances with intent to defraud by a promise to

perform labor, and further made failure to perform labor for which money

had been obtained prima facie evidence of intent to defraud. The statute violates the Thirteenth Amendment and the Federal Antipeonage

Act for it cannot be said that a plea of guilty is uninfluenced by the

statute’s threat to convict by its prima facie evidence section.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson,

Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Stone, C.J., Reed

445. United States v. Allegheny County, 322 U.S. 174 (1944).

Pennsylvania law provided in part that “The following subjects and

property shall be valued and assessed, and subject to taxation,” and

that taxes are declared “to be a first lien on said property.” The effect

of an ad valorem property tax is to increase the valuation of the land

and buildings of a manufacturer by the value of machinery leased to

him by the United States and is therefore a tax on property owned by

the United States and violates the Constitution.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Roberts, Frankfurter

446. McLeod v. J. E. Dilworth Co.,322 U.S. 327 (1944).

The Commerce Clause prohibits the imposition of an Arkansas sales

tax on sales to residents of the state that are consummated by acceptance of orders in, and the shipments of goods from, another state, in

which title passes upon delivery to the carrier.

2424 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

447. Thomas v. Collins, 323 U.S. 516 (1945).

A Texas statute required union organizers, before soliciting members, to obtain an organizer’s card from the Secretary of State. As applied in this case, the statute violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it imposes a prior restraint on free speech and free

assembly. The First Amendment’s safeguards apply to business and economic activity, and restrictions of these activities can be justified only

by clear and present danger to the public welfare.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Stone, C.J., Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter

448. Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt, 324 U.S. 652 (1945).

An Ohio ad valorem tax on Philippine importations violated the

constitutional prohibition of state taxation of imports because the place

from which the imported articles were brought is not a part of the

United States in the constitutional sense.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Roberts, Reed (dissenting in part), Frankfurter,

Douglas (concurring in part), Murphy (concurring in part), Jackson, Rutledge

(concurring in part)

Justice dissenting: Black

449. Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona ex rel. Sullivan,325 U.S. 761 (1945).

The Arizona Train Limit Law makes it unlawful to operate a train

of more than fourteen passenger or seventy freight cars. As applied to

interstate trains, this law contravenes the Commerce Clause. The state

regulation passes beyond what is plainly essential for safety, as it does

not appear that it will lessen, rather than increase, the danger of accident.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter, Murphy, Jackson,

Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas

450. Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501 (1946).

Alabama law makes it a crime to enter or remain on the premises

of another after having been warned not to do so. A state, consistently

with the freedom of religion and the press guaranteed by the First

and Fourteenth Amendments, cannot impose criminal punishment on

a person for distributing religious literature on the sidewalk of a companyowned town contrary to regulations of the town’s management, where

the town and its shopping district are freely accessible to and freely

used by the public in general.

Justices concurring: Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2425
Justices dissenting: Stone, C.J., Reed, Burton

451. Tucker v. Texas, 326 U.S. 517 (1946).

The Texas Penal Code makes it an offense for any “peddler or hawker

of goods or merchandise” willfully to refuse to leave premises after having been notified to do so by the owner or possessor thereof. A state,

consistently with the freedom of religion and the press guaranteed by

the First and Fourteenth Amendments, cannot impose criminal punishment upon a person engaged in religious activities and distributing

religious literature in a village owned by the United States under a

congressional program designed to provide housing for workers engaged in national defense activities, where the village is freely accessible and open to the public.

Justices concurring: Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Stone, C.J., Reed, Burton

452. Republic Pictures Corp. v. Kappler, 327 U.S. 757 (1946).

An Iowa statute, insofar as it required actions on claims arising

under a federal statute not containing any period of limitations to be

commenced within six months, denied equal protection of law when

enforced as to one seeking to recover under the Federal Fair Labor

Standards Act; a state may not discriminate against rights accruing

under federal laws by imposing as to them a special period of limitations not applicable to other claims.

453. Morgan v. Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946).

Virginia law required motor carriers, both interstate and intrastate, to separate without discrimination white and colored passengers in their motor buses so that contiguous seats would not be occupied by persons of different races at the same time. Even though Congress

has enacted no legislation on the subject, the state provisions are invalid as applied to passengers in vehicles moving interstate because

they burden interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Black (separately), Reed, Frankfurter (separately), Douglas,

Murphy, Rutledge

Justice dissenting: Burton

454. Richfield Oil Corp. v. State Bd. of Equalization,329 U.S. 69 (1946).

The California Retail Sales Tax, measured by gross receipts, cannot constitutionally be collected on exports in the form of oil delivered

from appellant’s dockside tanks to a New Zealand vessel in a California port for transportation to Auckland pursuant to a contract of sale

with the New Zealand Government.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Jackson, Rutledge,

Burton

2426 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justice dissenting: Black

455. Order of Travelers v. Wolfe, 331 U.S. 586 (1947).

A South Dakota Law setting a six-year statute of limitations for

commencing actions on contract and declaring void every stipulation

in a contract that reduces the time during which a party may sue to

enforce his rights cannot be applied to an action brought in South Dakota for benefits arising under the constitution of a fraternal benefit

society incorporated in Ohio and licensed to do business in South Dakota. The claimant is bound by the limitation prescribed in the society’s constitution barring actions on claims six months after disallowance by the society, and South Dakota is required under the Federal

Constitution to give full faith and credit to the public acts of Ohio.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Frankfurter, Reed, Jackson, Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

456. United States v. California, 332 U.S. 19 (1947).

California statutes granting permits to California residents to prospect for oil and gas offshore, both within and outside a three-mile marginal belt, are void. California is not the owner of the three-mile marginal belt along its coast; the Federal Government rather than the State

has paramount rights in and power over that belt, and full dominion

over the resources of the soil under that water area. The United States

is therefore entitled to a decree enjoining California and all persons

claiming under it from continuing to trespass upon the area in violation of the rights of the United States.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge, Burton

Justices dissenting: Reed, Frankfurter

457. Sipuel v. Board of Regents, 332 U.S. 631 (1948).

Oklahoma constitutional and statutory provisions barring Negroes from the University of Oklahoma Law School violate the Equal

Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the University Law School is the only institution for legal education maintained

by the state.

458. Oyama v. California, 332 U.S. 633 (1948).

The California Alien Land Law, forbidding aliens ineligible for American citizenship to acquire, own, occupy, lease or transfer agricultural

land, and providing for escheat of any property acquired in violation

of the statutes, cannot constitutionally by applied to effect an escheat

of agricultural lands acquired in the name of a minor American citizen with funds contributed by his father, a Japanese alien ineligible

for naturalization. The statute deprived the son of the equal protecSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2427
tion of the laws and of his privileges as an American citizen, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Reed, Jackson, Burton

459. Winters v. New York, 333 U.S. 507 (1948).

A New York law creating a misdemeanor offense for publishing,

selling, or otherwise distributing “any book, pamphlet, magazine, newspaper or other printed matter devoted to the publication, and principally made up of criminal laws, police reports, or accounts of criminal

deeds, or pictures, or stories of deeds of bloodshed, lust or crime . . . ,”

as construed by the state Court of Appeals to prohibit distribution of

a magazine principally made up of news or stories of criminal deeds

of bloodshed or lust so massed as to become a vehicle for inciting violent and depraved crimes against the person, is so vague and indefinite as to violate the Fourteenth Amendment by prohibiting acts within

the protection of the guaranty of free speech and press.

Justices concurring: Vinson, Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton

460. Toomer v. Witsell, 334 U.S. 385 (1948).

A South Carolina law requiring a license of shrimp boat owners, the fee for which was $25 per boat for residents and $2,500

per boat for nonresidents, plainly discriminated against nonresidents and violated the privileges and immunities clause of Art. IV,

§ 2. The same law unconstitutionally burdened interstate commerce

by requiring all boats licensed to trawl for shrimp in South Carolina waters to dock in the state and to unload their catch, pack,

and properly stamp the catch before shipping or transporting it to

another state.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge, Burton,

Black (dissenting in part), Frankfurter (dissenting in part), Jackson (dissenting in part)

461. Takahashi v. Fish & Game Comm’n, 334 U.S. 410 (1948).

California’s requirement that every person bringing fish ashore in

the state for sale obtain a commercial fishing license, but denying such

a license to any person ineligible for citizenship, precluded a resident

Japanese alien from earning his living as a commercial fisherman in

the ocean waters off the state and was invalid both under the Equal

Protection Clause and a federal statute (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge,

Burton

Justices dissenting: Reed, Jackson

2428 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
462. Greyhound Lines v. Mealey, 334 U.S. 653 (1948).

New York constitutionally may tax gross receipts of a common carrier derived from transportation apportioned as to mileage within the

state, but collection of the tax on gross receipts from that portion of

the mileage outside the state unduly burdens interstate commerce in

violation of the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Rutledge, Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Murphy

463. H. P. Hood & Sons v. Du Mond, 336 U.S. 525 (1949).

Denial of a license under the New York Agricultural and Market

Law violated the Commerce Clause and the Federal Agricultural Marketing Act where the denial was on the ground that the expanded facilities would reduce the supply of milk for local markets and result

in destructive competition in a market already adequately served.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Douglas, Jackson, Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Frankfurter, Murphy, Rutledge

464. Schnell v. Davis, 336 U.S. 933 (1949).

The Boswell Amendment to the Alabama Constitution, which vested

unlimited authority in electoral officials to determine whether prospective voters satisfied the literacy requirement, violated the Fifteenth

Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

465. Union Nat’l Bank v. Lamb, 337 U.S. 38 (1949).

Missouri law, providing that a judgment could not be revived after ten years from its rendition, could not be invoked, consistently with

the Full Faith and Credit Clause, to prevent enforcement in a Missouri court of a Colorado judgment obtained in 1927 and revived in

Colorado in 1946.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Frankfurter, Rutledge

466. Wheeling Steel Corp. v. Glander, 337 U.S. 562 (1949).

The Ohio ad valorem tax levied on accounts receivable of foreign

corporations derived from sales of goods manufactured within the state,

but exempting receivables owned by residents and domestic corporations, denied foreign corporations equal protection of the laws in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The tax was not saved from invalidity by the “reciprocity” provision of the statute imposing it, because

this plan was not one that, by credit or otherwise, protected the nonresident or foreign corporation against discrimination.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2429
Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Murphy, Jackson, Rutledge,

Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas

467. Treichler v. Wisconsin, 338 U.S. 251 (1949).

Insofar as the Wisconsin emergency tax on inheritances is measured by tangible property located outside the state, the tax violates

the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton, Clark,

Minton

Justice dissenting: Black

468. Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950).

Notice by publication, as authorized by the New York Banking Law

for purposes of enabling banks managing common trust funds to obtain a judicial settlement of accounts binding on all having an interest in such funds, is not sufficient under the Due Process Clause of

the Fourteenth Amendment for determining property rights of persons whose whereabouts are known.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Reed, Jackson, Clark, Minton, Frankfurter

Justice dissenting: Burton

469. Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950).

Texas constitutional and statutory provisions restricting admission to the University of Texas Law School to white students violate

the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because Negro students denied admission are afforded educational facilities inferior to those available at the University.

470. United States v. Louisiana, 339 U.S. 699 (1950).

The Louisiana Constitution provides that the Louisiana boundary

includes all islands within three leagues of the coast, and Louisiana

statutes provide that the state’s southern boundary is 27 marine miles

from the shore line. Because the three-mile belt off the shore is in the

domain of the Nation rather than that of the states, it follows that

the area claimed by Louisiana extending 24 miles seaward beyond the

three-mile belt is also in the domain of the Nation rather than of Louisiana. The marginal sea is a national, not a state, concern and national rights are paramount in that area. The United States, therefore, is entitled to a decree upholding such paramount rights and enjoining

Louisiana and all persons claiming under it from trespassing upon the

area in violation of the rights of the United States, and requiring Louisiana to account for the money derived by it from the area after June

23, 1947.

2430 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton

Justices dissenting: Reed, Minton

471. United States v. Texas, 339 U.S. 707 (1950).

Notwithstanding provisions in Texas laws under which Texas extended its boundary to a line in the Gulf of Mexico 24 marine miles

beyond the three-mile limit and asserted ownership of the bed within

that area and to the outer edge of the continental shelf, the United

States is entitled to a decree sustaining its paramount rights to dominion of natural resources in the area, beyond the low-water mark on

the coast of Texas and outside inland waters. Any claim that Texas

may have asserted over the marginal belt when it existed as an independent Republic was relinquished upon its admission into the Union

on an equal footing with the other states.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton

Justices dissenting: Reed, Minton

472. McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637 (1950).

Oklahoma law required segregation in educational facilities at institutions of higher learning. As applied to assign an African American student to a special row in the classroom, to a special table in the

library, and to a special table in the cafeteria, the law impaired and

inhibited the student’s ability to study, engage in discussion, exchange

views with other students, and in general to learn his profession. The

conditions under which the student was required to receive his education deprived him of his right to equal protection guaranteed by the

Fourteenth Amendment.

473. Norton Co. v. Department of Revenue, 340 U.S. 534 (1951).

The Illinois occupation tax, levied on gross receipts from sales of

tangible personal property, cannot be collected on orders sent directly

by the customer to the head officer of a corporation in Massachusetts

and shipped directly to the customers from that office. These sales are

interstate in nature and are immune from state taxation by virtue of

the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black (dissenting in part), Reed (dissenting

in part), Frankfurter, Douglas (dissenting in part), Jackson, Burton, Clark

(dissenting in part), Minton

474. Spector Motor Serv. v. O’Connor, 340 U.S. 602 (1951).

A Connecticut franchise tax for the privilege of doing business in

the state, computed at a nondiscriminatory rate on that part of a foreign corporation’s net income that is reasonably attributed to its business activities within the state and not levied as compensation for the

use of highways, or collected in lieu of an ad valorem property tax, or

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2431
imposed as a fee for inspection, or as a tax on sales or use, cannot

constitutionally be applied to a foreign motor carrier engaged exclusively in interstate trucking. A state cannot exact a franchise tax for

the privilege of engaging in interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Minton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Clark

475. Hughes v. Fetter, 341 U.S. 609 (1951).

The Wisconsin Wrongful Death Act, authorizing recovery “only for

a death caused in this State,” and thereby blocking recovery under statutes of other states, must give way to the strong unifying principle

embodied in the Full Faith and Credit Clause looking toward maximum enforcement in each state of the obligations or rights created or

recognized by the statutes of sister states.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Douglas, Burton, Clark

Justices dissenting: Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Minton

476. Standard Oil Co. v. Peck, 342 U.S. 382 (1952).

When boats and barges of an Ohio corporation used in transporting oil along the Mississippi River do not pick up or discharge oil in

Ohio, and, apart from stopping therein occasionally for fuel and repairs, are almost continuously outside Ohio and are subject, on an apportionment basis, to taxation by other states, an Ohio tax on their

full value violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Clark, Frankfurter, Douglas, Jackson,

Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Minton

477. Memphis Steam Laundry v. Stone, 342 U.S. 389 (1952).

A Mississippi privilege tax, levied on the privilege of soliciting business for a laundry not licensed in the state and collected at the rate

of $50 on each vehicle used in the business cannot validly be imposed

on a foreign corporation operating an establishment in Tennessee and

doing no business in Mississippi other than sending trucks thereto to

solicit business, and pick up, deliver, and collect for laundry. A tax so

administered burdens interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Jackson, Burton,

Clark, Minton

Justice dissenting: Black

478. First Nat’l Bank v. United Air Lines, 342 U.S. 396 (1952).

Illinois law provided that “no action shall be brought or prosecuted in this State to recover damages for a death occurring outside

of this State where a right of action for such death exists under the

2432 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
laws of the place where such death occurred and services of process in

such suit may be had upon the defendant in such place.” In a suit

brought in a federal district court in Illinois on grounds of diversity of

citizenship to recover under the Utah death statute for a death occurring in Utah, the Illinois statute was held to violate the Full Faith

and Credit clause.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Douglas, Jackson, Burton, Clark, Minton

Justices dissenting: Reed, Frankfurter

479. Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 (1952).

Insofar as the New York Education Law forbids the commercial

showing of any motion picture without a license and authorizes denial

of a license on a censor’s conclusion that a film is “sacrilegious,” it is

void as a prior restraint on freedom of speech and of the press under

the First Amendment, made applicable to the states by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The statute authorized designated officers to refuse to license the showing of any film that is obscene, indecent, immoral, inhuman, sacrilegious, or the exhibition of

which would tend to corrupt morals or incite to crime.

480. Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral, 344 U.S. 94 (1952).

As construed and applied, Art. 5–C of the New York Religious Corporations Laws, which authorized transfer of administrative control of

the Russian Orthodox churches of North America from the Supreme

Church Authority in Moscow to the authorities selected by a convention of the North American churches, is invalid. Legislation that determines, in a hierarchical church, ecclesiastical administration or the appointment of the clergy, or transfers control of churches from one group

to another, interferes with the free exercise of religion in violation of

the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Frankfurter, Vinson, C.J., Reed, Burton,

Clark, Minton

Justice dissenting: Jackson

481. Wieman v. Updegraff, 344 U.S. 183 (1952).

Oklahoma law requires each state officer and employee, as a condition of his employment, to take a “loyalty oath,” that he is not, and

has not been for the preceding five years, a member of any organization listed by the Attorney General of the United States as “communist front” or “subversive.” As construed, this statute excludes persons

from state employment on the basis of membership in an organization, regardless of their knowledge concerning the activities and purposes of the organization, and therefore violates the Due Process Clause

of the Fourteenth Amendment.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2433
482. Kern-Limerick, Inc. v. Scurlock, 347 U.S. 110 (1954).

The Arkansas Gross Receipts Tax, levied on the gross receipts of

sales within the state, cannot be applied to transactions under which

private contractors procured in Arkansas two tractors for use in constructing a naval ammunition depot for the United States under a costplus-fixed-fee contract. Applicable federal laws provide that in procuring articles required for accomplishment of the agreement, the contractor

shall act as purchasing agent for the Government and that the government not only acquires title but shall be directly liable to the vendor

for the purchase price. The tax is void as a levy on the Federal Government.

Justices concurring: Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Clark, Minton

Justices dissenting: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas

483. Michigan-Wisconsin Pipe Line Co. v. Calvert, 347 U.S. 157 (1954).

A Texas tax on the occupation of “gathering gas” measured by the

entire volume of gas “taken,” as applied to an interstate natural gas

pipeline company, where the taxable incidence is the taking of gas from

the outlet of an independent gasoline plant within the state for the

purpose of immediate interstate transmission, violates the Commerce

Clause. As here applied, the state delayed the incidence of the tax beyond the step where production and processing have ceased and transmission in interstate commerce has begun, so that the tax is not levied on the capture or production of the gas, but on its introduction

into interstate commerce after production, gathering and processing.

484. Miller Bros., Co. v. Maryland, 347 U.S. 340 (1954).

Where residents of nearby Maryland make purchase from appellant in Delaware, some deliveries being made in Maryland by common carrier and some by appellant’s truck, seizure of the appellant’s

truck in Maryland and holding it liable for the Maryland use tax on

all goods sold in Delaware to Maryland customers is a denial of due

process. The Delaware corporation has not subjected itself to the taxing power of Maryland and has not afforded Maryland a jurisdiction

or power to impose upon it a liability for collections of the Maryland

use tax.

Justices concurring: Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Minton

Justices dissenting: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Clark

485. Railway Express Agency v. Virginia, 347 U.S. 359 (1954).

In addition to “taxes on property of express companies,” Virginia

provided that “for the privilege of doing business in the State,” express companies shall pay an “annual license tax” upon gross receipts

earned in the state “on business passing through, into, or out of, this

2434 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
State.” The gross-receipts tax is in fact and effect a privilege tax, and

its application to a foreign corporation doing an exclusively interstate

business violated the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Minton

Justices dissenting: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Clark

486. Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

A Kansas law that authorized segregation of white and Negro children in “separate but equal” public schools denies Negro children the

equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

487. Accord: Briggs v. Elliott, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

South Carolina constitutional and statutory provisions requiring

segregation of white and Negro students in public schools violate the

Fourteenth Amendment.

488. Accord: Davis v. County School Bd., 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Virginia constitutional and statutory provisions requiring segregation of white and Negro students in public schools violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

489. Accord: Gebhart v. Belton, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Delaware constitutional and statutory provisions requiring segregation of white and Negro students in public schools violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

490. Castle v. Hayes Freight Lines, 348 U.S. 61 (1954).

An Illinois law providing for a 90-day suspension of a motor carrier upon a finding of 10 or more violations of regulations calling for a

balanced distribution of freight loads in relation to the truck’s axles

cannot be applied to an interstate motor carrier holding a certificate

of convenience and necessity issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission under the Federal Motor Carrier Act. A state may not suspend the carrier’s rights to use the state’s highways in its interstate

operations. The Illinois law, as applied to such carrier, also violates

the Commerce Clause.

491. Society for Savings v. Bowers, 349 U.S. 143 (1955).

Levy of Ohio’s property tax against a mutual saving bank and a

federal savings and loan association in their own names, measured by

the amount of each bank’s capital, surplus, or reserve and undivided

profits, without deduction of the value of federal securities owned by

each or provision for reimbursement of each bank by its depositors for

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2435
the tax, is void as a tax upon obligations of the Federal Government

(Art. VI, cl. 2).

492. Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12 (1956).

Illinois statutes provide that a writ of error may be prosecuted on

a “mandatory record” kept by the court clerk and consisting of the indictment, arraignment, plea, verdict, and sentence. The “mandatory record” can be obtained free of charge by an indigent defendant. In such

instances review is limited to errors on the face of the mandatory record, and there is no review of trial errors such as an erroneous ruling on admission of evidence. No provision was made whereby a convicted person in a non-capital case can obtain a bill of exceptions or

report of the trial proceedings, which by statute is furnished free only

to indigent defendants sentenced to death. Griffin, an indigent defendant convicted of robbery, accordingly was refused a free certified copy

of the entire record, including a stenographic transcript of the proceedings, and therefore was unable to perfect his appeal founded upon

nonconstitutional errors of the trial court. Petitioner was held to have

been denied due process of law and the equal protection of the laws

guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Clark

Justices dissenting: Reed, Burton, Minton, Harlan

493. Covey v. Town of Somers, 351 U.S. 141 (1956).

A New York statutory procedure that sanctioned notice by mail

together with the posting of a copy of said notice at a local post office

and the publication thereof in two local newspapers of proceedings to

foreclose a lien for delinquent real estate taxes, was constitutionally

inadequate and effected a taking of property without due process when

employed in the foreclosure of the property of a mentally incompetent

woman resident in the taxing jurisdiction and known by the officials

thereof to be financially responsible but incapable of handling her affairs.

Justice concurring: Frankfurter (separately)

494. Walker v. Hutchinson City, 352 U.S. 112 (1956).

Kansas statutes permitted condemnation proceedings to be instituted by notice either in writing or by publication in an official city

paper. Where the commissioners, appointed to determine compensation in condemnation of appellant’s land, gave no notice of a hearing

except by publication in the official city newspaper, though appellant

was a resident of Kansas and his name was known to the city and on

its official records, and there was no reason why direct notice could

not be given, the newspaper publication alone did not measure up to

2436 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
the quality of notice the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires as a prerequisite to this type of proceeding.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Clark, Harlan

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Burton

495. Butler v. Michigan, 352 U.S. 380 (1957).

The Michigan Penal Code proscribed the sale to the general reading public of any book containing obscene language “tending to the corruption of the morals of youth.” When invoked to convict a proprietor

who sold a book having such a potential effect on youth to an adult

police officer, the statute violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus enforced, the statute would permit the adult

population of Michigan to read only what is fit for children.

496. Gayle v. Browder, 352 U.S. 903 (1956).

Alabama statutes and Montgomery City ordinances that required

segregation of “white” and “colored” races on motor buses in the city

violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

497. Morey v. Doud, 354 U.S. 457 (1957).

A provision of the Illinois Community Currency Exchange Act exempting money orders of a named company, the American Express Company, from the requirement that any firm selling or issuing money orders in the state must secure a license and submit to state regulation,

denies equal protection of the laws to those entities that are not exempted. Although the Equal Protection Clause does not require that

every state regulation apply to all in the same business, a statutory

discrimination must be based on differences that are reasonably related to the purposes of the statute.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Burton, Clark, Brennan, Whittaker

Justices dissenting: Black, Frankfurter, Harlan

498. Eskridge v. Washington Prison Bd., 357 U.S. 214 (1958).

Denial of a free trial transcript to an indigent criminal defendant

pursuant to a Washington statute that authorized a trial judge to furnish a transcript to an indigent defendant if in the judge’s opinion “justice will thereby be promoted” denied equal protection and due process because the indigent defendant did not have the same opportunity

that was available to those who could afford the transcripts to have

his case reviewed by an appellate court.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Clark, Black, Burton, Brennan

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Whittaker

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2437
499. Speiser v. Randall, 357 U.S. 513 (1958).

The California statutory provisions exacting as a prerequisite for

property tax exemption that applicants therefor swear that they do

not advocate the forcible overthrow of federal or state governments or

the support of a foreign government against the United States during

hostilities are unconstitutional insofar as they are enforced by procedures placing upon the taxpayer the burden of proving that he is not

guilty of advocating that which is forbidden. Such procedures deprive

the taxpayer of freedom of speech without the procedural safeguards

required by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton, Harlan, Brennan, Whittaker

Justice dissenting: Clark

First Unitarian Church v. City of Los Angeles, 357 U.S. 545 (1958).

Enforcement of the same oath requirement through statutory procedures that place upon taxpayers the burden of proving nonadvocacy violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Same division of Justices as in Speiser v. Randall.

500. Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, 359 U.S. 520 (1959).

An Illinois statute that requires trucks and trailers operating on

state highways to be equipped with specified type of rear fender mudguard, which is different from those permitted in at least 45 other states,

and which would seriously interfere with “interline operations” of motor carriers, cannot validly be applied to interstate motor carriers certified by the Interstate Commerce Commission because to do so unreasonably burdens interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Harlan (separately), Stewart (separately)

501. State Athletic Comm’n v. Dorsey, 359 U.S. 533 (1959).

A Louisiana statute prohibiting athletic contests between Negroes

and white persons violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

502. Kingsley Pictures Corp. v. Regents, 360 U.S. 684 (1959).

As construed and applied, the New York Education Law, which requires denial of a license to show a motion picture “presenting adultery as being right and desirable for certain people under certain circumstances,” is unconstitutional. Refusal of a license to show a motion

picture found to portray adultery alluringly as proper behavior violates the freedom to advocate ideas guaranteed by the First Amendment and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from infringement

by the states.

2438 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Black (separately), Frankfurter (separately), Douglas

(separately), Clark (separately), Harlan (separately)

503. Faubus v. Aaron, 361 U.S. 197 (1959).

Arkansas statutes that empowered the Governor to close the public schools and to hold an election as to whether the schools were to

be integrated, as well as to withhold public moneys allocated to such

schools on the occasion of their closing and to make such funds available to other public schools or nonprofit private schools to which pupils from a closed school might transfer, violated the Due Process and

Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

504. Phillips Chemical Co. v. Dumas School Dist., 361 U.S. 376 (1960).

Texas statutes discriminated against the United States in violation of Article VI, clause 2, by levying a tax on federally owned land

and improvements used and occupied by a private concern that was

more burdensome than the tax imposed on similarly situated lessees

of property owned by Texas and its subdivisions.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Clark, Black, Douglas, Stewart, Warren, C.J.,

Whittaker, Harlan, Frankfurter (separately)

505. Rohr Aircraft Corp. v. San Diego County, 362 U.S. 628 (1960).

Property taxes assessed under California law could not be levied on real estate owned by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation

after the latter had declared the property to be surplus and surrendered it to the War Assets Administration for disposal; this exemption arose even before execution of a quitclaim deed transferring

title from the RFC to the United States and even though a property had been leased to a private lessee in the name of both the

RFC and the United States.

Justices concurring: Clark, Warren, C.J., Harlan, Stewart, Frankfurter, Brennan,

Whittaker

Justices dissenting: Douglas, Black

506. Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960).

An Alabama statute that altered the boundaries of the City of

Tuskegee in such manner as to eliminate all but four or five of its 400

African American voters without eliminating any white voter violated

the Fifteenth Amendment.

Justice concurring: Whittaker (separately)

507. Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (1960).

An Arkansas statute that required every school teacher, as a condition of employment in state-supported schools and colleges, to file

an affidavit listing every organization to which he had belonged or conSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2439
tributed within the preceding five years deprived teachers of associational freedom guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Warren, C.J., Brennan, Douglas, Black

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Clark, Harlan, Whittaker

508. Bush v. Orleans Parish School Bd., 364 U.S. 500 (1961).

The Louisiana interposition statute that averred that the decision

in the school segregation case (Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S.

483 (1954)) constituted usurpation of state power and that interposed

the sovereignty of the state against enforcement of that decision did

not assert “a constitutional doctrine,” and if taken seriously, is legal

defiance of constitutional authority.

509. Orleans Parish School Bd. v. Bush, 365 U.S. 569 (1961).

Louisiana statutes that (1) provided for segregation of races in public schools and the withholding of funds from integrated schools; (2)

conferred on the Governor the right to close all schools upon the integration of any one of them; and (3) directed the Governor to supersede a school board under a court order to desegregate and take over

management of public schools, denied equal protection of the laws.

510. Ferguson v. Georgia, 365 U.S. 570 (1961).

When, because a Georgia law that granted a defendant in a criminal trial the right to make an unsworn statement to the jury without

subjecting himself to cross-examination, defendant’s counsel was denied the right to ask him any question when he took the stand to make

his unsworn statement, such application of the Georgia law deprived

the defendant of the effective assistance of counsel without due process of law.

Justices concurring: Frankfurter (separately), Clark (separately)

511. Louisiana ex rel. Gremillion v. NAACP, 366 U.S. 293 (1961).

A Louisiana statute that prohibited any “non-trading” association

from doing business in Louisiana if it is affiliated with any “foreign or

out-of-state non-trading” association, any of the officers or directors of

which are members of subversive organizations as cited by a House

committee or by the United States Attorney General, and that required every non-trading association with an out-of-state affiliate to

file annually an affidavit that none of the officers of the affiliate is a

member of such organizations, was void for vagueness and violated of

due process.

Justices concurring: Harlan (separately), Stewart (separately), Frankfurter

(separately), Clark (separately)

2440 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
512. Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961).

A Maryland constitutional provision under which an appointed notary public who would not declare his belief in God was denied his

commission imposed an invalid test for public office that violated freedom of belief and religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment, applicable through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Frankfurter (separately), Harlan (separately)

513. Marcus v. Search Warrant, 367 U.S. 717 (1961).

A Missouri statutory procedure that enabled a city police officer,

in an ex parte proceeding, to obtain from a trial judge search warrants authorizing seizure of all “obscene” material possessed by wholesale and retail distributors without granting the latter a hearing or

even seeing any of the materials in question and without specifying

any particular publications, sanctioned search and seizure tactics that

violated due process.

Justices concurring: Black (separately), Douglas (separately)

514. Tugwell v. Bush, 367 U.S. 907 (1961).

A Louisiana statute that punished the giving to or acceptance by

any parent of anything of value as an inducement to sending his child

to a school operated in violation of Louisiana law was void for vagueness and was designed to scuttle a desegregation program.

515. Legislature of Louisiana v. United States, 367 U.S. 908 (1961).

In an effort to interfere with court-ordered public school desegregation, Louisiana enacted statutes that purported to remove the New

Orleans school board and replace it with a new group appointed by

the legislature, and that deprived the board of its attorney and substituted the Louisiana Attorney General, and enacted a resolution “addressing out of office” the school superintendent chosen by the board.

These enactments violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

516. Cramp v. Board of Pub. Instruction, 368 U.S. 278 (1961).

A Florida statute that required state and local public employees

to swear that they had never lent their “aid, support, advice, counsel,

or influence to the Communist Party,” and that subjected them to discharge for refusal, was void for vagueness and violated due process.

Justices concurring: Black (separately), Douglas (separately)

517. St. Helena Parish School Bd. v. Hall, 368 U.S. 515 (1962).

A Louisiana statute that authorized the school board of a municipally operated school system to close the schools upon a vote of the

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2441
electors and that provided that the board might then lease or sell any

school building, but that subjected to extensive state control and financial aid the private schools that might acquire such buildings, violated equal protection of the laws because it was intended to continue

segregation in schools.

518. Bailey v. Patterson, 369 U.S. 31 (1962).

Mississippi statutes that required racial segregation at interstate

and intrastate transportation facilities denied equal protection of the

law.

519. Turner v. City of Memphis, 369 U.S. 350 (1962).

A Tennessee statute, and an administrative regulation issued under it, insofar as they sanctioned racial segregation in a private restaurant operated on premises leased from a city at its municipal airport,

denied equal protection of the law.

520. Central R.R. v. Pennsylvania, 370 U.S. 607 (1962).

Pennsylvania’s capital stock tax, in the nature of a property tax,

could not be collected on that portion of a railroad’s cars (158 out of

3074) that represented the daily average of its cars located on a New

Jersey railroad’s lines during a taxable year; as to the latter portion

of its cars the tax violated the Commerce Clause and the Due Process

Clause.

Justice concurring: Black (separately)

521. Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962).

A California statute that, as construed, made the “status” of narcotics addiction a criminal offense, even though the accused had never

used narcotics in California and had not been guilty of antisocial behavior in California, was void as inflicting cruel and unjust punishment proscribed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Warren, C.J., Brennan, Douglas (separately), Harlan (separately), Black

Justices dissenting: Clark, White

522. Lassiter v. United States, 371 U.S. 10 (1962).

Louisiana laws that segregated passengers in terminal facilities

of common carriers were unconstitutional because they conflicted with

federal law and the Equal Protection Clause.

523. NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415 (1963).

A Virginia law that expanded malpractice by attorneys to include

acceptance of employment or compensation from any person or organi2442 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
zation not a party to a judicial proceeding and having no pecuniary

right or liability in it, and that made it an offense for such person or

organization to solicit business for an attorney violated freedom of expression and association, as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of

the Fourteenth Amendment when enforced against a corporation, including its attorneys and litigants, whose major purpose is the elimination of racial segregation through litigation that it solicits, institutes, and finances.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Warren, C.J., Goldberg, Douglas (separately), Black

Justices dissenting: White (in part), Harlan, Clark, Stewart

524. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963).

A Florida statute that did not accord indigent defendants courtappointed counsel in noncapital felony offenses deprived such defendants of due process of law.

Justices concurring: Douglas (separately), Clark (separately), Harlan (separately)

525. Gray v. Sanders, 372 U.S. 368 (1963).

A Georgia county unit system for nominating candidates in primaries for state-wide offices, including United States Senators, as set forth

in statutory provisions, violated the principle of “one-person, one vote”

as required by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Stewart (separately), Clark (separately), Warren, C.J.,

Brennan, White, Goldberg, Black

Justice dissenting: Harlan

526. Lane v. Brown, 372 U.S. 477 (1963).

The Indiana Public Defender Act, insofar as it empowered the Public Defender to refuse to perfect an appeal for an indigent defendant

whenever the former believed such an appeal would be unsuccessful

and that, independently of such intervention by the Defender, afforded such defendant no alternative means of obtaining a transcript

of a coram nobis hearing requisite to perfect an appeal from a trial

court’s denial of a writ of error coram nobis, effected a discriminatory

denial of a privilege available as of right to a defendant with the requisite funds and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Harlan (separately), Clark (separately)

527. Halliburton Oil Well Co. v. Reily, 373 U.S. 64 (1963).

Louisiana use tax, as enforced, unconstitutionally discriminates

against interstate commerce in that the isolated purchase of an

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2443
item of used equipment in Louisiana was not subject to its sales

tax, whereas an Oklahoma contractor was subjected to the Louisiana use tax on an item of used equipment employed in servicing

wells in Louisiana that had been acquired in Oklahoma; and further that the Louisiana sales or use tax was computed on the cost

of components purchased in Louisiana or purchased out of state for

assembly and use in Louisiana whereas here the contractor paid a

use tax on equipment assembled in Oklahoma that reflected not

only the purchase price of the components but also the cost of labor

and shop overhead incurred in assembling the components into a

usable item of equipment.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Goldberg, Stewart, White, Harlan,

Brennan (separately)

Justices dissenting: Clark, Black

528. Willner v. Committee on Character, 373 U.S. 96 (1963).

New York’s statutory procedure governing admission to practice

law, insofar as it failed to provide, in cases of denial of admission,

for a hearing on the grounds for rejection to be accorded the applicant, either before the Committee on Character Fitness established

by the Appellate Division of its Supreme Court, or before the Appellate Division itself, was defective and amounted to a denial of due

process.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Black, White, Warren, C.J., Goldberg, Brennan,

Stewart (separately)

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Clark

529. Peterson v. City of Greenville, 373 U.S. 244 (1963).

When a city ordinance required separation of the races in restaurants, a South Carolina trespass statute, when enforced against African Americans who refused to leave a lunch counter in a retail store,

amounted to a denial of equal protection of the laws.

Justice concurring: Harlan (separately)

530. Accord: Gober v. City of Birmingham, 373 U.S. 374 (1963), as to an Alabama law on trespass.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Goldberg, White, Clark, Brennan,

Stewart

Justice dissenting: Harlan

531. Lombard v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. 267 (1963).

When local community policy, as administered by municipal law

enforcement officers, proscribed “sit-in demonstrations” against refusal of store proprietors to serve African Americans at lunch counters

reserved for white patrons, invoking the Louisiana Criminal Mischief

2444 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Statute to punish African Americans who engaged in such demonstrations violated the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas (separately), Black, Brennan, White,

Stewart, Goldberg, Clark

Justice dissenting: Harlan

532. Wright v. Georgia, 373 U.S. 284 (1963).

Georgia’s unlawful assemblies act, which rendered persons open

to conviction for a breach of the peace upon their refusal to disperse

upon command of police officers, was void for vagueness and violated

due process because it did not give adequate warning to Negroes that

peaceably playing basketball in a municipal park would expose them

to prosecution for violation of the statute.

Justice concurring: Harlan (separately)

533. Abington School Dist. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).

A Pennsylvania law that required the reading, without comment,

of verses from the Bible at the opening of each public school day violated the prohibition against the enactment of any law respecting an

establishment of religion as incorporated by the Due Process Clause

of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Clark, Douglas (separately), Brennan (separately), Goldberg

(separately), Harlan (concurs with latter), Warren, C.J., White, Black

Justice dissenting: Stewart

534. Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963).

The South Carolina Unemployment Compensation Act, which withheld benefits and deemed ineligible for the receipt thereof a person

who has failed without good cause to accept available work when offered to him, if construed as barring a Seventh-Day Adventist from

relief because of religious scruples against working on Saturday, abridged

the latter’s right to the free exercise of religion contrary to the Due

Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Clark, Warren, C.J., Goldberg, Black, Douglas,

Stewart (separately)

Justices dissenting: Harlan, White

535. Polar Ice Cream & Creamery Co. v. Andrews, 375 U.S. 361 (1964).

A Florida statute and regulations implementing it that required

a milk distributor to purchase its total supply of fluid milk from

area producers at a fixed price and to take all milk that these producers offered was invalid under the Commerce Clause because

they interfered with distributor’s purchases of milk from out-of-state

producers.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2445
536. Anderson v. Martin, 375 U.S. 399 (1964).

A Louisiana statute requiring that in all primary, general, or special elections, the nomination papers and ballots shall designate the

race of the candidates violated the Equal Protection Clause.

537. Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964).

A Georgia statute establishing congressional districts of grossly unequal populations violates Article I, § 2, of the Constitution.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Brennan, White, Goldberg, Warren, C.J.

Justices concurring in part and dissenting in part: Clark

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart

538. Accord: Martin v. Bush, 376 U.S. 222 (1964). A Texas statute establishing congressional districts of grossly unequal populations is unconstitutional on authority of Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964). Same division of Justices as in Wesberry v. Sanders.

539. City of New Orleans v. Barthe, 376 U.S. 189 (1964).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a Louisiana statute requiring segregation of races in public facilities is affirmed.

540. Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel Co., 376 U.S. 225 (1964).

An Illinois unfair competition law cannot be applied to bar or penalize the copying of a product that does not qualify for a federal patent, because this use of the state law conflicts with the exclusive power

of the Federal Government to grant patents only to true inventions

and then only for a limited time.

541. Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360 (1964).

Washington statutes requiring state employees to swear that they

are not subversive persons and requiring teachers to swear to promote by precept and example respect for flag and institutions of United

States and Washington, reverence for law and order, and undivided

allegiance to Federal Government, are void for vagueness.

Justices concurring: White, Black, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Goldberg,

Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Clark, Harlan

542. Hostetter v. Idlewild Bon Voyage Liquor Corp., 377 U.S. 324 (1964).

A New York law regulating sale of alcoholic beverages could not

constitutionally be applied to a dealer who sold bottled wines and liquors to departing international airline travelers at JFK airport in New

York.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Clark, White, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Black, Goldberg

2446 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
543. Accord: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control v. Ammex Warehouse

Co., 378 U.S. 124 (1964). Lower court voiding of California law affirmed

on authority of Hostetter. Same division of Justices as Hostetter.

544. Department of Revenue v. James B. Beam Distilling Co., 377 U.S. 341

(1964).

A Kentucky statute providing for a tax of ten cents per gallon on

the importation of whiskey into the state, which was collected while

the whiskey was in unbroken packages in an importer’s possession,

was unconstitutionally applied to the importer of Scotch whiskey from

abroad under Art. I, § 10, cl. 2.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Clark, White, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Black, Goldberg

545. Chamberlin v. Dade County Bd. of Public Instruction, 377 U.S. 402 (1964).

A Florida statute providing for prayer and devotional reading in

public schools is unconstitutional.

546. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964).

Alabama constitutional and statutory provisions that do not apportion seats in both houses of legislature on a population basis violated

the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, Goldberg, White

Justices concurring specially: Clark, Stewart

Justice dissenting: Harlan

547. Accord: WMCA, Inc. v. Lomenzo, 377 U.S. 633 (1964).

New York constitutional and statutory provisions that do not apportion seats in both houses of the legislature on the basis of population is unconstitutional.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, Goldberg, White

Justice concurring specially: Clark

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2447
548. Accord: Maryland Comm. for Fair Representation v. Tawes, 377 U.S. 656

(1964). Same division of Justices as in Lomenzo.

549. Accord: Davis v. Mann, 377 U.S. 678 (1964). Virginia. Same division of

Justices as in Lomenzo.

550. Accord: Roman v. Sincock, 377 U.S. 695 (1964). Delaware. Same division of Justices as in Lomenzo, except Justice Stewart concurring specially.

551. Accord: Lucas v. Forty-Fourth General Assembly of Colorado,377 U.S.

713 (1964).

An apportionment formula for state legislature written into state

constitution is invalid under Equal Protection Clause even though the

electorate approved it in a referendum.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, Goldberg, White

Justices dissenting: Clark, Harlan, Stewart

552. Accord: Meyers v. Thigpen, 378 U.S. 554 (1964). Washington Legislature. Same division of Justices as in Lomenzo, except Justice Stewart

favored limited remand.

553. Accord: Williams v. Moss, 378 U.S. 558 (1964). Oklahoma Legislature.

Same division of Justices as in Reynolds v. Sims.

554. Accord: Pinney v. Butterworth, 378 U.S. 564 (1964). Connecticut Legislature. Same division of Justices as in Reynolds v. Sims.

555. Accord: Hill v. Davis, 378 U.S. 565 (1964). Iowa Legislature. Same division of Justices as in Reynolds v. Sims.

556. A Quantity of Books v. Kansas, 378 U.S. 205 (1964).

A statute authorizing issuance of ex parte a warrant for seizure of

allegedly obscene materials prior to a hearing on the issue of obscenity is invalid under First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Goldberg, Warren, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Black, Douglas; Stewart

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Clark

557. Tancil v. Woolls, 379 U.S. 19 (1964).

District court decisions holding unconstitutional Virginia statutes

requiring notation of race in divorce decrees and separation by race of

names on registration, poll tax, and residence certificate lists, and on

assessment rolls are affirmed.

2448 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
558. Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64 (1964).

Louisiana’s Criminal Defamation Statute is unconstitutional as applied to criticism of official conduct of public officials because it incorporates standards of malice and truthfulness at variance with New York

Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964).

559. McLaughlin v. Florida, 379 U.S. 184 (1964).

A criminal statute prohibiting an unmarried interracial couple from

habitually living in and occupying the same room in the nighttime violates the Equal Protection Clause.

560. Stanford v. Texas, 379 U.S. 476 (1965).

A statute providing for the suppression of the Communist Party

and authorizing the issuance of search warrants for subversive books

and other materials is constitutionally defective because it does not

require a description with particularity of the things to be seized.

561. Cox v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 536 (1965).

A Louisiana breach of the peace statute is unconstitutionally vague.

562. Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51 (1965).

A Maryland censorship statute requiring prior submission of films

for review is invalid because of the absence of procedural safeguards

eliminating dangers of censorship.

563. Carrington v. Rash, 380 U.S. 89 (1965).

A Texas constitutional provision prohibiting any member of Armed

Forces who moves into the state from ever voting in Texas while a

member of the Armed Forces violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Black, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, White, Goldberg

Justice dissenting: Harlan

564. Louisiana v. United States, 380 U.S. 145 (1965).

Constitutional and statutory provisions requiring prospective voters to satisfy registrars of their ability to understand and give reasonable interpretation of any section of United States or Louisiana Constitutions violate Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

565. Reserve Life Ins. Co. v. Bowers, 380 U.S. 258 (1965).

An Ohio statute imposing a personal property tax upon furniture

and fixtures used by foreign insurance company in doing business in

Ohio but not imposing a similar tax upon furniture and fixtures used

by domestic insurance companies violates the Equal Protection Clause.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2449
566. American Oil Co. v. Neill, 380 U.S. 451 (1965).

An Idaho tax statute applied to levy an excise tax on licensed Idaho

motor fuel dealer’s sale and transfer of gasoline in Utah for importation into Idaho by purchaser violated the Due Process Clause of Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Clark, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart,

White, Goldberg

Justices dissenting: Black

567. Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 U.S. 479 (1965).

The Louisiana Subversive Activities and Communist Control Law

is unconstitutional because of overbreadth of its coverage in violation

of the First Amendment, and because of its lack of procedural due process.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, White, Goldberg, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Clark

568. Harman v. Forssenius, 380 U.S. 528 (1965).

A Virginia statute requiring voters in federal election who do not

qualify by paying poll tax to file a certificate of residence six months

in advance of election is contrary to Twenty-fourth Amendment, which

absolutely abolished payment of a poll tax as a qualification for voting

in federal elections.

569. Jordan v. Silver, 381 U.S. 415 (1965).

District court decision holding unconstitutional California constitutional provisions on apportionment of state senate is affirmed.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, White, Goldberg

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Clark, Stewart

570. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965).

A Connecticut statute making it a crime for any person to use any

drug or article to prevent conception is an unconstitutional invasion

of privacy of married couples.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Clark

Justices concurring specially: Goldberg, Brennan, Warren, C.J., Harlan, White

Justices dissenting: Black, Stewart

571. Giaccio v. Pennsylvania, 382 U.S. 399 (1966).

A Pennsylvania statute permitting jurors to determine whether an

acquitted defendant should pay the costs of the trial was void under

the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because of vagueness and the absence of any standard that would prevent arbitrary

imposition of costs.

2450 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
572. Baxstrom v. Herold, 383 U.S. 107 (1966).

New York’s statutory procedure for civil commitment of persons

at the expiration of a prison sentence without the jury review available to all others civilly committed in New York and for commitment

to an institution maintained by the Department of Correction beyond

the expiration of their terms without a judicial determination of dangerous mental illness such as that afforded to all others violates the

Equal Protection Clause.

573. Harper v. Virginia Bd. of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966).

Virginia constitutional provisions making payment of poll taxes a

qualification of eligibility to vote violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Clark, Brennan, White, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Black, Harlan, Stewart

574. Accord: Texas v. United States, 384 U.S. 155 (1966).

A Texas poll tax is unconstitutional.

575. Elfbrandt v. Russell, 384 U.S. 11 (1966).

An Arizona loyalty oath is unconstitutionally overbroad and inclusive.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Black, Brennan, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: White, Clark, Harlan, Stewart

576. Mills v. Alabama, 384 U.S. 214 (1966).

An Alabama statute making it a criminal offense to electioneer

or solicit votes on election day as applied to a newspaper editor

who published an editorial on election day urging people to vote a

certain way on a referendum issue violated First and Fourteenth

Amendments.

577. Rinaldi v. Yeager, 384 U.S. 305 (1966).

A New Jersey statute requiring an unsuccessful appellant to repay the cost of a transcript used in preparing his appeal out of his

institutional earning when he is jailed but that does not apply to unsuccessful appellants given suspended sentences, placed on probation,

or fined violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Black, Douglas, Brennan, Clark, White, Fortas,

Warren, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Harlan

578. Alton v. Tawes, 384 U.S. 315 (1966).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional Maryland congressional districting is affirmed.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2451
579. Carr v. City of Altus, 385 U.S. 35 (1966).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause a Texas statute forbidding anyone to withdraw water from

any underground sources in state without authorization of legislature

is affirmed.

580. Swann v. Adams, 385 U.S. 440 (1967).

A Florida statute apportioning legislative seats falls short of required population equality.

Justices concurring: White, Black, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart

581. Kirkpatrick v. Preisler, 385 U.S. 450 (1967).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional Missouri’s 1965

congressional districting law is summarily affirmed.

582. Short v. Ness Produce Co., 385 U.S. 537 (1967).

A district court decision holding to violate the Commerce Clause

an Oregon statute requiring sellers of imported meat to label it with

country of origin, post notices in their establishment that it is being

sold, and keep record of transactions involving it, is affirmed.

583. Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589 (1967).

A New York statute requiring removal of teachers for “treasonable or seditious” utterances or acts is unconstitutionally vague because it apparently bans mere advocacy of abstract doctrine, and a

statute that makes Communist Party membership prima facie evidence of disqualification for teaching in public schools is unconstitutionally broad.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Black, Douglas, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Clark, Harlan, Stewart, White

584. National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 386 U.S. 753 (1967).

The Commerce Clause forbids application of Illinois use tax statute to a seller whose only connection with customers in the state is by

common carrier or by mail.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, Harlan, Clark, White, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Fortas, Black, Douglas

585. Holding v. Blankenship, 387 U.S. 94 (1967).

An Oklahoma obscenity statute empowering a commission to investigate and to recommend prosecutions of offending parties is unconstitutional on authority of Bantam Books v. Sullivan, 372 U.S. 58 (1963).

2452 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
586. Reitman v. Mulkey, 387 U.S. 369 (1967).

A California constitutional provision adopted on referendum repealing “open housing” law and prohibiting state abridgement of realty owner’s right to sell and lease, or to refuse to sell and lease, as he pleases

violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Douglas, Brennan, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Black, Clark, Stewart

587. Berger v. New York, 388 U.S. 41 (1967).

A New York eavesdrop statute that does not require particularity

with respect to the crime suspected and conversations sought, sufficiently limit period of order’s effectiveness, terminate order once desired conversation is overheard, or require notice or showing of exigent circumstances to justify dispensing with notice, violates Fourth

and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Clark, Douglas, Brennan, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Black, Harlan, White

588. Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967).

A Virginia statute prohibiting interracial marriage violates Equal

Protection Clause.

589. Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14 (1967).

A Texas statute prohibiting persons charged as co-participants in

the same crime from testifying for one another violated the Sixth and

Fourteenth Amendments.

590. Whitehill v. Elkins, 389 U.S. 54 (1967).

A Maryland loyalty oath is unconstitutionally vague when read with

surrounding authorization and supplementary statutes that infringe

on rights of association.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Black, Brennan, Fortas, Marshall, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart, White

591. Lucas v. Rhodes, 389 U.S. 212 (1967).

Ohio’s congressional districting statute violates principles of population equality established in Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964).

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, White, Fortas

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart

592. Rockefeller v. Wells, 389 U.S. 421 (1967).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional New York’s congressional districting statute is summarily affirmed.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2453
Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White,

Fortas, Marshall

Justice dissenting: Harlan

593. Zschernig v. Miller, 389 U.S. 429 (1968).

An Oregon statute that barred an alien from taking personal property intestate unless American citizens had reciprocal rights with alien’s

country, unless American citizens had right to receive payment within

United States from estates of decedents dying in that foreign country,

and unless Oregon courts were presented proof that alien heir would

receive benefit, use, and control of inheritance without confiscation, was

void as an intrusion by state into field of foreign affairs reserved to

Federal Government.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Black, Brennan, Stewart, Fortas, Warren, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Harlan

Justice dissenting: White

594. Dinis v. Volpe, 389 U.S. 570 (1968).

A district court decision holding Massachusetts congressional districting statute unconstitutional is summarily affirmed.

595. Louisiana Financial Assistance Comm’n v. Poindexter, 389 U.S. 571 (1968).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a tuition grant

statute authorizing payments to children attending private schools as

part of an anti-desegregation program is summarily affirmed.

596. Kirk v. Gong, 389 U.S. 574 (1968).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a Florida congressional districting statute is affirmed.

597. James v. Gilmore, 389 U.S. 572 (1968).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a Texas loyalty

oath statute is summarily affirmed.

598. Lee v. Washington, 390 U.S. 333 (1968).

District court decisions holding that Alabama statutes requiring

racial segregation in prisons and jails violate the Equal Protection Clause

is summarily affirmed.

599. Scafati v. Greenfield, 390 U.S. 713 (1968).

District court decision holding unconstitutional as applied to a prisoner who had been sentenced prior to, but paroled after, enactment of

a Massachusetts statute that forbade a prisoner from earning good conduct deductions for the first six months after his reincarceration following violation of parole is summarily affirmed.

2454 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
600. Levy v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 68 (1968).

Louisiana’s wrongful death statute creating a right of action in a

surviving child or children as interpreted to mean only legitimate child

or children denies illegitimate children equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Brennan, White, Fortas, Marshall, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Black, Stewart

601. Glona v. American Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co., 391 U.S. 73 (1968).

A Louisiana statute barring wrongful death recovery by parents

of illegitimate child but allowing recovery by parent of legitimate child

violates equal protection.

602. Rabeck v. New York, 391 U.S. 462 (1968).

A provision of New York’s obscenity law is unconstitutionally vague.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White,

Fortas, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Harlan

603. Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (1968).

An Illinois statute, itself no longer in code but held to be incorporated in the general juror challenge statute, that authorizes automatic challenge for cause of any potential juror scrupled against capital punishment in capital cases, is invalid.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, Fortas, Marshall, Warren, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Douglas

Justices dissenting: Black, Harlan, White

604. Williams v. Rhodes, 393 U.S. 23 (1968).

Series of Ohio election statutes that imposed insurmountable obstacles to the success of independent parties and candidates in obtaining a place on the ballot violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Brennan, Fortas, Marshall

Justices concurring specially: Harlan

Justices dissenting: Warren, C.J., Stewart, White

605. Louisiana Educ. Comm’n for Needy Children v. Poindexter, 393 U.S. 17

(1968).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a Louisiana tuition grant statute as part of an anti-desegregation program is summarily affirmed.

606. Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968).

An Arkansas statute prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools of the state violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2455
607. WHYY, Inc. v. Borough of Glassboro, 393 U.S. 117 (1968).

A New Jersey statute providing exemption from property taxes only

of those nonprofit corporations chartered in New Jersey denies equal

protection to a Pennsylvania corporation qualified to do business in

New Jersey.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart, White,

Fortas, Marshall

Justice dissenting: Black

608. South Carolina State Bd. of Educ. v. Brown, 393 U.S. 222 (1968).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a South Carolina statute providing for scholarship grants for children attending private schools as part of antidesegregation program is summarily affirmed.

609. Kirkpatrick v. Preisler, 394 U.S. 526 (1968).

A Missouri congressional districting statute is unconstitutional because the population deviations from precise mathematical equality among

districts were not unavoidable.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Black, Douglas, Marshall, Warren, C.J.

Justice concurring specially: Fortas

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart, White

610. Accord: Wells v. Rockefeller, 394 U.S. 542 (1969),voiding New York’s congressional districting plan.

611. Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557 (1969).

A Georgia statute construed to prohibit possession in the home of

obscene materials for one’s own private and personal use violates First

and Fourteenth Amendments.

612. Street v. New York, 394 U.S. 576 (1969).

A New York statute insofar as it punishes verbal abuse of the flag

violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Five-to-four division of Court not on this issue.

613. Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969).

A Connecticut statute imposing a one-year residency requirement

on eligibility for welfare assistance infringes the right to travel and

violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Fortas, Stewart, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Warren, C.J., Black, Harlan

2456 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
614. Accord: Reynolds v. Smith, 394 U.S. 618 (1969).

Pennsylvania’s one-year residence requirement for eligibility for welfare assistance infringes the right to travel and violates equal protection.

615. Moore v. Ogilvie, 394 U.S. 814 (1969).

An Illinois statute requiring independent candidates to present 25,000

signatures, including 200 signatures from each of at least 50 of the

state’s 200 counties, violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Black, Brennan, White, Fortas, Marshall,

Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Harlan

616. Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp., 395 U.S. 337 (1969).

A Wisconsin prejudgment garnishment statute that authorizes freezing a defendant’s wages between garnishment and culmination of suit

without affording the defendant a hearing violates the Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Warren, C.J.

Justice concurring specially: Harlan

Justice dissenting: Black

617. Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969).

Ohio’s Criminal Syndicalism Statute, which proscribes advocacy of

use of force in absence of requirement that such advocacy be directed to

inciting or producing imminent lawless action and be likely to incite or

produce such action, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

618. Kramer v. Union Free School Dist., 395 U.S. 621 (1969).

A New York statute limiting eligibility to vote in school district

elections to persons who own taxable real property in district or who

are parents of children enrolled in the local public schools violates the

Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Brennan, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Black, Harlan

619. Cipriano v. City of Houma, 395 U.S. 701 (1969).

A Louisiana statute limiting eligibility to vote on issuance of municipal utility revenue bonds to property owners violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Brennan, White, Marshall

Justices concurring specially: Black, Stewart, Harlan

620. Turner v. Fouche, 396 U.S. 346 (1970).

A Georgia statute limiting eligibility for school board membership

to property holders violates the Equal Protection Clause.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2457
621. Wyman v. Bowens, 397 U.S. 49 (1970).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a New York statute denying welfare assistance to persons coming into state with the

intent to obtain such assistance is summarily affirmed.

622. Hadley v. Junior College Dist., 397 U.S. 50 (1970).

A Missouri statutory scheme for election of trustees of junior college district that allocated trustees to lesser populated districts rather

than those of greater populations violated the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Brennan, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Harlan, Stewart

623. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970).

A New York statute providing that proof of acts establishing delinquency of a minor must be by a preponderance of the evidence violates Due Process Clause, which requires proof beyond a reasonable

doubt.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Harlan, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Black, Stewart

624. Baldwin v. New York, 399 U.S. 66 (1970).

A New York statute providing for trial without jury in New York

City of misdemeanors punishable upon conviction with sentences of up

to one year violates Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, which require jury trials when possible sentence is six months or more.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall

Justices concurring specially: Black, Douglas

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Harlan, Stewart

625. City of Phoenix v. Kolodziejski, 399 U.S. 204 (1970).

Arizona constitutional and statutory provisions that limit eligibility to vote in referendum on issuance of general obligation bonds to

property owners violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Black, Douglas, Brennan, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Harlan, Burger, C.J.

626. Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235 (1970).

An Illinois statute providing for extension of jail sentences to work

off unpaid fine at $5 a day violates the Equal Protection Clause as

applied to an indigent convict unable to pay his fine.

627. Rockefeller v. Socialist Workers Party, 400 U.S. 806 (1970).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional New York statutory provisions for geographic dispersion of signatures on candidates’

petitions and discriminating against independent candidates’ ability to

2458 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
obtain signatures in ways absent from major party candidates is summarily affirmed.

628. Parish School Bd. v. Stewart, 400 U.S. 884 (1970).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional Louisiana constitutional and statutory provisions limiting eligibility to vote in general

obligation bond authorization elections is summarily affirmed.

629. Bower v. Vaughan, 400 U.S. 884 (1970).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional Arizona’s oneyear residency requirement for treatment in state hospital is summarily affirmed.

630. Rafferty v. McKay, 400 U.S. 954 (1970).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional a California loyalty oath similar to that condemned in Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360

(1964), is summarily affirmed.

631. Wisconsin v. Constantineau, 400 U.S. 433 (1971).

A Wisconsin statute providing for “posting” of “excessive” drinkers

to bar them from taverns and similar places denies procedural due process by not requiring notice and opportunity to be heard.

632. Groppi v. Wisconsin, 400 U.S. 505 (1971).

A Wisconsin statute that categorically precludes a change of venue

for trial of misdemeanor cases violates Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, White, Marshall

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Black

633. Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371 (1971).

Connecticut’s statutory imposition of fees as a prerequisite to obtain judicial dissolution of marriage violates due process as applied to

persons unable to pay the fees.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices concurring specially: Douglas, Brennan

Justice dissenting: Black

634. Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971).

A Texas statute (and ordinance of City of Houston) that provide

for imprisonment of persons unable to pay a fine for period calculated

at $5 a day violate the Equal Protection Clause.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2459
635. North Carolina State Bd. of Educ. v. Swann, 402 U.S. 43 (1971).

An anti-busing law that flatly forbids assignment of any student

on account of race and prohibits busing for such purpose is unconstitutional.

636. Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535 (1971).

A Georgia statute providing for automatic suspension of driver’s

license upon involvement in auto accident unless security for amount

of damages is posted violates due process in not first affording driver

a hearing to establish a reasonable possibility that judgment may be

rendered against him as result of accident.

637. Nyquist v. Lee, 402 U.S. 935 (1971).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional New York’s antibusing law is summarily affirmed.

638. Whitcomb v. Chavis, 403 U.S. 124 (1971).

Legislative apportionment and districting statute of Indiana, though

its multimember features are not unconstitutional, provides for too much

population inequality and is void.

Justices concurring: White, Black, Douglas, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Stewart

639. Connell v. Higginbotham, 403 U.S. 207 (1971).

A Florida loyalty oath provision that requires a public employee

to swear he does not believe in the violent overthrow of the government or be dismissed violates due process by not providing for an inquiry into his reasons for refusing to take the oath.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Black, Harlan, White, Blackmun

Justices concurring specially: Marshall, Douglas, Brennan

Justice dissenting: Stewart

640. Graham v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 365 (1971).

An Arizona statute that denies welfare assistance to aliens who

have not been in the United States for 15 years violates equal protection and intrudes into the Federal Government’s exclusive powers over

admission of aliens.

641. Sailer v. Leger, 403 U.S. 365 (1971).

A Pennsylvania statute that limits welfare assistance to United

States citizens violates equal protection and intrudes into the Federal

Government’s exclusive powers over admission of aliens.

2460 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
642. Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).

A Pennsylvania statute providing for reimbursement of sectarian

schools for expenses of providing certain secular educational services

violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as applied

to the states through the Fourteenth.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Harlan, Stewart, Blackmun

Justices concurring specially: Black, Douglas, Brennan, Marshall

Justice dissenting: White

643. Earley v. DiCenso, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).

A Rhode Island statute providing for salary supplements to be paid

to teachers in sectarian schools violates the Establishment Clause.

644. Accord: Sanders v. Johnson, 403 U.S. 955 (1971).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional Connecticut

Nonpublic School Secular Education Act is affirmed.

645. Pease v. Hansen, 404 U.S. 70 (1971).

A Montana durational residency requirement as condition on eligibility to state-financed public assistance is unconstitutional under

Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618 (1969).

646. Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971).

An Idaho statute giving preference to males over females for appointment as administrator of a decedent’s estate violates the Equal

Protection Clause.

647. Dunn v. Rivera, 404 U.S. 1054 (1972).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional Connecticut oneyear residency requirement for eligibility to welfare assistance is summarily affirmed.

648. Wyman v. Lopez, 404 U.S. 1055 (1972).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional New York oneyear residency requirement for eligibility to welfare assistance is summarily affirmed.

649. Lindsey v. Normet, 405 U.S. 56 (1972).

An Oregon statute requiring tenants who wish to appeal housing

eviction order to file bond in twice the amount of rent expected to accrue during pendency of appeal violates the Equal Protection Clause.

650. Bullock v. Carter, 405 U.S. 134 (1972).

Texas’ filing fee system, which imposes on candidates the costs of

the primary election operation and affords no alternative opportunity

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2461
for candidates unable to pay the fees to obtain access to the ballot,

violates the Equal Protection Clause.

651. Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330 (1972).

Tennessee’s one-year residency requirement as a condition of registration to vote burdens right to travel and violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun

Justice dissenting: Burger, C.J.

652. Caniffe v. Burg, 405 U.S. 1034 (1972).

A district court decision invalidating a Massachusetts statute that

imposes as a condition for registering to vote an additional 6-month

state residency requirement on persons who have already resided within

the town or district for six months as violating the Equal Protection

Clause is summarily affirmed.

653. Davis v. Kohn, 405 U.S. 1034 (1972).

A district court decision invalidating, as impermissibly burdening

the right to vote and the right to travel, a Vermont one-year residency

requirement for voting, is summarily affirmed.

654. Cody v. Andrews, 405 U.S. 1034 (1972).

A district court decision invalidating on equal protection grounds

a North Carolina one-year residency requirement for voting is summarily affirmed.

655. Donovan v. Keppel, 405 U.S. 1034 (1972).

A district court decision invalidating on equal protection grounds

a Minnesota six-month residency requirement for voting is summarily

affirmed.

656. Whitcomb v. Affeldt, 405 U.S. 1034 (1972).

A district court decision invalidating as burdening the right to vote

and violating equal protection an Indiana six-month residency requirement for voting is summarily affirmed.

657. Amos v. Hadnott, 405 U.S. 1035 (1972).

A district court decision invalidating on equal protection grounds

Alabama’s six-month county residency requirement and three-month

precinct residency requirement for voting is summarily affirmed.

2462 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
658. Virginia State Bd. of Elections v. Bufford, 405 U.S. 1035 (1972).

A district court decision holding that Virginia’s one-year residency

requirement for voting violates equal protection is summarily affirmed.

659. Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972).

A Massachusetts statute making it a crime to dispense any contraceptive article to an unmarried person, except to prevent disease, is

unconstitutional.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall

Justices concurring specially: White, Blackmun

Justice dissenting: Burger, C.J.

660. Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518 (1972).

A Georgia statute making it a crime to use language of or to another tending to cause a breach of the peace, which is not limited to

“fighting words,” is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

661. Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (1972).

An Illinois statute that presumes without a hearing the unfitness

of the father of illegitimate children to have custody upon death or

disqualification of the mother denies him due process and equal protection.

Justices concurring: White, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Blackmun

662. Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 406 U.S. 164 (1972).

A Louisiana workmen’s compensation statute, which relegates unacknowledged illegitimate children to a status inferior to legitimate and

acknowledged illegitimate children, violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Powell, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall,

Burger, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

663. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972).

Wisconsin’s compulsory school attendance law, insofar as it does

not exempt Amish children from coverage following completion of the

eighth grade, violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, applicable via the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun,

(in part) Douglas

Justices dissenting (in part): Douglas

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2463
664. Brooks v. Tennessee, 406 U.S. 605 (1972).

A Tennessee statute that requires a criminal defendant if he is

going to testify to do so before any other witness for him violates the

Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, White, Marshall, Powell

Justice concurring specially: Stewart

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Blackmun, Rehnquist

665. Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715 (1972).

Indiana’s pretrial commitment procedure for allegedly incompetent defendants, which provides more lenient standards for commitment than the procedure for those persons not charged with any offense, and more stringent standards for release, violates both due process

and equal protection.

666. James v. Strange, 407 U.S. 128 (1972).

A Kansas statute enabling the state to recover in subsequent civil

proceedings legal defense fees for indigent defendants violates the Equal

Protection Clause because it dispenses with the protective exemptions

that state law erected for other civil judgment debtors.

667. Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67 (1972).

Florida’s replevin statutes, which permit installment sellers or other

persons alleging entitlement to property to cause the seizure of the

property without any notice or opportunity to be heard on the issues,

violate the Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Brennan, Marshall

Justices dissenting: White, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

668. Parham v. Cortese, 407 U.S. 67 (1972). Pennsylvania’s replevin statute,

which permits installment sellers to cause the seizure of property without

affording notice or opportunity to contest to the persons possessing the

property, violates the Due Process Clause. Same division of Justices as

Fuentes v. Shevin.

669. State Dep’t of Health & Rehab. Servs. v. Zarate,407 U.S. 918 (1972).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional under the Equal

Protection Clause Florida’s denial of welfare assistance to noncitizens

is summarily affirmed.

670. United States v. Scotland Neck City Bd. of Educ., 407 U.S. 484 (1972).

A North Carolina statute that authorized the creation of a new

school district in a city that was part of a larger county school system

is void because its effect would be to impede the dismantling of the

2464 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
dual school system by affording a refuge to white students fleeing desegregation.

671. Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).

Statutory imposition of capital punishment upon criminal conviction either at discretion of jury or of the trial judge may not be carried out. Georgia’s statute in the view of two Justices is unconstitutional because the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment per

se, in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, while in

the view of three Justices the statute is unconstitutional as applied

because of the discriminatory or arbitrary manner in which death is

imposed upon convicted defendants in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring specially: Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist

672. Texas Bd. of Barber Examiners v. Bolton, 409 U.S. 807 (1972).

A district court decision holding invalid under the Equal Protection Clause Texas statutes prohibiting licensed cosmetologists from working with male customers and prohibiting licensed barbers from working with female customers is summarily affirmed.

673. Essex v. Wolman, 409 U.S. 808 (1972).

A district court decision holding void under the Establishment Clause

of the First Amendment an Ohio statute providing a reimbursement

grant to parents of children attending nonpublic schools is summarily

affirmed.

674. Robinson v. Hanrahan, 409 U.S. 38 (1972).

An Illinois statute providing for mailing of vehicle forfeiture proceeding notification to the home address of a vehicle owner is unconstitutional as applied to person known to the state to be incarcerated

and not at home.

675. Amos v. Sims, 409 U.S. 942 (1972).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional an Alabama legislative apportionment law is summarily affirmed.

676. Fugate v. Potomac Electric Power Co., 409 U.S. 942 (1972).

A district court decision holding invalid under the Equal Protection Clause a Virginia statute allowing reimbursement to utilities required by interstate highway construction to relocate their lines in cities and towns but denying reimbursement to utilities required by

interstate highway construction to relocate lines in counties is summarily affirmed.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2465
677. Ward v. Village of Monroeville, 409 U.S. 57 (1972).

An Ohio statute authorizing trial for certain ordinance violations

and traffic offenses before mayor responsible for village finances when

the fines, forfeitures, costs, and fees imposed in the mayor’s courts provided a substantial portion of village funds denied defendants opportunity for trial before an impartial and disinterested tribunal.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist

678. Evco v. Jones, 409 U.S. 91 (1972).

New Mexico’s gross receipts tax is unconstitutionally applied to

proceeds from transactions whereby material is produced in state under contract for delivery to out-of-state clients because it impermissibly burdens interstate commerce.

679. Georges v. McClellan, 409 U.S. 1120 (1973).

A district court decision holding unconstitutional under the Due

Process Clause a Rhode Island prejudgment attachment statute is summarily affirmed.

680. Gomez v. Perez, 409 U.S. 535 (1973).

A Texas law denying right of enforced paternal support to illegitimate children while granting it to legitimate children violates the Equal

Protection Clause.

681. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

A Texas statute making it a crime to procure or to attempt to procure an abortion except on medical advice to save the life of the mother

infringes upon a woman’s right of privacy protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist

682. Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973).

A Georgia statute permitting abortions under prescribed circumstances nevertheless invalidly imposed a number of procedural limitations: that the abortion be performed in an accredited hospital, be approved by a staff committee and two licensed physicians other than

woman’s own doctor, and be available only to residents.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist

2466 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
683. Mahan v. Howell, 410 U.S. 315 (1973).

A portion of a Virginia apportionment statute assigning large numbers of naval personnel to actual location of station when evidence showed

substantial numbers resided in surrounding areas distorted population balance of districts and was void.

684. Whitcomb v. Communist Party of Indiana, 410 U.S. 976 (1973).

A district court decision holding invalid under the First and Fourteenth Amendments an Indiana statute requiring political party to submit oath that party has no relationship to a foreign government as a

condition of ballot access is summarily affirmed.

685. Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U.S. 145 (1973).

A New Mexico use tax may not constitutionally be applied on personal property that an Indian tribe purchased out-of-state and installed as a permanent improvement on an off-reservation ski resort

owned and operated by tribe.

686. McClanahan v. Arizona Tax Comm’n, 411 U.S. 164 (1973).

Arizona’s income tax is invalidly applied to Navajo Indian residing

on reservation and whose income is wholly derived from reservation sources.

687. New Jersey Welfare Rights Org. v. Cahill, 411 U.S. 619 (1973).

A New Jersey statute denying assistance to families in which parents are not ceremonially married denies equal protection to children in

such families.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun,

Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

688. Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778 (1973).

A Wisconsin statute as interpreted to permit revocation of parole

without a hearing denies due process of law.

689. Parker v. Levy, 411 U.S. 978 (1973).

A district court decision voiding as an arbitrary denial of equal

protection Louisiana’s constitutional provision and statute distributing a property relief fund among political subdivisions is summarily

affirmed.

690. Miller v. Gomez, 412 U.S. 914 (1973).

A district court decision holding a denial of equal protection a New

York statute denying a jury trial on the issue of dangerousness to persons being committed to hospitals for the criminally insane after a felony

indictment but before trial is summarily affirmed.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2467
691. Vlandis v. Kline, 412 U.S. 441 (1973).

A Connecticut statute creating an irrebuttable presumption that

a student from out-of-state at the time he applied to a state college

remained a nonresident for tuition purposes for his entire student career violated the Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justice concurring specially: White

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist, Douglas

692. Wardius v. Oregon, 412 U.S. 470 (1973).

An Oregon statute requiring a defendant to give pretrial notice of

alibi defense and names of supporting witnesses but denying the defendant any reciprocal right of discovery of rebuttal evidence denies

him due process of law.

693. White v. Regester, 412 U.S. 755 (1973).

The establishment of multimember legislative districts in certain

Texas urban areas in the context of pervasive electoral discrimination

against blacks and Mexican-Americans denied equal protection of laws.

694. White v. Weiser, 412 U.S. 783 (1973).

Texas’ congressional districting law creates districts with too great

a population disparity and is void under the Equal Protection Clause.

695. Levitt v. Committee for Public Educ. & Religious Liberty, 413 U.S. 472

(1973).

A New York statute to reimburse nonpublic schools for administrative expenses incurred in carrying out state-mandated examination and

record-keeping requirements, but requiring no accounting and separating of religious and nonreligious uses, violates the Establishment Clause.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Stewart, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist

Justices concurring specially: Douglas, Brennan, Marshall

Justice dissenting: White

696. Sugarman v. Dougall, 413 U.S. 634 (1973).

A New York statute providing that only United States citizens may

hold permanent positions in competitive civil service violates the Equal

Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall,

Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

697. Committee for Pub. Educ. and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S.

756 (1973).

New York education and tax laws providing grants to nonpublic

schools for maintenance and repairs of facilities and providing tuition

2468 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
reimbursements and income tax benefits to parents of children attending nonpublic schools violate the Establishment Clause.

Justices concurring: Powell, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices concurring and dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

Justice dissenting: White

698. Sloan v. Lemon, 413 U.S. 825 (1973).

A Pennsylvania statute providing for reimbursement of parents for

portion of tuition expenses in sending children to nonpublic schools

violates the Establishment Clause.

Justices concurring: Powell, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

699. Grit v. Wolman, 413 U.S. 901 (1973).

N Ohio statute granting tax credits to parents of private school

children violates the Establishment Clause.

700. Stevenson v. West, 413 U.S. 902 (1973).

South Carolina’s legislative apportionment statute is invalid.

701. Nelson v. Miranda, 413 U.S. 902 (1973).

Arizona constitutional and statutory provisions denying public employment to aliens violate the Equal Protection Clause.

702. Texas v. Pruett, 414 U.S. 802 (1973).

A federal court decision that a Texas statutory system that denies

good time credit to convicted felons in jail pending appeal but allows

good time credit to incarcerated nonappealing felons unconstitutionally burdens the right of appeal is summarily affirmed.

703. Kusper v. Pontikes, 414 U.S. 51 (1973).

An Illinois statute prohibiting anyone who has voted in one party’s primary election from voting in another party’s primary election

for at least 23 months violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, White, Marshall, Powell

Justice concurring specially: Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist

704. Lefkowitz v. Turley, 414 U.S. 70 (1973).

A New York statute providing for cancellation of public contracts

and disqualification of contractors from doing business with the state

for refusal to waive immunity from prosecution and to testify concerning state contracts violates the Fifth Amendment privilege against selfincrimination.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2469
705. Danforth v. Rodgers, 414 U.S. 1035 (1973).

A district court decision invalidating an Missouri abortion statute

is summarily affirmed.

706. Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb, 414 U.S. 441 (1974).

An Indiana statute prescribing a loyalty oath as a qualification

for access to the ballot violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

707. O’Brien v. Skinner, 414 U.S. 524 (1974).

New York election law that permits persons incarcerated outside

their county of residence while awaiting trial to register and vote absentee, but denying absentee privilege to persons incarcerated in their

county of residence, denies equal protection.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall,

Powell

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist

708. Wallace v. Sims, 415 U.S. 902 (1974).

A district court decision holding invalid Alabama’s legislative apportionment statute is summarily affirmed.

709. Memorial Hospital v. Maricopa County, 415 U.S. 250 (1974).

An Arizona statute imposing a one-year county residency requirement for indigents’ eligibility for nonemergency medical care at state

expense infringes the upon right to travel and violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, Stewart, White, Powell

Justices concurring specially: Douglas, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

710. Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974).

An Alaska statute protecting anonymity of juvenile offenders, as

applied to prohibit cross-examination of a prosecution witness for possible bias, violates the Confrontation Clause.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun,

Powell

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist

711. Smith v. Goguen, 415 U.S. 566 (1974).

A Massachusetts statute punishing anyone who treats the flag “contemptuously” without anchoring the proscription to specified conduct

and modes is unconstitutionally vague.

Justices concurring: Powell, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall

Justice concurring specially: White

2470 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

712. Lubin v. Panish, 415 U.S. 709 (1974).

A California statute imposing a filing fee as the only means to get

on the ballot denied indigents equal protection.

713. Schwegmann Bros. Giant Super Markets v. Louisiana Milk Comm’n, 416

U.S. 922 (1974).

A district court decision holding invalid as a burden on interstate

commerce a Louisiana statute construed to permit a commission to regulate prices at which dairy products are sold outside the state to Louisiana retailers is affirmed.

714. Indiana Real Estate Comm’n v. Satoskar, 417 U.S. 938 (1974).

A district court decision invalidating an Indiana statute limiting

real estate dealer licenses to citizens is summarily affirmed.

715. Marburger v. Public Funds for Public Schools, 417 U.S. (1974).

District court decisions invalidating under the Establishment Clause

New Jersey laws providing reimbursement to parents of nonpublic school

children for textbooks and other materials are summarily affirmed.

716. Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241 (1974).

A Florida statute compelling newspapers to publish free replies

by political candidates criticized by newspapers violates the First Amendment.

717. Spence v. Washington, 418 U.S. 405 (1974).

A Washington State statute prohibiting “improper use” of flag or

display of the flag with any emblem superimposed on it was invalidly

applied to a person who taped a peace symbol on the flag in a way so

as not to damage it and who then displayed it upside down from his

own property.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell

Justices concurring specially: Douglas, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, White, Burger, C.J.

718. Cahn v. Long Island Vietnam Moratorium Comm., 418 U.S. 906 (1974).

An appellate court decision holding invalid on its face a New York

statute restricting display of the American flag, and prohibiting superimposition of symbols on a flag, is summarily affirmed.

719. Franchise Tax Board v. United Americans, 419 U.S. 890 (1974).

A district court decision striking down under First Amendment a

California statute providing state income-tax reductions for taxpayers

sending their children to nonpublic schools is summarily affirmed.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2471
Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

720. Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522 (1975).

Constitutional and statutory provisions that a woman should not

be selected for jury service unless she had previously filed a written

declaration of her desire to be subject to jury service violates the Sixth

Amendment right of defendants to be tried before juries composed of

a representative cross section of the community.

Justices concurring: White, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun,

Powell

Justice concurring specially: Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

721. North Georgia Finishing v. Di-Chem, 419 U.S. 601 (1975).

Georgia statutes permitting a writ of garnishment to be issued in

pending suits on the conclusory affidavit of plaintiff, prescribing filing

of a bond as the only method of dissolving the writ, which deprives

defendant of the use of the property pending the litigation, and making no provision for an early hearing, violates Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall

Justice concurring specially: Powell

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

722. Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975).

An Ohio statute authorizing suspension without a hearing of public school students for up to 10 days for misconduct denies students

procedural due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: White, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Powell, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

723. Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469 (1975).

A Georgia statute making it a misdemeanor to publish or broadcast the name of a rape victim may not be applied to such publishing

or broadcasting when the name is part of a public record; consistent

with the First Amendment, publication of such public record information is absolutely privileged.

724. Austin v. New Hampshire, 420 U.S. 656 (1975).

A New Hampshire commuters income tax imposed on nonresidents violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause, Art. IV. § 2, cl. 1,

because the state imposed no income tax on its residents’ domestic income and exempted from tax income earned by its residents outside

the state, which meant that the tax fell exclusively on nonresidents

2472 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
and was not offset even approximately by other taxes imposed upon

residents alone.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, Stewart, White, Powell, Rehnquist,

Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Blackmun

725. Stanton v. Stanton, 421 U.S. 7 (1975).

Utah’s age of majority statute applied in the context of child support requirements obligating parental support of a son to age 21 but a

daughter only to age 18 is an invalid gender classification under the

Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

726. Hill v. Stone, 421 U.S. 289 (1975).

Texas constitution and statutes and city charter limiting the right

to vote in city bond issue elections to persons who have listed property for taxation in the election district in the year of the election violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stewart, Burger, C.J.

727. Meek v. Pittenger, 421 U.S. 349 (1975) (subsequently overruled).

Pennsylvania laws authorizing direct provision to nonpublic school

children of “auxiliary services”, i.e., counseling, testing, speech and hearing therapy, etc., and loans to the nonpublic schools for instructional

material and equipment, constitute unlawful assistance to religion in

violation of the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

728. Bigelow v. Virginia, 421 U.S. 809 (1975).

A Virginia statute making it a misdemeanor, by sale or circulation of any publication, to encourage or prompt the procuring of an

abortion, as applied to the editor of a weekly newspaper who published an advertisement of an out-of-state abortion, violates the First

Amendment.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, White

729. Herring v. New York, 422 U.S. 853 (1975).

A New York statute granting the trial judge in a nonjury criminal

case the power to deny counsel the opportunity to make a summation

of the evidence before the rendition of judgment violates the Sixth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Brennan, White, Marshall, Powell

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2473
Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

730. Turner v. Department of Employment Security, 423 U.S. 44 (1975).

A Utah statute making pregnant women ineligible for unemployment compensation for a period extending from 12 weeks before expected childbirth until six weeks following violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Powell

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Blackmun, Burger (from summary action only), C.J.

731. Schwartz v. Vanasco, 423 U.S. 1041 (1976).

A district court decision invalidating as overbroad under the First

Amendment New York law prohibiting attacks on candidate based on

race, sex, religion, or ethnic background and prohibiting misrepresentations of candidate’s qualifications, positions, or political affiliation is

summarily affirmed.

732. Tucker v. Salera, 424 U.S. 959 (1976).

A district court decision voiding a Pennsylvania election law provision requiring that candidates of “political bodies” collect nominating petition signatures between the 10th and 7th Wednesdays prior to

primary election and file them no later than the 7th Wednesday prior

to primary, insofar as it disqualifies papers signed after the 7th Wednesday, is summarily affirmed.

733. Virginia Bd. of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, 425

U.S. 748 (1976).

A state statute declaring it unprofessional conduct for a licensed pharmacist to advertise the price of prescription drugs violates the First Amendment right of citizens to receive such information.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Powell

Justice concurring specially: Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

734. California State Bd. of Pharmacy v. Terry, 426 U.S. 913 (1976).

A district court decision holding to violate the First Amendment a

California statute prohibiting the advertisement of the retail price of

prescription drugs and prohibiting representation that price is a discount price, is summarily affirmed.

735. Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U.S. 373 (1976).

Minnesota laws imposing personal property taxes cannot under the

Supremacy Clause be constitutionally applied to an Indian’s mobile home

located on the reservation.

2474 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
736. Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52 (1976).

Missouri’s abortion law that required, inter alia, spousal and parental consent before an abortion could be performed in appropriate

circumstances, and that proscribed the saline amniocentesis abortion

procedure after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, was an unconstitutional infringement upon the liberty of pregnant women who wished

to terminate their pregnancies.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell

Justice dissenting: Stevens (on parental consent)

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

737. Gerstein v. Coe, 428 U.S. 901 (1976).

An appellate court decision invalidating the parental and spousal

consent requirements of Florida’s abortion statute is summarily affirmed on the basis of Planned Parenthood v. Danforth.

738. Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280 (1976).

A North Carolina statute making the death penalty mandatory upon

conviction of first-degree murder violates the Eighth Amendment, because determination to impose death must be individualized.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Powell, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Blackmun, White, Burger, C.J.

739. Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 325 (1976).

A Louisiana statute making the death penalty mandatory upon

conviction of first-degree murder violates the Eighth Amendment.

740. Williams v. Oklahoma, 428 U.S. 907 (1976).

Oklahoma’s death penalty statute violates the Eighth Amendment for the same reasons that North Carolina’s and Louisiana’s were

held invalid in Woodson and Roberts, supra.

741. Sendak v. Arnold, 429 U.S. 968 (1976).

An Indiana statute requiring all abortions, including those during

first trimester of pregnancy, to be performed in a hospital or licensed

health facility was held unconstitutional by the district court and decision is summarily affirmed.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

742. Exon v. McCarthy, 429 U.S. 972 (1976).

A district court holding that a Nebraska statutory scheme that fails

to provide a method by which independent candidates for President

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2475
may appear on ballot other than through certification by political party

violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments is summarily affirmed.

743. Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190 (1976).

Oklahoma’s statutory prohibition of sale of “nonintoxicating” 3.2%

beer to males under 21 and to females under 18 constituted an impermissible gender-based classification that denied equal protection to males

18–20.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justice concurring specially: Stewart

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

744. Lefkowitz v. C.D.R. Enterprises, 429 U.S. 1031 (1977).

A district court decision holding invalid as a discrimination against

aliens a New York law granting public works employment preference

to citizens who have resided in state for at least 12 months is summarily affirmed.

745. Boston Stock Exchange v. State Tax Comm’n, 429 U.S. 318 (1977).

A New York transfer tax on securities transactions structured so

that transactions involving an out-of-state sale are taxed more heavily than most transactions involving a sale within the state discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause.

746. Guste v. Weeks, 429 U.S. 1056 (1977).

A district court decision voiding a Louisiana statute that effectively forbade abortions, that prohibited publicizing availability of abortion services, that required spousal or parental consent, and that forbade state employees to recommend abortions, is summarily affirmed.

747. Bowen v. Women’s Services, 429 U.S. 1067 (1977).

A district court decision invalidating Indiana’s parental consent requirement for abortion upon minor during first 12 weeks of pregnancy

is summarily affirmed.

748. Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705 (1977).

A New Hampshire requirement that state license plates bear the

motto “Live Free or Die” and making it a misdemeanor to obscure the

motto coerces dissemination of an ideological message by person on

his own property and violates First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Powell,

Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Blackmun

2476 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
749. Trimble v. Gordon, 430 U.S. 762 (1977).

An Illinois law allowing illegitimate children to inherit by intestate succession only from their mothers while legitimate children may

take from both parents denies illegitimates the equal protection of the

laws.

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, White, Marshall, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Stewart, Blackmun, Rehnquist

750. United States Trust Co. v. New Jersey, 431 U.S. 1 (1977).

Retroactive repeal of a New Jersey statutory covenant under which

bonds had been sold by the Port Authority, the covenant having limited the authority’s ability to subsidize rail passenger transportation

from revenues and reserves pledged as security for the bonds, impaired the obligations of the contract in violation of Article I, § 10, cl.

1

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Rehnquist, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brennan, White, Marshall

751. Chappelle v. Greater Baton Rouge Airport Dist., 431 U.S. 159 (1977).

Louisiana’s statutory qualification of ownership of assessed property in a jurisdiction in which an airport is located as condition of appointment to the airport commission is invalid.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun,

Powell, Stevens

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

752. Roberts v. Louisiana, 431 U.S. 633 (1977).

A Louisiana statute imposing a mandatory death sentence upon

one convicted of first-degree murder of police officer engaged in performance of his duties violates the Eighth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Powell, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Blackmun, White, Rehnquist

753. Carey v. Population Services Int’l, 431 U.S. 678 (1977).

A New York law making it a crime (1) for any person to sell or

distribute contraceptives to minors under 16, (2) for anyone other than

a licensed pharmacist to distribute contraceptives to persons 16 or over,

and (3) for anyone to advertise or display contraceptives, violates First

and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices concurring specially: White, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2477
754. Lefkowitz v. Cunningham, 431 U.S. 801 (1977).

A New York statute automatically removing from office and disqualifying from any office for the next five years any political party

officer who refuses to testify or to waive immunity against subsequent

criminal prosecution when subpoenaed before an authorized tribunal

violates Fifth Amendment self-incrimination clause.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Stewart, White, Blackmun, Powell

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Marshall

Justice dissenting: Stevens

755. Nyquist v. Mauclet, 432 U.S. 1 (1977).

A New York statute barring from access to state financial assistance for higher education aliens who have not either applied for citizenship or affirmed the intent to apply when they qualify violates the

Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, White, Marshall, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Powell, Stewart, Rehnquist

756. Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333 (1977).

A Washington statute requiring that all apples sold or shipped into

the state in closed containers be identified by no grade on containers

other than an applicable federal grade or a designation that apples

are ungraded violates the Commerce Clause by burdening and discriminating against interstate sale of apples.

757. Wolman v. Walter, 433 U.S. 229 (1977) (subsequently overruled).

Ohio’s loan of instructional material and equipment to nonpublic

religious schools and transportation and services for field trips for

nonpublic school pupils violates the First Amendment religion clauses.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., White, Rehnquist, Powell (as to field trips

only)

758. Shaffer v. Heitner, 433 U.S. 186 (1977).

A Delaware statute authorizing a court of the state to take jurisdiction of a lawsuit by sequestering property of a defendant that happens to be located in state violates the Due Process Clause because it

permits state courts to exercise jurisdiction in the absence of sufficient contacts among defendant, litigation, and state.

759. Jernigan v. Lendall, 433 U.S. 901 (1977).

A district court decision invalidating an Arkansas law that requires independent candidates for office to file for office no later than

first Tuesday in April is summarily affirmed.

2478 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
760. Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977).

A Georgia statute authorizing the death penalty as punishment

for rape violates the Eighth Amendment.

Justices concurring: White, Stewart, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Marshall, Powell

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

761. New York v. Cathedral Academy, 434 U.S. 125 (1977).

New York’s authorization for reimbursement to nonpublic schools

for performance of certain state-mandated services for the remainder

of school year to replace a reimbursement program declared unconstitutional also violates First Amendment religion clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

762. Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374 (1978).

A Wisconsin statute that requires court permission to marry for

any resident having minor children in his custody and who is under a

court order to support and that conditions permission on a showing

that the support obligation has been met and that the children are

not and are not likely to become public charges, violates Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Stewart, Powell, Stevens

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

763. Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223 (1978).

A Georgia statute directing certain trials in criminal cases to be

before five-person juries unconstitutionally impairs the right to trial

by jury.

764. McDaniel v. Paty, 435 U.S. 618 (1978).

Tennessee’s statutory qualification for delegates to state constitutional conventions, which incorporates a constitutional ban on ministers or priests serving as members of the legislature, violates the Free

Exercise Clause.

765. First Nat’l Bank v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765 (1978).

A Massachusetts criminal statute that banned banks and business corporations from making expenditures to influence referendum

votes on any questions not affecting the property, business, or assets

of the corporation violated the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Powell, Stewart, Blackmun, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: White, Brennan, Marshall, Rehnquist

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2479
766. Landmark Communications v. Virginia, 435 U.S. 829 (1978).

A Virginia statute making it a misdemeanor to divulge information regarding proceedings before a state judicial review commission

cannot constitutionally be applied to persons who are not parties before the commission.

767. Hicklin v. Orbeck, 437 U.S. 518 (1978).

An “Alaska Hire” statute mandating that state residents be preferred to nonresidents in employment on oil and gas pipeline work violates Article IV, § 2, the Privileges and Immunities Clause.

768. City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 437 U.S. 617 (1978).

A New Jersey law prohibiting importation into the state for disposal at landfills of solid or liquid waste violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

769. Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus, 438 U.S. 234 (1978).

Minnesota’s statutory imposition on existing negotiated collective

bargaining agreements of different terms respecting pensions impaired the employer’s rights under the Contracts Clause.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brennan, White, Marshall

770. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586 (1978).

An Ohio statute authorizing imposition of death penalty upon conviction of first-degree murder unconstitutionally restricted consideration of mitigating factors by the sentencing party.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Stewart, Powell, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: White, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist

771. Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357 (1979).

A Missouri statute, implementing a constitutional provision, which

provides for the excusal of any women requesting exemption from jury

service, operates to violate the fair cross section requirement of Sixth

and Fourteenth Amendments because of the under representation of

women jurors that results.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

2480 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
772. Colautti v. Franklin, 439 U.S. 379 (1979).

Provisions of a Pennsylvania abortion law that require the physician to make a determination that the fetus is not viable and if it is

viable to exercise the same care to preserve the fetus’ life and health

that would be required in the case of a fetus intended to be born alive

are void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

773. Illinois State Bd. of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party, 440 U.S. 173

(1979).

An Illinois law requiring new political parties and independent candidates to obtain signatures of 5% of the number of persons who voted

at the previous election for such office in order to get on the ballot in political subdivisions of the state, insofar as it applies to mandate the obtaining of a greater number and proportion of signatures than is required to get on the ballot for statewide office, lacks a rational basis and

violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, Stewart, White, Powell

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun, Stevens, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

774. Orr v. Orr, 440 U.S. 268 (1979).

An Alabama statute that imposes alimony obligations on husbands but not on wives violates the Equal Protection Clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices dissenting (on other grounds): Powell, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

775. Ashcroft v. Freiman, 440 U.S. 941 (1979).

A federal court decision invalidating under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause a Missouri statute requiring doctor to verbally inform any woman seeking an abortion that, if a live born infant

results, the woman will lose her parental rights, is summarily affirmed.

776. Quern v. Hernandez, 440 U.S. 951 (1979).

A district court decision voiding as denial of due process under

Fourteenth Amendment an Illinois attachment law because it permits

attachment prior to filing of complaint and prior to notice to debtor is

summarily affirmed.

777. Burch v. Louisiana, 441 U.S. 130 (1979).

Statutory implementation of a Louisiana constitutional provision

permitting conviction for a nonpetty offense by five out of six jurors

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2481
violates the right to trial by jury guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

778. Hughes v. Oklahoma, 441 U.S. 322 (1979).

An Oklahoma statute prohibiting transportation or shipment for

sale outside the state of natural minnows seined or procured from waters within the state violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

779. Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380 (1979).

A New York law permitting an unwed mother but not an unwed

father to block the adoption of their child by withholding consent is

an impermissible gender distinction violating the Equal Protection Clause

of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Stevens, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

780. Japan Line v. County of Los Angeles, 441 U.S. 434 (1979).

Imposition of a California ad valorem property tax upon cargo containers that are based, registered, and subjected to property tax in Japan results in multiple taxation of instrumentalities of foreign commerce and violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Powell,

Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

781. Beggans v. Public Funds for Public Schools, 442 U.S. 907 (1979).

A federal court decision invalidating a New Jersey statute that

allowed taxpayers a personal deduction from gross income for each of

their dependent children attending nonpublic elementary or secondary schools as a violation of the First Amendment’s religion clause is

summarily affirmed.

782. Smith v. Daily Mail Pub. Co., 443 U.S. 97 (1979).

A West Virginia statute that makes it a crime for a newspaper to

publish, without the written approval of the juvenile court, the name

of any youth charged as a juvenile offender violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

783. Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622 (1979).

A Massachusetts law requiring parental consent for an abortion

for a woman under age 18 and providing for a court order permitting

2482 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
abortion for good cause if parental consent is refused violates the Due

Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Powell, Stewart, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Stevens, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun

Justice dissenting: White

784. Vance v. Universal Amusement Co., 445 U.S. 308 (1980).

A Texas public nuisance statute authorizing state judges, on the

basis of a showing that a theater exhibited obscene films in the past,

to enjoin its future exhibition of films not yet found to be obscene is

an invalid prior restraint in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices dissenting (on other grounds): Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist

785. Vitek v. Jones, 445 U.S. 480 (1980).

A Nebraska statute that authorizes authorities to summarily transfer a prison inmate from jail to another institution if a physician finds

that he suffers from a mental disease or defect and cannot be given

proper treatment in jail violates the liberty guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment unless the transfer is accompanied by adequate procedural protections.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting (on other grounds): Stewart, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

786. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980).

A New York statute authorizing police officers to enter a private

residence without a warrant and without exigent circumstances to effectuate a felony arrest violates the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

787. Wengler v. Druggists Mutual Ins. Co., 446 U.S. 142 (1980).

Missouri’s workers’ compensation law denying a widower benefits

on his wife’s work-related death unless he either is mentally or physically incapacitated or proves dependence on her earnings, but granting a widow death benefits regardless of her dependency, is gender discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2483
788. Lewis v. BT Investment Managers, Inc.,447 U.S. 27 (1980).

A Florida statute prohibiting out-of-state banks, bank holding companies, and trust companies from owning or controlling a business within

the state that sells investment advisory services violates the Commerce Clause.

789. Carey v. Brown, 447 U.S. 455 (1980).

An Illinois statute that prohibits picketing of residences or dwellings, but exempts peaceful picketing of such buildings that are places

of employment in which there is a labor dispute, violates the Equal

Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

790. Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625 (1980).

Alabama’s capital punishment statute, which forbids giving the jury

the option of convicting a defendant of a lesser included offense but

requires it to convict on the capital offense or acquit, violates the Eighth

and Fourteenth Amendments.

791. Minnesota v. Planned Parenthood, 448 U.S. 901 (1980).

A federal court decision holding that a Minnesota statute authorizing grants for pre-pregnancy family planning to hospitals and health

maintenance organizations but prohibiting such grants to other nonprofit organizations if they perform abortions violates equal protection

clause is summarily affirmed.

792. Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980).

A Kentucky statute requiring a copy of Ten Commandments, purchased with private contributions, to be posted on the wall of each public classroom in the state violates the Establishment Clause of the First

Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Blackmun, Stewart, Rehnquist

793. Webb’s Fabulous Pharmacies v. Beckwith, 449 U.S. 155 (1980).

Florida’s statutory authorization for county to retain as its own

interest accruing on interpleader fund deposited in registry of county

court was a taking violating the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

794. Weaver v. Graham, 450 U.S. 24 (1981).

A Florida statute repealing an earlier law and reducing the amount

of “gain time” for good conduct and obedience to prison rules deducted

2484 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
from a convicted prisoner’s sentence is an invalid ex post facto law as

applied to one whose crime was committed prior to the statute’s enactment.

795. Jefferson County v. United States, 450 U.S. 901 (1981).

A court of appeals decision holding invalid a Colorado statute that

imposed use tax on government-owned, contractor operated facility as

constituting ad valorem general property tax on Federal Government

property and thus contravening the Supremacy Clause is summarily

affirmed.

796. Democratic Party v. Wisconsin,450 U.S. 107 (1981).

A Wisconsin law mandating national convention delegates chosen

at party’s state convention to vote at the national convention for the

candidate prevailing in the state’s preference primary, in which voters

may participate without regard to party affiliation, violates the First

Amendment right of association of the national party, whose rules preclude seating of delegates who were not selected in accordance with

national party rules, including the limiting of the selection process to

those voters affiliated with the party.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, White, Marshall, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Powell, Blackmun, Rehnquist

797. Kirchberg v. Feenstra, 450 U.S. 455 (1981).

A Louisiana statute giving husband unilateral right to dispose of

jointly-owned community property without wife’s consent is an impermissible sex classification and violates the Equal Protection Clause.

798. Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corp., 450 U.S. 662 (1981).

An Iowa statute barring 65-foot double-trailer trucks on state’s highways, while all neighboring states permit them, violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Powell, White, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stewart, Burger, C.J.

799. Maryland v. Louisiana, 451 U.S. 725 (1981).

Louisiana’s “first-use tax” statute, which, because of exceptions and

credits, imposes a tax only on natural gas moving out-of-state, impermissibly discriminates against interstate commerce, and another provision that required pipeline companies to allocate the cost of tax to

ultimate consumer is preempted by federal law.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2485
800. Little v. Streater, 452 U.S. 1 (1981).

A Connecticut statute requiring person in paternity action who requests blood grouping tests to bear cost of tests denies due process in

violation of Fourteenth Amendment to an indigent against whom state

has required institution of paternity action.

801. Campbell v. John Donnelly & Sons, 453 U.S. 916 (1981).

A court of appeals decision holding to violate the First Amendment a Maine statute prohibiting roadside billboards, except for signs

announcing place and time of religious or civic events, election campaign signs, and signs erected by historic and cultural institutions, is

summarily affirmed.

802. Louisiana Dairy Stabilization Bd. v. Dairy Fresh Corp., 454 U.S. 884

(1981).

A court of appeals decision holding to violate the Commerce Clause

a Louisiana milk industry regulatory statute, which required all dairy

product processors, including out-of-state processors, who sell dairy products to retailer or distributor for resale in state to pay assessment per

unit of milk for use in administration and enforcement of statute, is

summarily affirmed.

803. Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 472 U.S. 491 (1985).

A court of appeals decision holding to violate the First Amendment a Washington statute that authorized courts to issue temporary

and permanent injunctions, without providing prompt trial on merits,

against any business that regularly sells or exhibits “lewd matter” is

summarily affirmed.

804. Firestone v. Let’s Help Florida, 454 U.S. 1130 (1982).

A court of appeals decision holding to violate the First Amendment a Florida statute that restricts size of contributions to political

committees organized to support or oppose referenda is summarily affirmed.

805. Treen v. Karen B., 455 U.S. 913 (1982).

A court of appeals decision holding to violate the Establishment

Clause of the First Amendment a Louisiana statute authorizing school

boards to permit students to participate in one-minute prayer period

at start of school day, upon parental consent, is summarily affirmed.

806. Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745 (1982).

A New York law authorizing termination of parental rights upon

proof by only a fair preponderance of the evidence violates the Due

Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

2486 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, White, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

807. California State Bd. of Equalization v. United States, 456 U.S. 901 (1982).

A court of appeals decision invalidating as an impermissible infringement of the immunity of the United States from state taxation

a California sales tax based on gross rentals paid by United States to

lessors of data processing and other equipment, which permitted the

lessor to maximize profit only by separately stating and collecting a

tax from the lessee, is summarily affirmed.

808. Brown v. Hartlage, 456 U.S. 45 (1982).

A Kentucky statute prohibiting candidates from offering material

benefits to voters in consideration for their votes violates the First Amendment’s freedom of speech clause as applied to a candidate’s promise to

serve at a salary less than that fixed by law if elected.

809. Mills v. Habluetzel, 456 U.S. 91 (1982).

A Texas statute imposing a one-year period from date of birth to

bring action to establish paternity of illegitimate child, paternity being necessary for child to obtain support from father at any time during his minority, denies equal protection of the laws.

810. Larson v. Valente, 456 U.S. 228 (1982).

A Minnesota charitable solicitations law exempting from registration and reporting only those religious organizations that receive more

than half of their total contributions from members or affiliated organizations is an impermissible denominational preference and violates

the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist (on merits); O’Connor, Burger, C.J. (on

standing)

811. Greene v. Lindsey, 456 U.S. 444 (1982).

A Kentucky statute authorizing service of process in forcible entry and detainer action by posting summons in a conspicuous place if

no one could be found on premises denies due process on showing that

notices are often removed before defendants find them.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

812. Zobel v. Williams, 457 U.S. 55 (1982).

An Alaska law providing a dividend distribution to all state’s adult

residents from earnings on oil and mineral development in state deSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2487
nies equal protection of the laws by determining amount of dividend

for each person by the length of residency in state.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Stevens

Justice concurring specially: O’Connor

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

813. Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).

A Texas statute withholding state funds from local school districts

for the education of any children not legally admitted into United States

and authorizing boards to deny enrollment to such children denies equal

protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., White, Rehnquist, O’Connor

814. Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596 (1982).

A Massachusetts statute requiring, under all circumstances, exclusion of press and public during testimony of minor victim of a sex offense violates the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justice concurring specially: O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist, Stevens

815. Edgar v. MITE Corp., 457 U.S. 624 (1982).

Illinois take-over statute, which extensively regulates tender offerors and imposes registration and reporting requirements, because

it directly regulates and prevents interstate tender offers and because

the burdens on interstate commerce are excessive compared with local

interests served, violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Marshall, Brennan, Rehnquist (all on mootness grounds)

816. Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp., 458 U.S. 419 (1982).

A New York statute requiring landlords to permit installation of

cable television wiring on their property and limiting fee charged to

that determined to be reasonable by a commission (which set a onetime $1 fee) constituted a taking of property in violation of the Fifth

and Fourteenth Amendments.

817. Washington v. Seattle School Dist., 458 U.S. 457 (1982).

A Washington statute, enacted by initiative vote of the electorate,

barring school boards from busing students for racially integrative purposes, denies equal protection of the laws.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, White, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Powell, Rehnquist, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

2488 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
818. Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982).

Florida’s felony-murder statute, authorizing the death penalty solely

for participation in a robbery in which another robber kills someone,

violates the Eighth Amendment.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Powell, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

819. Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas, 458 U.S. 941 (1982).

A Nebraska state statute requiring a permit before anyone withdraws ground water from any well located in the state and transports

it across state line and providing for denial of permit unless the state

to which the water will be transported grants reciprocal rights to withdraw and transport water into Nebraska violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, O’Connor

820. Brown v. Socialist Workers ’74 Campaign Comm., 459 U.S. 87 (1982).

An Ohio statute requiring candidates to disclose the names and

addresses of campaign contributors and the recipients of campaign expenditures is invalid, under the First Amendment, as applied to a minor political party whose members and supporters may be subjected

to harassment or reprisals.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justice concurring specially: Blackmun

Justices concurring in part and dissenting in part: O’Connor, Rehnquist, Stevens

821. Larkin v. Grendel’s Den, 459 U.S. 116 (1982).

A Massachusetts statute permitting any church to block issuance

of a liquor license to any establishment to be located within 500 feet

of the church violates the Establishment Clause by delegating governmental decisionmaking to a church.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Stevens

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

822. King v. Sanchez, 459 U.S. 801 (1982).

Federal district court’s decision invalidating New Mexico legislative reapportionment as violating the one person, one vote requirement of the Equal Protection Clause because the “votes cast” formula

resulted in substantial population variances among districts, is summarily affirmed.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2489
823. Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Comm’r of Revenue, 460

U.S. 575 (1983).

Minnesota’s ink and paper use tax violates the First Amendment

by providing “differential treatment” for the press.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: White, Blackmun

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

824. Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780 (1983).

An Ohio statute requiring independent candidates for President and

Vice-President to file nominating petitions by March 20 in order to qualify

for the November ballot is unconstitutional as substantially burdening

the associational rights of the candidates and their supporters.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, White, Powell, O’Connor

825. Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352 (1983).

A California statute requiring that a person detained in a valid

Terry stop provide “credible and reliable” identification is unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist

826. Pickett v. Brown, 462 U.S. 1 (1983).

Tennessee’s two-year statute of limitations for paternity and child

support actions violates the equal protection rights of illegitimates.

827. Planned Parenthood Ass’n v. Ashcroft, 462 U.S. 476 (1983).

A Missouri statute requiring that all abortions performed after the

first trimester of pregnancy be performed in a hospital unreasonably

infringes upon the right of a woman to have an abortion.

Justices concurring (on this issue only): Powell, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun,

Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, White, Rehnquist

828. Karcher v. Daggett, 462 U.S. 725 (1983).

New Jersey’s congressional districting statute creating districts in

which the deviation between largest and smallest districts was 0.7%,

or 3,674 persons, violates Art. I, § 2’s “equal representation” requirement as not resulting from a good-faith effort to achieve population

equality.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor

Justices dissenting: White, Powell, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

2490 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
829. Mennonite Bd. of Missions v. Adams, 462 U.S. 791 (1983).

An Indiana statute providing for constructive notice to mortgagee

of tax sale of real property violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; instead, personal service or notice by mail is required.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Powell, Rehnquist

830. Healy v. United States Brewers Ass’n, 464 U.S. 909 (1983).

An appeals court decision invalidating as an undue burden on interstate commerce the beer price “affirmation” provisions of Connecticut’s liquor control laws, which restrict out-of-state sales to prices set

for in-state sales, is summarily affirmed.

831. Westinghouse Elec. Corp. v. Tully, 466 U.S. 388 (1984).

New York’s corporate franchise tax unconstitutionally discriminates against interstate commerce by allowing an offsetting credit for

receipts from products shipped from an in-state place of business.

832. Wallace v. Jaffree, 466 U.S. 924 (1984).

An appeals court decision holding invalid under the Establishment Clause an Alabama statute authorizing the recitation in public

schools of a government-composed prayer is summarily affirmed.

833. Bernal v. Fainter, 467 U.S. 216 (1984).

A Texas requirement that a notary public be a United States citizen furthers no compelling state interest and denies equal protection

of the laws to resident aliens.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens,

O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

834. Armco, Inc. v. Hardesty, 467 U.S. 638 (1984).

A West Virginia gross receipts tax on businesses selling tangible

property at wholesale unconstitutionally discriminates against interstate commerce because it exempts local manufacturers.

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens,

O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

835. Secretary of State of Maryland v. Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. 947

(1984).

Maryland’s prohibition on charitable organizations paying more than

25% of solicited funds for expenses of fundraising violates the FourSTATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2491
teenth Amendment by creating an unnecessary risk of chilling protected First Amendment activity.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, White, Marshall, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Powell, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

836. Brown v. Brandon, 467 U.S. 1223 (1984).

A federal district court decision that an Ohio congressional districting plan is invalid because population variances were shown to be not

unavoidable and were not justified by legitimate state interest is summarily affirmed.

837. Bacchus Imports, Ltd. v. Dias, 468 U.S. 263 (1984).

Hawaii’s excise tax on wholesale liquor sales, exempting sales of

specified local products, violates the Commerce Clause by discriminating in favor of local commerce.

Justices concurring: White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Rehnquist, O’Connor

838. Deukmejian v. National Meat Ass’n, 469 U.S. 1100 (1985).

An appeals court holding that California tax on sales by out-ofstate beef processors discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause, there being no corresponding and comparable tax on in-state processors, is summarily affirmed.

839. Westhafer v. Worrell Newspapers, 469 U.S. 1200 (1985).

An appeals court decision holding invalid under the First Amendment an Indiana statute punishing as contempt the publication of the

name of an individual against whom a sealed indictment or information has been filed is summarily affirmed.

840. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Ward, 470 U.S. 869 (1985).

Alabama’s domestic preference tax, imposing a substantially lower

gross premiums tax rate on domestic insurance companies than on outof-state insurance companies, violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Powell, White, Blackmun, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Brennan, Marshall, Rehnquist

841. Board of Educ. v. National Gay Task Force, 470 U.S. 903 (1985).

A court of appeals decision holding unconstitutionally overbroad

in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments an Oklahoma

statute prohibiting advocating, encouraging, or promoting homosexual

conduct is affirmed by equally divided vote.

2492 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
842. Hunter v. Underwood, 471 U.S. 222 (1985).

A provision of Alabama Constitution requiring disenfranchisement for crimes involving moral turpitude, adopted in 1901 for the

purpose of racial discrimination, violates the Equal Protection

Clause.

843. Williams v. Vermont, 472 U.S. 14 (1985).

Vermont’s use tax discriminating between residents and nonresidents in application of a credit for automobile sales taxes paid to another state violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist, O’Connor

844. Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985).

An Alabama statute authorizing a one-minute period of silence in

public schools “for meditation or voluntary prayer” violates the Establishment Clause, the record indicating that the sole legislative purpose in amending the statute to add “or voluntary prayer” was to return voluntary prayer to the public schools.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justice concurring specially: O’Connor

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

845. Jensen v. Quaring, 472 U.S. 478 (1985).

An appeals court decision holding invalid Nebraska’s driver’s licensing requirement that applicant be photographed, and that photo

be affixed to license, as burdening the free exercise of sincerely held

religious beliefs against submitting to being photographed, is affirmed

by equally divided vote.

846. Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 472 U.S. 491 (1985).

Washington “moral nuisance” statute is invalid under the First

Amendment to the extent that it proscribes exhibition of films or sale

of publications inciting “lust,” defined as referring to normal sexual

desires.

Justices concurring: White, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Stevens, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting on other grounds: Brennan, Marshall

847. Hooper v. Bernalillo County Assessor, 472 U.S. 612 (1985).

A New Mexico property tax exemption for Vietnam War veterans

who became residents before May 8, 1976, violates the Equal Protection Clause as not meeting the rational basis test.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Rehnquist, O’Connor

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2493
848. Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc., 472 U.S. 703 (1985).

A Connecticut statute requiring employers to honor the Sabbath

day of the employee’s choice violates the Establishment Clause.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Stevens, O’Connor

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

849. Philadelphia Newspapers v. Hepps, 475 U.S. 767 (1986).

A Pennsylvania statute incorporating the common-law rule that

defamatory statements are presumptively false violates the First Amendment as applied to a libel action brought by a private figure against a

media defendant; instead, the plaintiff must bear the burden of establishing falsity.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justices dissenting: Stevens, White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

850. Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. New York State Liquor Auth., 476 U.S.

573 (1986).

New York’s affirmation law, having the practical effect of controlling liquor prices in other states, violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Powell, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justice concurring specially: Blackmun

Justices dissenting: Stevens, White, Rehnquist

851. Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 476

U.S. 747 (1986) (subsequently overruled in part).

A Pennsylvania statute prescribing a variety of requirements

for performance of an abortion, including informed consent, reporting of various information concerning the mother’s history and condition, and standard-of-care and second-physician requirements after

viability, infringes a woman’s Roe v. Wade right to have an abortion.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., White, Rehnquist, O’Connor

852. Attorney General of New York v. Soto-Lopez, 476 U.S. 898 (1986).

New York Civil Service Law’s employment preference for New York

residents who are honorably discharged veterans and were New York

residents when they entered military service violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justices concurring specially: White, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, O’Connor, Rehnquist

2494 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
853. Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut, 479 U.S. 208 (1986).

A Connecticut statute imposing a “closed primary” under which

persons not registered with a political party may not vote in its primaries violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments by preventing political parties from entering into political association with individuals

of their own choosing.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Scalia, O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

854. Babbitt v. Planned Parenthood, 479 U.S. 925 (1986).

An appeals court decision invalidating Arizona statute prohibiting

grant of public funds to any organization performing abortion-related

services is summarily affirmed.

855. Wilkinson v. Jones, 480 U.S. 926 (1987).

An appeals court decision holding unconstitutionally vague and overbroad Utah statute barring cable television systems from showing “indecent material” is summarily affirmed.

856. Arkansas Writers’ Project, Inc. v. Ragland, 481 U.S. 221 (1987).

Arkansas’ sales tax exemption for newspapers and for “religious, professional, trade, and sports journals” published within the

state violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments as a contentbased regulation of the press.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, O’Connor

Justice concurring specially: Stevens

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

857. Miller v. Florida, 482 U.S. 423 (1987).

Florida’s revised sentencing guidelines law, under which the presumptive sentence for certain offenses was raised, contravenes the ex

post facto clause of Article I as applied to someone who committed those

offenses before the revision.

858. Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496 (1987).

A Maryland statute requiring preparation of a “victim impact statement” describing the effect of a crime on a victim and his family violates the Eighth Amendment to the extent that it requires introduction of the statement at the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial.

Booth was overruled in Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991).

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices dissenting: White, O’Connor, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2495
859. Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987).

A Louisiana statute mandating balanced treatment of “creationscience” and “evolution-science” in the public schools is an invalid establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens, O’Connor

Justice concurring specially: White

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

860. Sumner v. Shuman, 483 U.S. 66 (1987).

A Nevada statute under which a prison inmate convicted of murder while serving a life sentence without possibility of parole is automatically sentenced to death is invalid under the Eighth Amendment

as preventing the sentencing authority from considering as mitigating

factors aspects of a defendant’s character or record.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens, O’Connor

Justices dissenting: White, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

861. Tyler Pipe Indus. v. Washington State Dep’t of Revenue, 483 U.S. 232

(1987).

A Washington manufacturing tax, applicable to products manufactured in-state and sold out-of-state, but containing an exemption for

products manufactured and sold in-state, discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

862. American Trucking Ass’ns v. Scheiner, 483 U.S. 266 (1987).

Pennsylvania statutes imposing lump-sum annual taxes on operation of trucks on state’s roads violate the Commerce Clause as discriminating against interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Powell, Rehnquist, C.J., Scalia

863. Hartigan v. Zbaraz, 484 U.S. 171 (1987).

A federal appeals court ruling holding unconstitutional a provision of the Illinois Parental Notice Abortion Act requiring that minors

wait 24 hours after informing parents before having an abortion is affirmed by equally divided vote.

864. City of Manassas v. United States, 485 U.S. 1017 (1988).

A federal appeals court decision invalidating as discriminatory against

the United States a Virginia statute that imposes a personal property

tax on property leased from the United States, but not on property

leased from the Virginia Port Authority or from local transportation

districts, is summarily affirmed.

2496 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
865. New Energy Co. of Indiana v. Limbach, 486 U.S. 269 (1988).

An Ohio statute granting a tax credit for ethanol fuel if the ethanol was produced in Ohio, or if produced in another state that grants

a similar credit to Ohio-produced ethanol fuel, discriminates against

interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause.

866. Maynard v. Cartwright, 486 U.S. 356 (1988).

Oklahoma statutory aggravating circumstances, permitting imposition of capital punishment upon a jury’s finding that a murder was

“especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” are unconstitutionally vague

in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

867. Meyer v. Grant, 486 U.S. 414 (1988).

A Colorado law punishing as felony the payment of persons who

circulate petitions for ballot initiative abridges the right to engage in

political speech, and therefore violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

868. Clark v. Jeter, 486 U.S. 456 (1988).

Pennsylvania’s 6-year statute of limitations for paternity actions

violates the Equal Protection Clause as insufficiently justified under

heightened scrutiny review.

869. Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Ass’n, 486 U.S. 466 (1988).

The Kentucky Supreme Court’s rule containing categorical prohibition of attorney direct mail advertising targeted at persons known to face

particular legal problems violates First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Kennedy

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

870. Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, Inc., 486 U.S. 888 (1988).

An Ohio statute tolling its 4-year limitations period for breach of

contract and fraud actions brought against out-of-state corporations that

do not appoint an agent for service of process within the state—and

thereby subject themselves to the general jurisdiction of Ohio courts—

violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring:: Kennedy, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens,

O’Connor

Justice concurring specially: Scalia

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J.

871. Supreme Court of Virginia v. Friedman, 487 U.S. 59 (1988).

The Virginia Supreme Court rule imposing residency requirement

for admission to the bar on motion, without taking the bar exam, by

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2497
persons licensed to practice law in other jurisdictions, violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, § 2.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens,

O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Scalia

872. Riley v. National Federation of the Blind, 487 U.S. 781 (1988).

Three different aspects of North Carolina’s Charitable Solicitations Act unconstitutionally infringe freedom of speech. These aspects

are: limitations on reasonable fees that professional fundraisers may

charge; a requirement that professional fundraisers disclose to potential donors the percentage of donated funds previously used for charity; and a requirement that professional fundraisers be licensed.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Scalia, Kennedy

Justice concurring in part and dissenting in part: Stevens

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor

873. Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815 (1988).

An Oklahoma statutory scheme, setting no minimum age for capital punishment, and separately providing that juveniles may be tried

as adults, violates Eighth Amendment by permitting capital punishment to be imposed for crimes committed before age 16.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun

Justice concurring specially: O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Scalia, White, Rehnquist, C.J.

874. Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012 (1988).

An Iowa procedure, authorized by statute, placing a one-way screen

between defendant and complaining child witnesses in sex abuse cases,

thereby sparing witnesses from viewing defendant, violates the Confrontation Clause right to face-to-face confrontation with one’s accusers.

Justices concurring: Scalia, Brennan, White, Marshall, Stevens, O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist, C.J.

875. Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. Webster County Comm’n, 488 U.S. 336

(1989).

A West Virginia county’s tax assessments denied equal protection

to property owners whose assessments, based on recent purchase price,

ranged from 8 to 35 times higher than comparable neighboring property for which the assessor failed over a 10-year period to readjust appraisals.

876. Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 489 U.S. 1 (1989).

A Texas sales tax exemption for publications published or distributed by a religious faith and consisting of teachings of that faith or

2498 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
writings sacred to that faith violates the Establishment Clause of the

First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: White, Blackmun, O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

877. Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Comm., 489 U.S. 214

(1989).

Provisions of the California Elections Code forbidding the official

governing bodies of political parties from endorsing or opposing candidates in primary elections, and imposing other requirements on the

organization and composition of the governing bodies, are invalid under the First Amendment. The ban on endorsements violates free speech

and associational rights; the organizational restrictions violate associational rights.

878. Barnard v. Thorstenn, 489 U.S. 546 (1989).

A Virgin Islands rule requiring one year’s residency prior to admission to the bar violates the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Art.

IV, § 2. Justifications for the rule do not constitute “substantial” reasons for discriminating against nonresidents; nor does the discrimination bear a “substantial relation” to legitimate objectives.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Scalia

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., White, O’Connor

879. Davis v. Michigan Dep’t of Treasury, 489 U.S. 803 (1989).

Michigan’s income tax law, by providing exemption for retirement

benefits of state employees but not for retirement benefits of federal

employees, discriminates against federal employees in violation of 4

U.S.C. § 111 and in violation of the constitutional doctrine of intergovernmental tax immunity.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, O’Connor,

Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Stevens

880. Quinn v. Millsap, 491 U.S. 95 (1989).

A provision of the Missouri Constitution, interpreted by the Missouri Supreme Court as requiring property ownership as a qualification for appointment to a “board of freeholders” charged with making

recommendations for reorganization of St. Louis city and county governments, violates the Equal Protection Clause.

881. The Healy v. Beer Institute, 491 U.S. 324 (1989).

Connecticut’s beer price affirmation law, requiring out-of-state shippers to affirm that prices charged in-state wholesalers are no higher

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2499
than prices charged contemporaneously in three bordering states, violates the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, White, Marshall, Kennedy

Justice concurring specially: Scalia

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Stevens, O’Connor

882. Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).

Texas’ flag desecration statute, prohibiting any physical mistreatment of the American flag that the actor knows would seriously offend

other persons, is inconsistent with the First Amendment as applied to

an individual who burned an American flag as part of a political protest.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Scalia, Kennedy

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., White, O’Connor, Stevens

883. The Florida Star v. B.J.F., 491 U.S. 524 (1989).

A Florida statute making it unlawful to print the name of a sexual

assault victim is invalid under the First Amendment as applied to uphold an award of damages against a newspaper for publishing a sexual

assault victim’s name when the information was truthful, was lawfully obtained, and was otherwise publicly available as a result of a

botched press release from the sheriff’s department.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, Blackmun, Stevens, Kennedy

Justice concurring specially: Scalia

Justices dissenting: White, O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

884. McKoy v. North Carolina, 494 U.S. 433 (1990).

North Carolina’s capital sentencing statute, interpreted to prevent a jury from considering any mitigating factor that the jury does

not unanimously find, violates the Eighth Amendment. Instead, each

juror must be allowed to consider and give effect to what he or she

believes to be established mitigating evidence.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Stevens

Justice concurring specially: Kennedy

Justices dissenting: Scalia, O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

885. Butterworth v. Smith, 494 U.S. 624 (1990).

A Florida statute prohibiting the disclosure of grand jury testimony violates the First Amendment insofar as it prohibits a grand jury

witness from disclosing, after the term of the grand jury has ended,

information covered by his own testimony.

2500 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
886. Peel v. Illinois Attorney Disciplinary Comm’n, 496 U.S. 91 (1990).

An Illinois rule of professional responsibility violates the First Amendment by completely prohibiting an attorney from holding himself out

as a civil trial specialist certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, Blackmun, Kennedy

Justice concurring specially: Marshall

Justices dissenting: White, O’Connor, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

887. Hodgson v. Minnesota, 497 U.S. 417 (1990).

Minnesota’s requirement that a woman under 18 notify both her

parents before having an abortion is invalid as a denial of due process

because “it does not reasonably further any legitimate state interest.”

However, an alternative judicial bypass system saves the statute as a

whole.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Kennedy, White, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

888. Connecticut v. Doehr, 501 U.S. 1 (1991).

A Connecticut statute authorizing a private party to obtain prejudgment attachment of real estate without prior notice to the owner,

and without a showing of extraordinary circumstances, violates the Due

Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as applied in conjunction with a civil action for assault and battery.

889. Simon & Schuster v. New York Crime Victims Bd., 502 U.S. 105 (1991).

New York State’s “Son of Sam” law, under which a criminal’s income from works describing his crime is placed in escrow and made

available to victims of the crime, violates the First Amendment. The

law establishes a financial disincentive to create or publish works with

a particular content, and is not narrowly tailored to serve the state’s

compelling interests in ensuring that criminals do not profit from their

crimes, and that crime victims are compensated.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, White, Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun, Kennedy

890. Norman v. Reed, 502 U.S. 279 (1992).

Two provisions of Illinois’ election law unconstitutionally infringe

on the right of ballot access guaranteed under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The first provision, as interpreted by the Illinois

Supreme Court, prevented a “new political party” in Cook County from

using the name of a party already “established” in the city of Chicago.

The second required that new political parties qualify for the ballot by

submitting petitions signed by 25,000 voters from each voting district

to be represented in a multi-district political subdivision.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2501
Justices concurring: Souter, White, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Scalia

891. Wyoming v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437 (1992).

An Oklahoma statute requiring that all coal-fired Oklahoma utilities burn a mixture containing at least 10% Oklahoma-mined coal discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the implied “negative” component of the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Scalia, Thomas

892. Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U.S. 71 (1992).

A Louisiana statute allowing an insanity acquittee no longer suffering from mental illness to be confined indefinitely in a mental institution until he is able to demonstrate that he is not dangerous to himself or to others violates due process.

Justices concurring: White, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Souter

Justices dissenting: Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

893. Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992).

Application of the state’s use tax to mail order sales by an out-ofstate company with neither outlets nor sales representatives in the state

places an undue burden on interstate commerce in violation of the “negative” or “dormant” Commerce Clause. A physical presence within the

taxing state is necessary in order to meet the “substantial nexus” requirement of the Commerce Clause.

894. Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt, 504 U.S. 334 (1992).

Alabama’s fee for in-state disposal of hazardous wastes generated

out-of-state is invalid as a direct discrimination against interstate commerce. Alabama failed to establish that the discrimination against interstate commerce is justified by any factor other than economic protectionism, and failed to show that its valid interests (e.g., protection

of health, safety, and the environment) can not be served by less discriminatory alternatives. The fee is not supportable by analogy to quarantine laws, since the state permits importation of hazardous wastes

if the fee is paid.

895. Fort Gratiot Sanitary Landfill, Inc. v. Michigan Nat. Resources Dep’t,

504 U.S. 353 (1992).

Waste import restrictions of Michigan’s Solid Waste Management

Act violate the Commerce Clause. The restrictions, which prohibit landfills from accepting out-of-county waste unless explicitly authorized by

the county’s solid waste management plan, directly discriminate against

2502 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
interstate commerce and are not justified as serving any valid health

and safety purposes that can not be served adequately by nondiscriminatory alternatives.

896. Kraft Gen. Foods v. Iowa Dep’t of Revenue, 505 U.S. 71 (1992).

An Iowa statute imposing a business tax on corporations facially

discriminates against foreign commerce in violation of the Commerce

Clause by allowing corporations to take a deduction for dividends received from domestic, but not foreign, subsidiaries.

897. Planned Parenthood of S.E. Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).

One aspect of the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act of 1982—a

requirement for spousal notification—is invalid as an undue interference with a woman’s right to an abortion.

898. Edenfield v. Fane, 507 U.S. 761 (1993).

A rule of the Florida Board of Accountancy banning “direct, inperson, uninvited solicitation” of business by certified public accountants is inconsistent with the free speech guarantees of the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, White, Blackmun, Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Thomas,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: O’Connor

899. Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Department of Envtl. Quality,511 U.S. 93

(1994).

Oregon’s imposition of a surcharge on in-state disposal of solid waste

generated in other states—a tax three times greater than the fee charged

for disposal of waste that was generated in Oregon—constitutes an invalid burden on interstate commerce. The tax is facially discriminatory against interstate commerce, is not a valid compensatory tax, and

is not justified by any other legitimate state interest.

Justices concurring: Thomas, Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Blackmun

900. Associated Industries v. Lohman, 511 U.S. 641 (1994).

Missouri’s uniform, statewide use tax constitutes an invalid discrimination against interstate commerce in those counties in which the

use tax is greater than the sales tax imposed as a local option, even

though the overall statewide effect of the use tax places a lighter aggregate tax burden on interstate commerce than on intrastate commerce.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2503
901. Montana Dep’t of Revenue v. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. 767 (1994).

Montana’s tax on the possession of illegal drugs, to be “collected

only after any state or federal fines or forfeitures have been satisfied,”

constitutes punishment, and violates the prohibition, derived from the

Double Jeopardy Clause, against successive punishments for the same

offense.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Blackmun, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor, Scalia, Thomas

902. West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy, 512 U.S. 186 (1994).

A Massachusetts milk pricing order, imposing an assessment on

all milk sold by dealers to Massachusetts retailers, is an unconstitutional discrimination against interstate commerce because the entire

assessment is then distributed to Massachusetts dairy farmers in spite

of the fact that about two-thirds of the assessed milk is produced out

of state. The discrimination imposed by the pricing order is not justified by a valid factor unrelated to economic protectionism.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg

Justices concurring specially: Scalia, Thomas

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Blackmun

903. Honda Motor Co. v. Oberg, 512 U.S. 415 (1994).

A provision of the Oregon Constitution, prohibiting judicial review of the amount of punitive damages awarded by a jury unless the

court can affirmatively say there is no evidence to support the verdict,

is invalid under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Judicial review of the amount awarded was one of the few procedural safeguards available at common law, yet Oregon has removed

that safeguard without providing any substitute procedure, and with

no indication that the danger of arbitrary awards has subsided.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Blackmun, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter,

Thomas

Justices dissenting: Ginsburg, Rehnquist, C.J.

904. Board of Educ. of Kiryas Joel Village v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994).

A New York State law creating a special school district for an incorporated village composed exclusively of members of one small religious sect violates the Establishment Clause.

Justices concurring: Souter, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Ginsburg

Justice concurring specially: Kennedy

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

905. McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n, 514 U.S. 334 (1995).

Ohio’s prohibition on the distribution of anonymous campaign literature abridges the freedom of speech. The law, aimed at speech de2504 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
signed to influence voters in an election, is a limitation on political

expression subject to exacting scrutiny. Neither of the interests asserted by Ohio justifies the limitation.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justice concurring specially: Thomas

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

906. U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995).

An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution denying ballot access to congressional candidates who have already served three terms

in the House of Representatives or two terms in the Senate is invalid

as conflicting with the qualifications for office set forth in Article I of

the U.S. Constitution, (specifying age, duration of U.S. citizenship, and

state inhabitancy requirements). Article I sets the exclusive qualifications for a United States Representative or Senator.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Thomas, O’Connor, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

907. Hurley v. Irish-American Gay Group, 515 U.S. 557 (1995).

Application of Massachusetts’ public accommodations law to require the private organizers of a St. Patrick’s Day parade to allow participation in the parade by a gay and lesbian group wishing to proclaim its members’ gay and lesbian identity violates the First Amendment

because it compels parade organizers to include in the parade a message they wish to exclude.

908. Miller v. Johnson, 515 U.S. 900 (1995).

Georgia’s congressional districting plan violates the Equal Protection Clause. The district court’s finding that race was the predominant factor in drawing the boundaries of the Eleventh District was

not clearly erroneous. The state did not meet its burden under strict

scrutiny review to demonstrate that its districting was narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, O’Connor, Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Souter

909. Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner, 516 U.S. 325 (1996).

North Carolina’s intangibles tax on a fraction of the value of corporate stock owned by North Carolina residents inversely proportional to the corporation’s exposure to the state’s income tax, violates

the “dormant” Commerce Clause. The tax facially discriminates against

interstate commerce, and is not a “compensatory tax” designed to make

interstate commerce bear a burden already borne by intrastate commerce.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2505
910. 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island, 517 U.S. 484 (1996).

Rhode Island’s statutory prohibition against advertisements that

provide the public with accurate information about retail prices of alcoholic beverages abridges freedom of speech protected by the First

Amendment, and is not shielded from constitutional scrutiny by the

Twenty-first Amendment. There is not a “reasonable fit” between the

blanket prohibition and the state’s goal of reducing alcohol consumption.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Scalia (in part), Kennedy (in part), Souter (in part),

Thomas (in part), Ginsburg (in part)

Justices concurring specially: Scalia, Thomas, O’Connor, Souter, Breyer,

Rehnquist, C.J.

911. Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996).

Amendment 2 to the Colorado Constitution, which prohibits all legislative, executive, or judicial action at any level of state or local government if that action is designed to protect homosexuals, violates the

Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The amendment, adopted by statewide referendum in 1992, does not bear a rational relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Stevens, O’Connor, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting:: Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

912. Shaw v. Hunt, 517 U.S. 899 (1996).

North Carolina’s congressional districting law, containing the racially gerrymandered 12th Congressional District as well as another

majority-black district, violates the Equal Protection Clause because,

under strict scrutiny applicable to racial classifications, creation of District 12 was not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.

Creation of District 12 was not necessary to comply with either section 2 or section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and the lower court found

that the redistricting plan was not actually aimed at ameliorating past

discrimination.

Justices concurring: Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter, Breyer

913. Bush v. Vera, 517 U.S. 952 (1996).

Three congressional districts created by Texas law constitute racial gerrymanders that are unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. The district court correctly held that race predominated

over legitimate districting considerations, including incumbency, and

consequently strict scrutiny applies. None of the three districts is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

2506 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring specially: O’Connor, Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Souter

914. United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996).

Virginia’s exclusion of women from the educational opportunities

provided by Virginia Military Institute denies to women the equal protection of the laws. A state must demonstrate “exceedingly persuasive

justification” for gender discrimination, and Virginia has failed to do

so in this case.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer

Justice concurring specially: Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Scalia

915. M.L.B. v. S.L.J., 519 U.S. 102 (1996).

Mississippi statutes that condition appeals from trial court decrees terminating parental rights on the affected parent’s ability to pay

for preparation of a trial transcript violate the Equal Protection and

Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, O’Connor, Souter, Breyer

Justice concurring specially: Kennedy

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Thomas, Scalia

916. Lynce v. Mathis, 519 U.S. 433 (1997).

A Florida statute canceling early release credits awarded to prisoners as a result of prison overcrowding violates the Ex Post Facto

Clause, Art. I, § 10, cl. 1, as applied to a prisoner who had already

been awarded the credits and released from custody.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice concurring specially: Thomas, Scalia

917. Chandler v. Miller, 520 U.S. 305 (1997).

A Georgia statute requiring that candidates for state office certify

that they have passed a drug test effects a “search” that is plainly not

tied to individualized suspicion, and does not fit within the “closely

guarded category of constitutionally permissible suspicionless searches,”

and hence violates the Fourth Amendment. Georgia has failed to establish existence of a “special need, beyond the normal need for law

enforcement,” that can justify such a search.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas,

Breyer

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J.

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2507
918. Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison, 520 U.S. 564

(1997).

Maine’s property tax law, which contains an exemption for charitable institutions but limits that exemption to institutions serving principally Maine residents, is a form of protectionism that violates the

“dormant” Commerce Clause as applied to deny exemption status to a

nonprofit corporation that operates a summer camp for children, most

of whom are not Maine residents.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer

Justice dissenting: Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, Rehnquist, C.J.

919. Lunding v. New York Tax Appeals Tribunal, 522 U.S. 287 (1998).

A New York law that effectively denies only nonresident taxpayers an income tax deduction for alimony paid violates the Privileges

and Immunities Clause of Art. IV, § 2. New York did not adequately

justify its failure to treat resident and nonresident taxpayers with substantial equality.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Thomas, Breyer

Justice dissenting: Ginsburg, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

920. Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113 (1998).

An Iowa statute authorizing law enforcement officers to conduct a

full-blown search of an automobile when issuing a traffic citation violates the Fourth Amendment. The rationales that justify a search incident to arrest do not justify a similar search incident to a traffic citation.

921. Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, 525 U.S. 182 (1999).

Three conditions that Colorado placed on the petition process for

ballot initiatives—that petition circulators be registered voters, that

they wear identification badges, and that initiative sponsors report the

names and addresses of circulators and the amounts paid to each—

impermissibly restrict political speech in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter

Justice concurring specially: Thomas

Justice concurring in part and dissenting in part: O’Connor, Souter, Rehnquist, C.J.

922. South Central Bell Tel. Co. v. Alabama, 526 U.S. 160 (1999).

Alabama’s franchise tax law discriminates against foreign corporations in violation of the Commerce Clause. The law establishes a domestic corporation’s tax base as the par value of its capital stock, a

value that the corporation may set at whatever level it chooses. The

tax base of a foreign corporation, on the other hand, contains balance

sheet items that the corporation cannot so manipulate.

2508 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
923. Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489 (1999).

A provision of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code limiting

new residents, for the first year they live in California, to the level of

welfare benefits that they would have received in the state of their

prior residence abridges the right to travel in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Thomas

924. Rice v. Cayetano, 528 U.S. 495 (2000).

A provision of the Hawaii Constitution restricting the right to vote

for trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to persons who are descendants of people inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands in 1778 is a racebased voting qualification that violates the Fifteenth Amendment. Ancestry can be—and in this case is—a proxy for race.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor, Scalia, Thomas

Justices concurring specially: Breyer, Souter

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Ginsburg

925. Carmell v. Texas,529 U.S. 513 (2000).

A Texas law that eliminated a requirement that the testimony of

a sexual assault victim age 14 or older must be corroborated by two

other witnesses violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of Art. I, § 10 as

applied to a crime committed while the earlier law was in effect. So

applied, the law falls into the category of an ex post facto law that

requires less evidence in order to convict. Under the old law, the petitioner could have been convicted only if the victim’s testimony had been

corroborated by two witnesses, while under the amended law the petitioner was convicted on the victim’s testimony alone.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Thomas, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Ginsburg, Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor, Kennedy

926. Troxel v. Granville,530 U.S. 57 (2000).

A Washington State law allowing “any person” to petition a court

“at any time” to obtain visitation rights whenever visitation “may serve

the best interests” of a child is unconstitutional as applied to an order

requiring a parent to allow her child’s grandparents more extensive

visitation than the parent wished. Because no deference was accorded

to the parent’s wishes, the parent’s due process liberty interest in making decisions concerning her child’s care, custody, and control was violated.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J., Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices concurring specially: Souter, Thomas

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2509
927. Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000).

A New Jersey “hate crime” statute that allows a judge to extend a

sentence upon finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant, in committing a crime for which he has been found guilty,

acted with a purpose to intimidate because of race, violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and the Sixth Amendment’s

requirements of speedy and public trial by an impartial jury. Any fact

that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory

maximum must be submitted to a jury and established beyond a reasonable doubt.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg

Justices concurring specially: Thomas

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J., Kennedy, Breyer

928. California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567 (2000).

California’s “blanket primary” law violates the First Amendment

associational rights of political parties. The law lists all candidates on

one ballot and allows primary voters to choose freely among candidates without regard to party affiliation. The law “adulterate[s]” a party’s candidate-selection process by forcing the party to open up that

process to persons wholly unaffiliated with the party, and is not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.

Justices concurring: Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas,

Breyer

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Ginsburg

929. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000).

Application of New Jersey’s public accommodations law to require

the Boy Scouts of America to admit an avowed homosexual as a member and assistant scout master violates the organization’s First Amendment associational rights. The general mission of the Scouts, to instill

values in young people, is expressive activity entitled to First Amendment protection, and requiring the Scouts to admit a gay scout leader

would contravene the Scouts’ asserted policy disfavoring homosexual

conduct.

Justices concurring: Rehnquist, C.J., O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

930. Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 (2000).

Nebraska’s statute criminalizing the performance of “partial birth

abortions” is unconstitutional under principles set forth in Roe v. Wade

and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The statute lacks an exception for

instances in which the banned procedure is necessary to preserve the

health of the mother, and, because it applies to the commonplace dila2510 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
tion and evacuation procedure as well as to the dilation and extraction method, imposes an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to an abortion.

Justices concurring: Breyer, Stevens, O’Connor, Souter, Ginsburg

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas

931. Cook v. Gralike, 531 U.S. 510 (2001).

Provisions of the Missouri Constitution requiring identification on

primary and general election ballots of congressional candidates who

failed to support term limits in the prescribed manner are unconstitutional. States do not have power reserved by the Tenth Amendment to

give binding instructions to their congressional representatives, and

the “Elections Clause” of Article I, section 4, does not authorize the

regulation. The Missouri ballot requirements do not relate to “times”

or “places,” and are not valid regulations of the “manner” of holding

elections.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices concurring specially: Rehnquist, C.J., Kennedy, Thomas, O’Connor, Souter

932. Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001).

A Pennsylvania prohibition on disclosure of the contents of an illegally intercepted electronic communication violates the First Amendment as applied in this case. The defendants, a talk show host and a

community activist, played no part in the illegal interception, and obtained the tapes lawfully. The subject matter of the disclosed conversation, involving a threat of violence in a labor dispute, was “a matter

of public concern.”

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Scalia, Thomas

933. Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly,533 U.S. 525 (2001).

Massachusetts’ restrictions on outdoor advertising and point-ofsale advertising of smokeless tobacco and cigars violate the First Amendment. The regulations prohibit outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet

of a school, park, or playground, and prohibit “point-of-sale” advertising placed lower than five feet above the floor of retail establishments. These restrictions do not satisfy the fourth step of the Central

Hudson test for regulation of commercial speech. That step requires a

“reasonable fit” between the means and ends of a regulation, yet the

regulations are not “narrowly tailored” to achieve such a fit.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter (point-of-sale restrictions only), Thomas

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, Souter (outdoor advertising only)

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2511
934. Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002).

Arizona’s capital sentencing law violates the Sixth Amendment right

to jury trial by allowing a sentencing judge to find an aggravating circumstance necessary for imposition of the death penalty. The governing principle was established in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466

(2000), holding that any fact (other than the fact of a prior conviction)

that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory

maximum must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The required finding of an aggravating circumstance exposed the defendant to a greater punishment than that authorized by

the jury’s guilty verdict.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas

Justice concurring specially: Breyer

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

935. Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002).

Virginia’s capital punishment law is invalid to the extent that it

authorizes execution of the mentally retarded. Execution of a mentally retarded individual constitutes cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. Circumstances have changed since

the Court upheld the practice in Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (1989);

since that time 16 states have prohibited the practice, none has approved it, and thus “a national consensus” has developed against execution of the mentally retarded. The Court’s “independent evaluation

of the issue reveals no reason to disagree with the judgment of the

legislatures” that have created this national consensus.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., Scalia, Thomas

936. Stogner v. California, 539 U.S. 607 (2003).

A California statute that permits resurrection of an otherwise timebarred criminal prosecution for sexual abuse of a child, and that was

itself enacted after the pre-existing limitations period had expired for

the crimes at issue, violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of Art. I, § 10,

cl. 1.

Justices concurring: Breyer, Stevens, O’Connor, Souter, Ginsburg

Justices dissenting: Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

937. Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003).

The provision of Virginia’s cross-burning statute stating that a cross

burning “shall be prima facie evidence of an intent to intimidate” is

unconstitutional.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Stevens, Breyer, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Souter, Kennedy, Ginsburg

2512 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices dissenting: Scalia, Thomas

938. Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003).

A Texas statute making it a crime for two people of the same sex

to engage in sodomy violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to liberty protected by the Due Process

Clause includes the right of two adults, “with full and mutual consent

from each other, [to] engag[e] in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle.”

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justice concurring specially: O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

939. Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004).

Washington State’s sentencing law, which allows a judge to impose a sentence above the standard range if he finds “substantial and

compelling reasons justifying an exceptional sentence,” is inconsistent

with the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.

Justices concurring: Scalia, Stevens, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Breyer, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

940. Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460 (2005).

Michigan and New York laws that allow in-state wineries to sell

wine directly to consumers but prohibit or discourage out-of-state wineries from doing so discriminate against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause, and are not authorized by the Twentyfirst Amendment.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Scalia, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Stevens, O’Connor, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

941. Halbert v. Michigan, 545 U.S. 605 (2005).

A Michigan statute making appointment of appellate counsel discretionary with the court for indigent criminal defendants who plead

nolo contendere or guilty is unconstitutional to the extent that it deprives indigents of the right to the appointment of counsel to seek “firsttier review” in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Thomas, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

942. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005).

Missouri’s law setting the minimum age at 16 for persons eligible

for the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel

and unusual punishment as applied to persons who were under 18 at

the time they committed their offense.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2513
Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

943. Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220 (2006).

Arkansas statute violated due process when interpreted not to require the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands to take additional

reasonable steps to notify a property owner of intent to sell the property to satisfy a tax delinquency, after the initial notice was returned

by the Post Office unclaimed.

Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Thomas, Scalia, Kennedy

944. Randall v. Sorrell, 548 U.S. 230 (2006).

Vermont campaign finance statute’s limitations on both expenditures and contributions violated freedom of speech.

Justices concurring: Breyer, Roberts, C.J., Alito, Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg

945. Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman, 550 U.S. 233, 237 (2007).

Texas capital sentencing statute impermissibly prevented sentencing “jurors from giving meaningful consideration to constitutionally relevant mitigating evidence.”

Justices concurring: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito

946. Brewer v. Quarterman, 550 U.S. 286, 288 (2007).

“Texas capital sentencing statute impermissibly prevented sentencing jury from giving meaningful consideration to constitutionally relevant mitigating evidence.”

Justices concurring: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito

947. Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008).

Louisiana’s statute that permits the death penalty for rape of a

child under 12 is unconstitutional because the Eighth Amendment bars

“the death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the death of the victim.”

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Alito, Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas

948. District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008).

A District of Columbia statute that banned virtually all handguns, and required that any other type of firearm in the home be dissembled or bound by a trigger lock at all times violates the Second

Amendment, which the Court held to protect individuals’ right to bear

arms.

2514 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Scalia, Roberts, C.J., Kennedy, Thomas, Alito

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

949. Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 564 U.S. ___, No. 08–

1448, slip op. (2011).

California state law that imposed a civil fine of up to $1,000 for

selling or renting “violent video games” to minors, and required their

packaging to be so labeled, struck down as violation of the First Amendment, despite argument that, as related to the sale of these games to

minors, that this form of speech fell out of First Amendment scrutiny.

Justices concurring: Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan

Justices concurring specially: Alito, Roberts, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Thomas, Breyer

950. Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett, 564 U.S.

___, No. 10–238, slip op. (2011).

Court struck down as violation of the First Amendment an Arizona

voluntary public financing system which granted an initial allotment to

the campaigns of candidates for state office who agreed to certain requirements and limitations, and made matching funds available if the

expenditures of a privately financed opposing candidate, combined with

the expenditures of any independent groups supporting that opposing candidacy, exceeded the publically funded campaign’s initial allotment.

Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito

Justices dissenting: Kagan, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor

951. Sorrell v. IMS Health, Inc., 564 U.S. ___, No. 10–779, slip op. (2011).

New Hampshire restrictions on pharmacies and “data-miners” selling or leasing information on the prescribing behavior of doctors for

marketing purposes and related restrictions limiting the use of that

information by pharmaceutical companies struck down as contentbased and speaker-based restrictions on free speech, since there were

numerous exceptions, including provisions allowing such prescriberidentifying information to be used for health care research.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor

Justices dissenting: Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan

952. Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. ___, No. 10–9646, slip op. (2012).

Court struck down on Eighth Amendment grounds Alabama and

Arkansas statutes mandating life imprisonment without possibility of

parole for juvenile offenders convicted of homicide.

Justices concurring: Kagan, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor

Justices dissenting: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2515
953. American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock, 564 U.S. ___, No. 11–

1179, slip op. (2012).

Montana law barring corporate expenditures in support of, or opposition to, a candidate or a political party struck down as violative of

First Amendment, despite legislative record that independent corporate expenditures can lead to corruption or appearance of corruption.

Justices concurring (per curiam): Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito

Justices dissenting: Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan

954. Hall v. Florida, 572 U.S. ___, No. 12–10882, slip op. (2014)

Florida state law that provides a “bright line” cutoff based on IQ

test scores to determine if a defendant is ineligible for capital punishment because of intellectual disability violates the Eighth Amendment

because IQ scores are imprecise in nature and may only be used as a

factor of analysis in death penalty cases.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan

Justices dissenting: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito

955. McCullen v. Coakley, 573 U.S. ___, No. 12–1168, slip op. (2014)

Massachusetts statute requiring a 35-foot buffer zone at entrances and driveways of abortion facilities violates the First Amendment, as the zone created is not narrowly tailored to serve governmental interests in maintaining public safety and preserving access to

reproductive healthcare facilities because less intrusive alternatives were

available to the state.

Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan

Justices concurring in judgment: Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito

956. Harris v. Quinn, 573 U.S. ___, No. 11–681, slip op. (2014)

An Illinois law requiring a Medicaid recipient’s “personal assistant” (who is part of a collective bargaining unit but not a member of

the bargaining union) to pay an “agency” fee to the union violates the

First Amendment’s prohibitions against compelled speech and could not

be justified under the rationale of Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209 (1977).

Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito

Justices dissenting: Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan

957. Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne, 575 U.S. ___, No.

13–485, slip op. (2015).

Maryland’s personal income tax scheme—which taxed Maryland

residents on their worldwide income and nonresidents on income earned

in the state and did not offer Maryland residents a full credit for income taxes they paid to other states—violates the “Dormant Com2516 STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
merce Clause” because it “fails the internal consistency test” and it

“inherently discriminates” against interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Kennedy, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, Kagan

958. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___, No. 14–556, slip op. (2015).

The laws of Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman violate the Due

Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment

because the fundamental right to marry protected by Due Process Clause

and the central precepts of equality undergirding the Equal Protection Clause prohibit states from excluding same-sex couples from civil

marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan

Justices dissenting: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito

STATE LAWS HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2517

II. ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL

1. Weston v. City Council of Charleston, 27 U.S. (2 Pet.) 449 (1829).

A city ordinance that levied a tax on stock issued by the United

States impaired the federal borrowing power and was void (Art. VI).

Justices concurring: Marshall, C.J., Washington, Duvall, Story

Justices dissenting: Johnson, Thompson

2. Cannon v. City of New Orleans, 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 577 (1874).

A New Orleans ordinance of 1852, imposing a charge for use of

piers measured by tonnage of vessel, levied an invalid tonnage duty.

3. Murray v. City of Charleston, 96 U.S. 432 (1878).

A Charleston, South Carolina, tax ordinance which withheld from

interest payments on municipal bonds a tax levied after issuance of

such bonds at a fixed rate of interest impaired the obligation of contract (Art. I, § 10).

Justices concurring: Strong, Waite, C.J., Clifford, Bradley, Swayne, Harlan, Field

Justices dissenting: Miller, Hunt

4. Moran v. City of New Orleans, 112 U.S. 69 (1884).

A New Orleans ordinance, so far as it imposed license tax upon

persons owning and running towboats to and from the Gulf of Mexico,

was an invalid regulation of commerce.

5. New Orleans Gas Co. v. Louisiana Light Co., 115 U.S. 650 (1885).

A municipal ordinance granting to a public utility an exclusive right

to supply the city with gas, and state constitutional provision abolishing outstanding monopolistic grants, impaired the obligation of contract when enforced against a previously chartered utility which, through

consolidation, had inherited the monopolistic, exclusive privileges of

two utility corporations chartered prior to the constitutional proviso

and ordinance.

6. New Orleans Water-Works Co. v. Rivers, 115 U.S. 674 (1885).

When a utility is chartered with an exclusive privilege of supplying a city with water, a subsequently enacted ordinance authorizing

an individual to supply water to a hotel impaired the obligation of contract.

7. Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886).

A San Francisco ordinance regulating certain phases of the laundry business, as arbitrarily enforced against Chinese, held to violate

the equal protection of the laws.

2519
8. Leloup v. Port of Mobile, 127 U.S. 640 (1888).

A Mobile, Alabama, ordinance that levied an occupational license

tax on a telegraph company doing an interstate business was void.

9. McCall v. California, 136 U.S. 104 (1890).

A San Francisco ordinance that imposed a license tax on a soliciting agent for a foreign corporation was void as levying a tax on interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Lamar, Miller, Field, Bradley, Harlan, Blatchford

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Gray, Brewer

10. Brennan v. City of Titusville, 153 U.S. 289 (1894).

An ordinance of a Pennsylvania city requiring a license tax of a

soliciting agent for a manufacturer in another state was held invalid

as imposing a tax upon interstate commerce.

11. City of Walla Walla v. Walla Walla Water Co., 172 U.S. 1 (1898).

A Washington city ordinance that authorized construction of a municipal water works impaired the obligation of a contract previously

negotiated with a private utility providing the same service.

12. City of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles City Water Co., 177 U.S. 558 (1900).

Ordinance expanding city limits beyond those to be served by a

utility leasing a municipality’s water works and effecting diminution

of the rates stipulated in the original agreement without any equivalent compensation impaired the obligation of contract between the utility and the city.

13. City of Detroit v. Detroit Citizens’ St. Ry., 184 U.S. 368 (1902).

City ordinances that adjusted the rate of fare stipulated in agreements made with a street railway company held to impair the obligation of contract.

14. Caldwell v. North Carolina, 187 U.S. 622 (1903).

Greensboro ordinance imposing a license on photographic business, as applied to an agent of an out-of-state corporation, was held

an invalid regulation of commerce.

15. Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. v. Borough of Taylor, 192 U.S. 64 (1904).

Ordinance of Taylor, Pennsylvania authorizing an inspection fee

on telegraph companies doing an interstate business held to be an unreasonable and invalid regulation of commerce.

Justices concurring: Peckham, Fuller, C.J., Brown, White, McKenna, Holmes,

Day

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Brewer

2520 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
16. City of Cleveland v. Cleveland City Ry., 194 U.S. 517 (1904).

Ordinance reducing the rate of fares to be charged by railway companies lower than cited in previous ordinances held to impair the obligation of contract.

17. Dobbins v. City of Los Angeles, 195 U.S. 223 (1904).

No change in the neighborhood having occurred between passage

of two zoning ordinances, the second, which excluded a gas company

from erecting a plant within the area authorized by the first ordinance, was held to effect an arbitrary deprivation of property without

due process of law.

18. City of Cleveland v. Cleveland Electric Ry., 201 U.S. 529 (1906).

Ordinance according to a consolidated municipal railway an extension of the duration date of franchises issued to its predecessors, in

consideration of which substantial sums were expended on improvements, gave rise to a new contract, which was impaired by later attempt on the part of the city to reduce the rate stipulated in the franchises thus extended.

19. Rearick v. Pennsylvania, 203 U.S. 507 (1906).

A Sunbury, Pennsylvania ordinance imposing a license fee for the

solicitation of orders for the sale of merchandise not of the parties own

manufacture imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce when

applied to a Pennsylvania agent of an Ohio company who solicited orders for the latter’s products and upon receipt of the latter, consigned

to a designated purchaser, consummated the sale by delivering the merchandise to such purchaser and, upon the latter’s approval of the parcel delivered, collected the purchase price for transmission to the Ohio

employer.

20. Mayor of Vicksburg v. Vicksburg Waterworks Co., 206 U.S. 496 (1907).

Municipal contract with utility fixing the maximum rate to be charged

for supplying water to inhabitants was invalidly impaired by subsequent ordinances altering said rates.

21. Londoner v. City of Denver, 210 U.S. 373 (1908).

The due process requirements of notice and hearing in connection

with the assessment of taxes were violated by a municipal assessment

ordinance which afforded the taxpayer the privilege of filing objections but no opportunity to support his objections by argument and

proof in open hearing.

Justices concurring: Moody, Harlan, Brewer, White, Peckham, McKenna, Day

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Holmes

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2521
22. City of Minneapolis v. Street Ry., 215 U.S. 417 (1910).

Minneapolis ordinance of 1907, directing the sale of six train tickets for 25¢, was void as impairing the contract which arose from passage of the ordinance of 1875 granting to a railway a franchise expiring in 1923 and establishing a fare of not less than 5¢.

23. Eubank v. City of Richmond, 226 U.S. 137 (1912).

Municipal ordinance requiring authorities to establish building lines

on separate blocks back of the public streets and across private property upon the request of less than all the owners of the property affected invalidly authorized the taking of property, not for public welfare but for the convenience of other property owners; and therefore

violated due process.

24. Williams v. City of Talladega, 226 U.S. 404 (1912).

A $100 license fee imposed by ordinance of an Alabama city on a

foreign telegraph company, part of whose business income was derived from the transmission of messages for the Federal Government

was void as a tax on a federal instrumentality (Art. VI).

25. Grand Trunk Western Ry. v. City of South Bend, 227 U.S. 544 (1913).

South Bend, Indiana, ordinance of 1901 repealing portion of an

ordinance of 1866 authorizing a railroad to lay double tracks on one

of its streets impaired the obligation of contract contrary to Art. I, § 10.

Justices concurring: Lamar, Holmes, White, C.J., Lurton, Van Devanter, McKenna,

Day (separately)

Justices dissenting: Hughes, Pitney

26. City of Owensboro v. Cumberland Telephone Co., 230 U.S. 58 (1913).

An ordinance of a Kentucky municipality which required a telephone company to remove from the streets poles and wires installed

under a prior ordinance granting permission to do so, without restriction as to the duration of such privilege, or, in the alternative, pay a

rental not prescribed in the original ordinance impaired an obligation

of contract contrary to Art. I, § 10.

Justices concurring: Lurton, White, C.J., Holmes, Van Devanter, Lamar

Justices dissenting: Day, McKenna, Hughes, Pitney

27. Boise Water Co. v. Boise City, 230 U.S. 84 (1913).

An ordinance of an Idaho municipality, adopted in 1906, that subjected a water company to monthly rental fees for the use of its streets

invalidly impaired the obligation of contract arising under an ordinance of 1889 which granted a predecessor company the privilege of

laying water pipes under the city streets without payment of any charge

for the exercise of such right.

2522 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
28. Old Colony Trust Co. v. City of Omaha, 230 U.S. 100 (1913).

An ordinance of a Nebraska municipality adopted in 1908 requiring, without any showing of the necessity therefor, a utility to remove

its poles and wires from the city streets invalidly impaired an obligation of contract arising from an ordinance of 1884 granting in perpetuity the privilege of erecting and maintaining poles and wires for the

transmission of power.

29. Adams Express Co. v. City of New York, 232 U.S. 14 (1914).

New York city ordinances requiring an express company to obtain

a local license, exacting license fees for express wagons and drivers,

and requiring drivers to be citizens, to the extent that they extended

to interstate commerce, imposed invalid burdens on such commerce.

Accord: U.S. Express Co. v. City of New York, 232 U.S. 35 (1914).

30. City of Sault Ste. Marie v. International Transit Co., 234 U.S. 333 (1914).

Michigan city municipal ordinance which compelled operator of a

ferry between Canadian and Michigan points to take out a license imposed an invalid burden on the privilege of engaging in foreign commerce.

31. South Covington Ry. v. City of Covington, 235 U.S. 537 (1915).

Kentucky municipal ordinance, insofar as it sought to regulate the

number of street cars to be run, and the number of passengers allowed in each car, between interstate points imposed an unreasonable

burden on interstate commerce. Also, the requirement that temperature in the cars never be permitted to be below 50° was unreasonable

and violated due process.

32. Gast Realty Co. v. Schneider Granite Co., 240 U.S. 55 (1916).

St. Louis ordinance which levied one-fourth of the cost of paving

on property fronting on the street and the remaining three-fourths upon

all property in the taxing district according to area and without equality as to depth denied equal protection of the laws.

33. Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 (1917).

A Louisville, Kentucky, ordinance which forbade “colored” persons

to occupy houses in blocks where the majority of the houses were occupied by whites was deemed to prevent sales of lots in such blocks to

African Americans and to deprive the latter of property without due

process of law.

34. Accord: Harmon v. Tyler, 273 U.S. 668 (1927), voiding a similar New Orleans ordinance.

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2523
35. Accord: City of Richmond v. Deans, 281 U.S. 704 (1930), voiding a similar Richmond, Virginia, ordinance.

36. Northern Ohio Traction & Light Co. v. Ohio ex rel. Pontius, 245 U.S. 574

(1918).

Resolution of Stark County commissioners in 1912 purporting to

revoke an electric railway franchise previously granted in perpetuity

by appropriate county authorities in 1892 amounted to state action impairing the obligation of contract.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, White, C.J., McKenna, Holmes, Van Devanter,

Pitney

Justices dissenting: Clarke, Brandeis

37. City of Denver v. Denver Union Water Co., 246 U.S. 178 (1918).

Rates fixed by a Denver ordinance pertaining to the charges to be

collected for services by a water company deprived the latter of its property without due process of law by reason of yielding a return of 4.3%

compared with prevailing rates in the city of 6% and higher obtained

on secured and unsecured loans.

Justices concurring: Pitney, White, C.J., McReynolds, Day, Van Devanter, McKenna

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Clarke

38. City of Covington v. South Covington St. Ry., 246 U.S. 413 (1918).

A Kentucky city ordinance of 1913 purporting to grant a 25-year

franchise for a street railway over certain streets to the best bidder

impaired the obligation of contract of an older street railway accorded

a perpetual franchise over the same street.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Pitney, White, C.J., McReynolds, Day, Van Devanter,

McKenna

Justices dissenting: Clark, Brandeis

39. Detroit United Ry. v. City of Detroit, 248 U.S. 429 (1919).

A Detroit ordinance that compelled street railway company to carry

passengers on continuous trips over franchise lines to and over

nonfranchise lines, and vice versa, for a fare no greater than its franchises entitled it to charge upon the former alone impaired the obligation of the franchise contracts; and insofar as its enforcement would

result in a deficit, also deprived the company of its property without

due process.

Justices concurring: Day, Pitney, White, C.J., McReynolds, Van Devanter, McKenna

Justices dissenting: Clarke, Holmes, Brandeis

40. City of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles Gas Corp., 251 U.S. 32 (1919).

A Los Angeles ordinance authorizing city to establish lighting system of its own could not effect removal of fixtures of a lighting com2524 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
pany occupying streets pursuant to rights granted by a prior franchise without paying compensation required by Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: McKenna, White, C.J., Holmes, Day, Van Devanter,

McReynolds, Brandeis

Justices dissenting: Pitney, Clarke

41. City of Houston v. Southwestern Tel. Co., 259 U.S. 318 (1922).

A Houston ordinance was void because the rates it fixed were confiscatory and deprived the utility of its property without due process

of law.

42. City of Paducah v. Paducah Ry., 261 U.S. 267 (1923).

Fares prescribed by an ordinance of Kentucky city were confiscatory and deprived the utility of property without due process of law.

43. Texas Transp. Co. v. City of New Orleans, 264 U.S. 150 (1924).

A New Orleans license tax ordinance could not be validly enforced

as to the business of a corporation employed as agent by owners of

vessels engaged exclusively in interstate and foreign commerce, where

its business was a necessary adjunct of said commerce and consisted

of the soliciting and engaging of cargo, the nomination of vessels to

carry it, arranging for delivery on wharf and for stevedores, payment

of ships’ disbursements, issuing bills of lading, and collecting freight

charges.

Justices concurring: Sutherland, Taft, C.J., Sanford, McReynolds, Butler, McKenna,

Van Devanter

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Holmes

44. Real Silk Mills v. City of Portland, 268 U.S. 325 (1925).

A Portland, Oregon, ordinance that exacted a license fee and a bond

for insuring delivery from solicitors who go from place to place taking

orders for goods for future delivery and receiving deposits in advance

was invalid as unduly burdening interstate commerce when enforced

against solicitors taking orders for an out-of-state corporation which

confirmed the orders, shipped the merchandise directly to the customers, and permitted the solicitors to retain the deposited portion of the

purchase as compensation.

45. Mayor of Vidalia v. McNeely, 274 U.S. 676 (1927).

An ordinance of Louisiana municipality that exacted license as a

condition precedent for operation of a ferry across boundary waters separating two states imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce.

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2525
46. Delaware, L. & W.R.R. v. Town of Morristown, 276 U.S. 182 (1928).

A New Jersey municipal ordinance that compelled use of railroad

station grounds for a public hackstand without compensation deprived the railroad of property without due process.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Holmes (separately)

47. Sprout v. City of South Bend, 277 U.S. 163 (1928).

An Indiana municipal ordinance that exacted from motor bus operators a license fee adjusted to the seating capacity of a bus could

not be validly enforced against an interstate carrier, for the fee was

not exacted to defray expenses of regulating traffic in the interest of

safety, or to defray the cost of road maintenance or as an occupation

tax imposed solely on account of intrastate business.

48. Nectow v. City of Cambridge, 277 U.S. 183 (1928).

A Massachusetts municipal zoning ordinance that placed owner’s

land in a residential district with resulting inhibition of use for commercial purposes deprived the owner of property without due process

because the requirement did not promote health, safety, morals, or general welfare.

49. Washington ex rel. Seattle Title Trust Co. v. Roberge,278 U.S. 116 (1928).

A municipal (Washington) zoning ordinance that conditioned issuance of a permit to enlarge a home for the aged in a residential area

on the approval of the owners of two-thirds of the property within 400

feet of the proposed building violated due process because the condition bore no relationship to public health, safety, and morals and entailed an improper delegation of legislative power to private citizens.

50. Lovell v. City of Griffin, 303 U.S. 444 (1938).

A Griffin, Georgia, ordinance that exacted a permit for the distribution of literature by hand or otherwise violated freedom of press as

guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

by imposing censorship in advance of publication.

51. Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 496 (1939).

A Jersey City ordinance forbidding distribution of printed matter

and the holding, without permits, of public meetings in streets and

other public places withheld freedom of speech and assembly contrary

to the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Stone, Reed, Hughes

(concurred with opinions of Robert Stone), C.J.

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Butler

2526 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
52. Schneider v. New Jersey, 308 U.S. 147 (1939).

Irvington, New Jersey, ordinance prohibiting solicitation and distribution of circulars by canvassing from house to house, unless licensed by the police, violates the First Amendment as applied to one

who delivered religious literature and solicited contributions door to

door.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Butler, Stone, Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter,

Douglas, Black

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

53. Accord: Kim Young v. California, 308 U.S. 147 (1939).

Los Angeles ordinance invalid on same basis.

54. Accord: Snyder v. City of Milwaukee,308 U.S. 147 (1939).

Milwaukee ordinance invalid on same basis.

55. Accord: Nichols v. Massachusetts, 308 U.S. 147 (1939).

Worcester, Massachusetts, ordinance invalid on same basis.

56. McGoldrick v. Gulf Oil Corp., 309 U.S. 414 (1940).

The New York City sales tax cannot be collected on sales to vessels engaged in foreign commerce of fuel oil manufactured from imported crude petroleum in bond. Thus enforced, the city ordinance is

invalid as an infringement of congressional regulations of foreign and

interstate commerce (Art. I, § 8, cl. 3).

57. Carlson v. California, 310 U.S. 106 (1940).

A Shasta County, California, ordinance making it unlawful for any

person to carry or display any sign or badge in the vicinity of any place

of business for the purpose of inducing others to refrain from buying

or working there, or for any person to loiter or picket in the vicinity of

any place of business for such purpose, violates freedom of speech and

press guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Hughes, C.J., Stone, Roberts, Black, Reed, Frankfurter,

Douglas, Murphy

Justice dissenting: McReynolds

58. Jamison v. Texas, 318 U.S. 413 (1943).

A Dallas ordinance made it unlawful to throw any handbills, circulars, cards, newspapers or any advertising material upon any street

or sidewalk in the city. As applied, the ordinance prohibited the dissemination of information, a denial of the freedom of the press, and

where the handbills contained an invitation to participate in a reliORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2527
gious activity, a denial of freedom of religion, in violation of the First

and Fourteenth Amendments.

59. Largent v. Texas, 318 U.S. 418 (1943).

A Paris City ordinance making it unlawful for any person to solicit orders or to sell books, wares or merchandise within the residential portion of Paris without a permit is invalid as applied. The ordinance abridges the freedom of religion, speech, and press guaranteed

by the Fourteenth Amendment in that it forbids the distribution of

religious publications without a permit, the issuance of which is in the

discretion of a municipal officer.

60. Jones v. City of Opelika, 319 U.S. 103 (1943).

An Opelika, Alabama, ordinance imposing licenses and taxes on various businesses cannot constitutionally be applied to the business of selling books and pamphlets on the streets or from house to house. As applied the ordinance infringes liberties of speech and press and religion

guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Reed, Roberts, Frankfurter, Jackson

61. Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105, 113 (1943).

An ordinance of the City of Jeanette providing that all persons

soliciting orders for merchandise of any kind, or persons delivering such

articles under such orders, must procure a license and pay a fee, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments when applied to persons

soliciting orders for religious books and pamphlets, because “[a] state

may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the

Federal Constitution.”

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson

62. Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141 (1943).

An ordinance of Struthers, Ohio, made it unlawful for any person distributing handbills, circulars, or other advertisements to ring the door

bell, sound the door knocker, or otherwise summon occupants of any residence to the door for the purpose of receiving such handbills, etc. The ordinance, as applied to one distributing leaflets advertising a religious meeting, interfered with the rights of freedom of speech and press guaranteed

by the First Amendment. The ordinance, by failing to distinguish between householders who are willing to receive the literature and those

who are not, extended further than was necessary for protection of the

community.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

2528 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices dissenting: Roberts, Reed, Jackson

63. Follett v. Town of McCormick, 321 U.S. 573 (1944).

A McCormick, South Carolina, ordinance required agents selling

books to pay a license fee of $1.00 per day or $15.00 per year. The

constitutional guarantee of religious freedom under the First and Fourteenth Amendments precludes exacting a book agent’s license fee from

a distributor of religious literature notwithstanding that his activities

are confined to his hometown and his livelihood is derived from contributions requested for the literature distributed.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Roberts, Frankfurter, Jackson

64. Nippert v. City of Richmond, 327 U.S. 416 (1946).

A Richmond, Virginia, City Code imposed upon persons “engaged

in business as solicitors an annual license tax of $50.00 plus one-half

of one per centum of their gross receipts or commissions for the preceding license year in excess of $1,000.00.” Permit of Director of Public Safety was required before issuance of the license. The ordinance

violated the Commerce Clause because it discriminated against out-ofstate merchants in favor of local ones and operated as a barrier to the

introduction of out-of-state merchandise.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Rutledge, Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Murphy

65. Joseph v. Carter & Weekes Stevedoring Co., 330 U.S. 422 (1947).

A New York City law provided that, for the privilege of carrying

on within the city any trade, business, or profession, every person

shall pay a tax of one-tenth of one per centum upon all receipts received in or allocable to the city during the year. The excise tax

levied on the gross receipts of a stevedoring corporation is invalid

as a burden on interstate and foreign commerce in violation of the

Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas (dissenting in part),

Murphy (dissenting in part), Jackson, Rutledge (dissenting in part), Burton

Justice dissenting: Black

66. Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558 (1948).

A Lockport ordinance forbidding use of sound amplification excepted public dissemination, through loudspeakers, of news, matters

of public concern, and athletic activities, provided that the latter be

done under permission obtained from the Chief of Police. The ordinance is unconstitutional on its face as a prior restraint on speech, in

violation of the First Amendment, made applicable to the states by

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2529
the Fourteenth Amendment. No standards were prescribed for the exercise of discretion by the Chief of Police.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton

67. Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949).

A Chicago ordinance proscribed the making of improper noises or

other conduct contributing to a breach of the peace. Petitioner was convicted of violating said ordinance by reason of the fact that he had

addressed a large audience in an auditorium where he had vigorously

criticized various political and racial groups as well as the disturbances produced by an angry and turbulent crowd protesting his appearance. At this trial, the judge instructed the jury that any behavior that stirs the public to anger, invites dispute, brings about a condition

of unrest, or creates a disturbance, violates the ordinance. As construed and applied by the trial court the ordinance violates the right

of free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment and made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Vinson, C.J., Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton

68. Kunz v. New York, 340 U.S. 290 (1951).

Because of prior denunciation of other religious beliefs, appellant’s license to conduct religious meetings on New York City streets

was revoked. A local ordinance forbade the holding of such meetings

without a license but contained no provisions for revocation of such

licenses and no standard to guide administrative action in granting or

denying permits. Appellant was convicted for holding religious meetings without a permit. The ordinance was held to grant discretionary

power to control in advance the right of citizens to speak on religious

issues and to impose a prior restraint on the exercise of freedom of

speech and religion.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton,

Clark, Minton

Justices dissenting: Jackson

69. Dean Milk Co. v. City of Madison, 340 U.S. 349 (1951).

A Madison, Wisconsin, ordinance prohibited the sale of milk as pasteurized unless it had been processed and bottled at an approved plant

within a radius of five miles from the central square of Madison. An

Illinois corporation, engaged in gathering and distributing milk from

farms in Illinois and Wisconsin was denied a license to sell milk within

the city solely because its pasteurization plants were more than five

miles away. The ordinance unjustifiably discriminated against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause.

2530 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Clark

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas, Minton

70. Gelling v. Texas, 343 U.S. 960 (1952).

Marshall City, Texas, motion picture censorship ordinance, as enforced, was unconstitutional as denying freedom of speech and press

protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

71. Fowler v. Rhode Island, 345 U.S. 67 (1953).

A Pawtucket ordinance read: “No person shall address any political or religious meeting in any public park, but this section shall not

be construed to prohibit any political or religious club or society from

visiting any public park in a body, provided that no public address shall

be made under the auspices of such club or society in such park.” Because services of a Jehovah’s Witnesses sect differed from those conducted by other religious groups, in that the former were marked by

lectures rather than confined to orthodox rituals, that sect was prevented from holding religious meetings in parks. Thus applied, the ordinance was held to violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments,

including the Equal Protection Clause.

72. Slochower v. Board of Higher Education, 350 U.S. 551 (1956).

Section 903 of the New York City Charter provides that whenever

a city employee invokes the privilege against self-incrimination to avoid

answering inquiries into his official conduct by a legislative committee, his employment shall terminate. The summary dismissal thereunder, without notice and hearing, of a teacher at City College who was

entitled to tenure and could be discharged only for cause and after

notice, hearing and appeal, violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Invocation of the privilege to justify refusal to answer questions of a congressional committee concerning membership

in the Communist Party in 1948–1949 cannot be viewed as the equivalent either to a confession of guilt or a conclusive presumption of perjury.

Justices concurring: Black (concurring specially), Douglas (concurring specially),

Warren, C.J., Frankfurter, Clark

Justices dissenting: Reed, Burton, Minton, Harlan

73. Holmes v. City of Atlanta, 350 U.S. 879 (1955).

Atlanta ordinance that reserved certain public parks and golf courses

for white persons only violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

74. West Point Grocery Co. v. City of Opelika, 354 U.S. 390 (1957).

Ordinance of Opelika, Alabama, provided that a wholesale grocery business that delivers groceries in the city from points without

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2531
the city must pay an annual privilege tax of $250. As applied to a Georgia corporation that solicits orders in the city and consummates purchases by deliveries originating in Georgia, the tax is invalid under

the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Frankfurter, Douglas, Burton, Clark, Harlan,

Brennan, Whittaker

Justice dissenting: Black

75. Lambert v. California, 355 U.S. 225 (1957).

Los Angeles Municipal Code made it unlawful for a person who

has been convicted of a crime punishable in California as a felony to

remain in the city longer than five days without registering with the

Chief of Police. Applied to a person who is not shown to have had actual knowledge of his duty to register, this ordinance violates the Due

Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Clark, Brennan

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Burton, Harlan, Whittaker

76. Staub v. City of Baxley, 355 U.S. 313 (1958).

Baxley, Georgia, made it an offense to “solicit” membership in any

“organization, union or society” requiring the payment of “fees [or] dues”

without first receiving a permit from the Mayor and Council. Issuance

or refusal may occur after the character of the applicant, the nature

of the organization in which memberships are to be solicited, and its

effect upon the general welfare of the City have been considered. Appellant had been convicted for soliciting memberships in a labor union

without a license. The ordinance is void on its face because it makes

enjoyment of freedom of speech contingent upon the will of the Mayor

and City Council and thereby constitutes a prior restraint upon that

freedom contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Douglas, Black, Burton, Harlan, Brennan,

Whittaker

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Clark

77. Smith v. California, 361 U.S. 147 (1959).

A Los Angeles City ordinance making it unlawful for any bookseller to possess any obscene publication denies him freedom of press,

as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, when it is judicially construed to make him absolutely liable criminally for mere possession of a book, later adjudged to be obscene, notwithstanding that he had no knowledge of its contents. Such construction

would tend to restrict the books he sells to those he has inspected and

thereby to limit the public’s access to constitutionally protected publications.

2532 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Justices concurring: Clark, Warren, C.J., Whittaker, Brennan, Stewart, Black

(separately), Frankfurter (separately), Douglas (separately), Harlan (dissenting in part; separately)

78. Bates v. City of Little Rock, 361 U.S. 516 (1960).

Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas, ordinances that, as

a condition of exempting charitable organizations from an annual business license tax, required the disclosure of the identity of the officers

and members of said organizations, as enforced against the N.A.A.C.P.,

denied members of the latter freedom of association, press, and speech

as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Clark, Frankfurter, Stewart, Warren, C.J., Whittaker,

Harlan, Black (separately), Douglas (separately)

79. Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60 (1960).

Los Angeles ordinance that forbade distribution under any circumstance of any handbill that did not have printed on it the name and

address of the person who prepared, distributed, or sponsored it was

void on its face as abridging freedom of speech and press guaranteed

by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ordinance was not limited to identifying those responsible for fraud, false

advertising, libel, disorder, or littering.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Stewart, Harlan (separately), Douglas, Black

Justices dissenting: Clark, Frankfurter, Whittaker

80. Schroeder v. City of New York, 371 U.S. 208 (1962).

New York City Water Supply Act, insofar as it authorized notification of land owners, whose summer resort property would be adversely

affected by city’s diversion of water, by publication of notices in January in New York City official newspaper and in newspapers in the county

where the resort property was located as well as by notices posted on trees

and poles along the waterway adjacent to such property, did not afford

the quality of notice, i.e., to the owners’ permanent home address, required by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

81. Camara v. Municipal Court, 387 U.S. 523 (1967).

San Francisco ordinance authorizing warrantless entry of residential property to inspect for housing code violations violates Fourth and

Fourteenth Amendments.

82. See v. City of Seattle, 387 U.S. 541 (1967).

Seattle ordinance authorizing warrantless entry of commercial property to inspect for fire code violations violates Fourth and Fourteenth

Amendments.

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2533
83. Teitel Film Corp. v. Cusack, 390 U.S. 139 (1968).

Chicago motion picture censorship ordinance is unconstitutional

in several procedural respects.

84. Avery v. Midland County, 390 U.S. 474 (1968).

Enactment of Midland County, Texas commissioners court drawing boundaries for districts of election of members does not comply with

required “one-man, one-vote” standard.

Justices concurring: White, Black, Douglas, Brennan, Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Fortas, Stewart

85. Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. City of Dallas, 390 U.S. 676 (1968).

Dallas ordinance providing for classification of motion pictures as

not suitable for viewing by young persons does not provide adequate

standards and is void for vagueness.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Black, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Fortas,

Warren, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Harlan

86. Hunter v. Erickson, 393 U.S. 385 (1969).

Amendment to Akron, Ohio city charter providing that any ordinance enacted by council dealing with discrimination in housing was

not to be effective until approved by referendum whereas no other enactment had to be so submitted violated Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Douglas, Brennan, Fortas, Marshall, Warren, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Harlan, Stewart

Justices dissenting: Black

87. Coates v. City of Cincinnati, 402 U.S. 611 (1971).

Cincinnati ordinance making it unlawful for three or more persons to assemble on a sidewalk and conduct themselves in a manner

annoying to passers-by is unconstitutionally vague and violates rights

to assembly and association.

Justices concurring: Stewart, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, Marshall

Justices concurring specially: Black

Justices dissenting: White, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

88. Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156 (1972).

A Jacksonville, Florida vagrancy ordinance is void for vagueness

because it fails to give a person fair notice that his contemplated conduct is forbidden, because it encourages arbitrary and erratic enforcement of the law, because it makes criminal activities which by modern standards are normally innocent, and because it vests unfettered

discretion in police.

2534 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
89. Police Dep’t of Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U.S. 92 (1972).

A Chicago ordinance prohibiting all picketing within a certain distance of any school except labor picketing violates the Equal Protection Clause by impermissibly distinguishing between types of peaceful

picketing.

90. Cason v. City of Columbus, 409 U.S. 1053 (1972).

A Columbus, Ohio ordinance prohibiting use of abusive language

toward another as applied by court below without limitation to fighting words cannot sustain conviction.

91. Lewis v. City of New Orleans, 415 U.S. 130 (1974).

New Orleans ordinance interpreted by state courts to punish the

use of opprobrious words to police officer without limitation of offense

to uttering of fighting words is invalid.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Douglas, Stewart, White, Marshall

Justice concurring specially: Powell

Justices dissenting: Blackmun, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

92. Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205 (1975).

A Jacksonville, Florida ordinance making it a public nuisance and

a punishable offense for a drive-in movie theater to exhibit films containing nudity, when the screen is visible from a public street or place,

is facially invalid as an infringement of First Amendment rights.

Justices concurring: Powell, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: White, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

93. Hynes v. Mayor of Oradell, 425 U.S. 610 (1976).

An Oradell, New Jersey ordinance requiring that advance written

notice be given to local police by any person desiring to canvass, solicit, or call from house to house for a charitable or political purpose

was held void for vagueness.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun,

Powell

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

94. Linmark Assocs. v. Township of Willingboro, 431 U.S. 85 (1977).

A Wilingboro, New Jersey ordinance prohibiting posting of real estate “For Sale” and “Sold” signs for the purpose of stemming what the

township perceived as flight of white homeowners violated the First

Amendment.

95. Moore v. City of East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494 (1977).

An East Cleveland zoning ordinance that limited housing occupancy to members of single family and restrictively defined family so

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2535
as to prevent an extended family, i.e., two grandchildren by different

children residing with grandmother, violated the Due Process Clause.

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun

Justice concurring specially: Stevens

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Rehnquist, White; Burger (on other grounds)

96. Carter v. Miller, 434 U.S. 356 (1978).

A lower court’s invalidation on equal protection grounds of a Chicago ordinance that permanently denies public chauffeur’s license to

applicants previously convicted of certain crimes, but making revocation of previously licensed persons convicted of the same offenses discretionary, is affirmed by an equally divided Court.

97. Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 444 U.S. 620

(1980).

A Schaumburg, Illinois ordinance prohibiting door-to-door or onthe-street solicitation of contributions by charitable organizations that

do not use at least 75 percent of their receipts for “charitable purposes” violates First and Fourteenth Amendment speech protections.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell,

Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist

98. Edwards v. Service Machine & Shipbuilding Corp., 449 U.S. 913 (1980).

A court of appeals decision voiding on Commerce Clause grounds

an ordinance of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana requiring non-local job seekers and local workers seeking new jobs to obtain an identification card,

to provide fingerprints and a photograph, and to pay a fee, is summarily affirmed.

99. Town of Southampton v. Troyer, 449 U.S. 988 (1980).

A court of appeals decision invalidating on First Amendment grounds

an ordinance of Southampton, New York barring door-to-door solicitation without prior consent of the occupant, but excepting canvassers

who have lived in the municipality at least six months, is affirmed.

100. Schad v. Borough of Mount Ephraim, 452 U.S. 61 (1981).

A Mount Ephraim, New Jersey zoning ordinance construed to bar

the offering of live entertainment within the township violated the First

Amendment.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justice concurring specially: Stevens

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

2536 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
101. Metromedia v. City of San Diego, 453 U.S. 490 (1981).

A complex ban on billboard displays within the City of San Diego,

excepting certain onsite signs and 12 categories of particular signs, violates First Amendment.

Justices concurring: White, Stewart, Marshall, Powell

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Blackmun, Stevens (in part)

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Rehnquist

102. Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley, 454 U.S. 290 (1981).

A Berkeley, California ordinance limiting to $250 any contributions to committees formed to support or oppose ballot measures submitted to popular vote violates the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: Marshall, Blackmun, O’Connor

Justice dissenting: White

103. Rusk v. Espinosa, 456 U.S. 951 (1982).

A court of appeals decision affirming a federal district court injunction of an Albuquerque, New Mexico ordinance, as a violation of the

First Amendment, is summarily affirmed. The ordinance regulated solicitation by charitable organizations but exempted solicitation by religious groups for religious but not for secular purposes.

104. Giacobbe v. Andrews, 459 U.S. 801 (1982).

A federal district court decision holding that New York City’s plan

for apportioning 10 at-large seats for the City Council among the City’s

five boroughs violates the one person, one vote requirements of the

Equal Protection Clause, which was summarily affirmed by the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is summarily affirmed.

105. City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 462 U.S. 416

(1983) (subsequently overruled in part).

An Akron, Ohio ordinance regulating the circumstances of abortions is unconstitutional in the following respects: by requiring all abortions performed after the first trimester to be performed in a hospital,

by requiring parental consent or court order for abortions performed

on minors under age 15, by requiring the attending physician to provide detailed information on which “informed consent” may be premised, by requiring a 24-hour waiting period, and by requiring disposal of fetal remains in a “humane and sanitary manner.”

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, White, Rehnquist

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2537
106. City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432 (1985).

A Cleburne, Texas zoning requirement of a special use permit for

operation of a home for the mentally retarded in an area where boarding homes, nursing and convalescent homes, and fraternity or sorority

houses are permitted without such special use permits is a denial of

equal protection as applied, the record containing no rational basis for

the distinction.

Justices concurring: White, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Marshall, Brennan, Blackmun

107. Hudnut v. American Booksellers Ass’n, 475 U.S. 1001 (1986).

Appeals court decision holding invalid under the First Amendment an Indianapolis ordinance prohibiting as pornography “graphic

sexually explicit subordination of women” without regard to appeal to

prurient interests or offensiveness to community standards is summarily affirmed.

108. City of Houston v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 (1987).

Houston ordinance making it unlawful to “oppose, molest, abuse,

or interrupt” police officer in performance of duty is facially overbroad

in violation of the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: Powell, O’Connor, Scalia

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J.

109. Board of Airport Comm’rs v. Jews for Jesus, 482 U.S. 569 (1987).

Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners resolution banning

all “First Amendment activities” at airport is facially overbroad in violation of the First Amendment.

110. City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co., 486 U.S. 750 (1988).

Lakewood, Ohio ordinance vesting in the mayor unbridled discretion to grant or deny a permit for location of news racks on public

property violates the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Scalia

Justices dissenting: White, Stevens, O’Connor

111. City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co.,488 U.S. 469 (1989).

Richmond, Virginia requirement that contractors awarded city construction contracts must subcontract at least 30% of the dollar amount

to “minority business enterprises” violates the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, White, Stevens, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice concurring specially: Scalia

Justices dissenting: Marshall, Brennan, Blackmun

2538 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
112. New York City Bd. of Estimate v. Morris, 489 U.S. 688 (1989).

New York City Charter procedures for electing City’s Board of Estimate, consisting of three members elected citywide (the Mayor, the

comptroller, and the president of the City Council) and the elected presidents of the city’s five boroughs, violate the one-person, one-vote requirements derived from the Equal Protection Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Marshall, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun, Brennan, Stevens

113. FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas, 493 U.S. 215 (1990).

Dallas licensing scheme for “sexually oriented” businesses, as applied to businesses that engage in protected First Amendment activity, constitutes an invalid prior restraint on protected activity. The ordinance fails to place a time limit within which the licensing authority

must act, and fails to provide a prompt avenue for judicial review.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, Stevens, Kennedy

Justices concurring specially: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun

Justices dissenting: White, Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

114. R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992).

St. Paul, Minnesota’s Bias-Motivated Crime Ordinance, which

punishes the display of a symbol which one knows will arouse anger, alarm, or resentment in others on the basis of race, color,

creed, religion, or gender, is facially invalid under the First Amendment because it discriminates solely on the basis of the subjects

that speech addresses.

Justices concurring: Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: White, Blackmun, O’Connor, Stevens

115. Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992).

Providence, Rhode Island’s use of members of the clergy to offer

prayers at official public secondary school graduation ceremonies violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The involvement

of public school officials with religious activity was “pervasive,” to the

point of creating a state-sponsored and state-directed religious exercise in a public school; officials not only determined that an invocation

and benediction should be given, but also selected the religious participant and provided him with guidelines for the content of nonsectarian

prayers.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Souter

Justices dissenting: Scalia, White, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

116. Lee v. International Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness, 505 U.S. 830 (1992).

A regulation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

banning leafleting (“the sale or distribution of . . . printed or written

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2539
material” to passers-by) within the airport terminals operated by the

facility is invalid under the First Amendment.

Justices concurring (per curiam): Blackmun, Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., White, Scalia, Thomas

117. City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc., 507 U.S. 410 (1993).

Cincinnati’s refusal, pursuant to an ordinance prohibiting distribution of commercial handbills on public property, to allow the distribution of commercial publications through freestanding news racks located on public property, while at the same time allowing similar

distribution of newspapers and other noncommercial publications, violates the First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Blackmun, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J., White, Thomas

118. Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993).

Hialeah, Florida’s ordinances banning the killing of animals in a

ritual sacrifice are unconstitutional as infringing the free exercise of

religion by members of the Santeria religion.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, White, Stevens, Scalia, Souter, Thomas,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: Blackmun, O’Connor

119. C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown, 511 U.S. 383 (1994).

Clarkstown, New York’s “flow control” ordinance, which requires

all solid waste within the town to be processed at a designated transfer station before leaving the municipality, discriminates against interstate commerce and is invalid under the Commerce Clause.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg

Justice concurring specially: O’Connor

Justices dissenting: Souter, Blackmun, Rehnquist, C.J.

120. City of Ladue v. Gilleo, 512 U.S. 43 (1994).

Ladue, Missouri’s ordinance, which prohibits all signs but makes

exceptions for several narrow categories, violates the First Amendment by prohibiting a resident from placing in the window of her home

a sign containing a political message. By prohibiting residential signs

that carry political, religious, or personal messages, the ordinance forecloses “a venerable means of communication that is both unique and

important.”

121. City of Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41 (1999).

Chicago’s Gang Congregation Ordinance, which prohibits “criminal street gang members” from “loitering” with one another or with

other persons in any public place after being ordered by a police offi2540 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
cer to disperse, violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ordinance violates the requirement that a legislature establish minimal guidelines for law enforcement.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

122. Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc’y v. Village of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150 (2002).

The Ohio village’s ordinance making it a misdemeanor offense to

engage in door-to-door advocacy without first registering with the mayor

and receiving a permit, required to be shown to an officer or resident

who so requests, violates the First Amendment. The free and unhampered distribution of pamphlets is “an age-old form of missionary evangelism,” and is also important for the dissemination of ideas unrelated to religion. The ordinance is not narrowly tailored to serve the

village’s “important,” interests in preventing crime, preventing fraud,

and protecting privacy.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices concurring specially: Scalia, Thomas

Justice dissenting: Rehnquist, C.J.

123. Polar Tankers, Inc. v. City of Valdez, Alaska, 557 U.S. ___, No. 08–310

(2009).

Alaska city’s “ordinance imposing a personal property tax upon

‘[b]oats and vessels of at least 95 feet in length’ that regularly travel

to the City, are kept or used within the City, or which annually take

on at least $1 million worth of cargo or engage in other business transactions of comparable value in the City,” violates the Tonnage Clause

(Art. I, § 10, cl. 3).

Justices concurring: Breyer, Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Alito

Justices concurring specially: Roberts, C.J., Thomas

Justice dissenting: Stevens, Souter

124. McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. ___, No. 08–1521, slip op. (2010).

A Chicago ordinance effectively banning handgun possession by almost all private citizens who reside in the city, and an Oak Park, Illinois ordinance that makes it “unlawful for any person to possess . . .

any firearm” including handguns, violate the Second Amendment. A

plurality of the Court found that the Second Amendment is fully applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, as selfdefense through use of firearms is “fundamental to the Nation’s scheme

of ordered liberty,” and handguns are the preferred firearm for protection of one’s home and family. Justice Thomas found that the Second

Amendment was applicable to the states under the Privileges or Immunities Clause.

ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL 2541
Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Alito

Justices concurring specially: Thomas

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor

125. City of Los Angeles v. Patel, 576 U.S. ___, No. 113–1175, slip op. at 14

(2014).

A Los Angeles ordinance that gives police the ability to inspect

hotel registration records without advance notice and arrest hotel employees for noncompliance is facially unconstitutional. Inspections under the ordinance constitute administrative searches for purposes of

the Fourth Amendment and, as such, may only proceed if the subject

of the search has been afforded an opportunity to obtain precompliance review before a neutral decision-maker.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan

Justices dissenting: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Thomas, Alito

126. Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. ___, No. 13–502, slip op. (2015).

A municipality’s sign code imposing more stringent restrictions on

signs directing the public to a public event than on signs conveying

political or ideological messages is a content-based regulation that is

not narrowly tailored to serve compelling interests in preserving the

aesthetics of a town and promoting traffic safety.

Justices concurring: Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor

Justices concurring in judgment only: Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan

2542 ORDINANCES HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL
III. STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED BY

FEDERAL LAW

1. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel v. New Haven, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.)

464 (1823).

The property of a charitable corporation chartered by the Crown,

being specifically protected by the treaty of peace of 1783, an act of

Vermont adopted in 1794 and purporting to convey such property to

local subdivisions was void.

2. Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824).

Because of conflict with the federal licensing act of 1793 authorizing vessels to navigate coastal waters, a New York statute granting to

certain persons an exclusive right to navigate New York waters was

void.

3. Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832).

A Georgia law that imposed penalties on white persons who, without first obtaining a license, established a residence within the limits

of the Cherokee Nation, was unenforceable because of a conflict with

treaties negotiated by the United States with such Indian tribes and

because it extended to an area beyond the jurisdiction of the state.

4. Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 41 U.S. (16 Pet.) 539 (1842).

A Pennsylvania statute (1826) that penalized an owner’s recovery

of a runaway slave violated Art. IV, § 2, cl. 3, and federal legislation

implementing the latter provision.

Justices concurring: Story, Catron, McKinley, Taney (separately), C.J., Thompson (separately), Baldwin (separately), Wayne (separately), Daniel (separately),

McLean (separately)

5. Searight v. Stokes, 44 U.S. (3 How.) 151 (1845).

Because, under federal acts ceding to Pennsylvania that part of

the Cumberland Road within its limits, and Pennsylvania laws accepting the same, the carriage of mail over such road was to be free from

toll, and later Pennsylvania law imposing tolls on coaches transporting passengers could not extend to the mail carried in such coaches.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., Story, Wayne, Catron, McKinley, Nelson

Justices dissenting: McLean, Daniel

6. Neil, Moore & Co. v. Ohio, 44 U.S. (3 How.) 720 (1845).

An Ohio toll levied on passengers transported on mail coaches traversing Cumberland Road in that state, but which exempted passengers traveling on other coaches, was void by reason of conflict with

2543
the terms of federal and Ohio acts adopted in relation to transfer and

acceptance of said part of the road by Ohio.

Justices concurring: Taney, C.J., Story, McLean, Wayne, Catron, McKinley, Nelson

Justice dissenting: Daniel

7. Sinnot v. Davenport, 63 U.S. (22 How.) 227 (1860).

An Alabama statute requiring owners of steamboats navigating the

waters of that state to register under the penalty of a $500 fine for

each offense was in conflict with the act of Congress providing for the

enrollment and license of vessels engaged in the coastwise trade and

therefore inoperative.

Accord: Foster v. Davenport, 63 U.S. (22 How.) 244 (1860), which

held that this statute also was inoperative when applied to a lighter

and a towboat assisting the movement wholly within Alabama territorial waters of vessels engaged in foreign and interstate commerce.

8. Van Allen v. The Assessors, 70 U.S. (3 Wall.) 573 (1866).

A New York law authorizing localities to tax as personal property

national bank stock held by residents, but which imposed no comparable tax on shares of state banks, violated federal legislation authorizing state taxation of national bank stock at rates no higher than

those imposed on state bank shares. Taxation of the capital of state

banks did not provide such equality, for that part of the capital of state

banks invested in federal securities was exempt.

Justices concurring: Grier, Davis, Nelson, Clifford, Miller, Field

Justices dissenting: Chase, C.J., Wayne, Swayne

9. Accord: Bradley v. Illinois, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 459 (1867), voiding a similar

Illinois tax law on the ground that a tax on the capital of state banks

was not the equivalent of the state tax on shares of national banks and

accordingly the tax on the latter was in conflict with federal law consenting to taxation of national bank shares at rates not in excess of those

imposed on shares of state banks.

10. The Moses Taylor, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 411 (1867).

A California statute vesting state courts with in rem jurisdiction

over vessels for causes of action cognizable in admiralty invalidly infringed the admiralty jurisdiction exclusively conferred upon federal

courts by § 9 of the Judiciary Act.

11. The Hine v. Trevor, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 555 (1867).

Iowa statute providing an in rem remedy in state courts for maritime causes of action was void by reason of conflict with § 9 of the

2544 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
Judiciary Act of 1789, which vested admiralty jurisdiction exclusively

in the federal courts.

12. The Kansas Indians, 72 U.S. (5 Wall.) 737 (1867).

When a treaty with Indian tribes exempted their lands from levy,

sale, and forfeiture, Kansas could not validly collect its tax on lands

held in severalty by members of such tribes under patents issued them

pursuant to such treaty. Tribal Indians thus recognized by the National Government are exempt from the jurisdiction of the state.

13. The New York Indians, 72 U.S. (5 Wall.) 761 (1867).

A New York statute imposing a tax on lands reserved to an Indian tribe by treaty was void, notwithstanding provision therein that

sale of land for nonpayment of the tax would not affect the right of

occupancy by the Indians.

14. Bank v. Supervisors, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 26 (1868).

New York tax could not be collected on United States notes expressly exempted from state taxation by federal law authorizing their

issuance as legal tender.

15. The Belfast, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 624 (1869).

Inasmuch as a shipper’s lien under a contract of carriage between

ports within the same State is a maritime lien enforceable by in rem

proceedings exclusively within the admiralty jurisdiction of federal court,

an Alabama law creating a maritime lien enforceable by in rem proceedings in its own courts was void.

16. Pensacola Telegraph Co. v. Western Union Telegraph Co., 96 U.S. 1 (1878).

Florida legislative grant of a telegraphic monopoly held “inoperative” as in conflict with a congressional act dealing with the construction of telegraph lines and based on its commerce and postal power.

Justices concurring: Waite, C.J., Clifford, Strong, Bradley, Swayne, Miller

Justices dissenting: Field, Hunt

17. Sprague v. Thompson, 118 U.S. 90 (1886).

Georgia law requiring out-of-state coastal vessels, subject to certain discriminating exemptions, to take on a pilot upon entering Georgia ports, was void by reason of conflict with federal pilotage law.

18. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Massachusetts, 125 U.S. 530 (1888).

Massachusetts law, authorizing an injunction to restrain tax delinquents from doing business until payments are made, could not be validly invoked to restrain a telegraph company operating lines over United

States military and post roads pursuant to federal authorization.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2545
19. Harman v. City of Chicago, 147 U.S. 396 (1893).

A Chicago ordinance imposing a license tax on tug boats licensed under federal authority and engaged in interstate commerce held invalid.

20. Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. v. Hefley, 158 U.S. 98 (1895).

Texas statute regulating railroad rates, when applied to interstate freight transportation, was held to conflict with Interstate Commerce Act.

21. Ohio v. Thomas, 173 U.S. 276 (1899).

Ohio statute which regulated the use of oleomargarine in the state

held void as applied to a soldiers’ home in Ohio created by Congress

and administered as a federal institution.

22. Home Savings Bank v. City of Des Moines, 205 U.S. 503 (1907).

An Iowa law levying a tax on a state bank, assessed on its shares

measured by the value of its capital, surplus, and individual earnings,

was void insofar as the assessment embraced federal bonds owned by

the bank and was in conflict with a federal enactment exempting such

bonds from state taxes.

Justices concurring: Moody, Brewer, White, McKenna, Holmes, Day

Justices dissenting: Fuller, C.J., Harlan, Peckham

23. Northern Pacific Ry. v. Washington, 222 U.S. 370 (1912).

Consistent with doctrine of national supremacy and preemption,

state laws, including one of the State of Washington, regulating hours

of service embracing employees of interstate carriers, became inoperative immediately upon the adoption of the Federal Hours of Service

Law notwithstanding that the latter did not go into effect until a year

after its passage.

24. Southern Ry. v. Reid, 222 U.S. 424 (1912).

A North Carolina statute requiring carriers to transport interstate freight as soon as it was received was unenforceable due to conflict with § 2 of the Hepburn Act of 1906 (34 Stat. 584), forbidding interstate railway carriers to make shipments until rates had been fixed

and published by the Interstate Commerce Commission, which had not

yet acted on this matter.

Justices concurring: McKenna, Holmes, Hughes, Van Devanter, Lamar, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Lurton

Accord: Southern Ry. v. Reid & Beam, 222 U.S. 444 (1912).

Accord: Southern Ry. v. Burlington Lumber Co., 225 U.S. 99 (1912).

2546 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
25. Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. v. Hardwick Elevator Co., 226 U.S. 426 (1913).

Congress, by enactment of the Hepburn Act (34 Stat. 584 (1906))

having preempted the field of regulation pertaining to the duty of carriers to deliver cars in interstate commerce, a Minnesota Reciprocal

Demurrage Law imposing like regulations was void.

26. Accord: St. Louis, I. Mt. & S. Ry. v. Edwards, 227 U.S. 265 (1913).

Arkansas Demurrage Law of 1907 penalizing carriers for failure

to notify consignees of arrival of shipments was similarly held void.

27. Adams Express Co. v. Croninger, 226 U.S. 491 (1913).

A Kentucky law which precluded an interstate carrier from contracting to limit its liability to an agreed or declared value was void

as conflicting with the Carmack Amendment, which preempted the field

of regulation pertaining to the liability of interstate carriers for loss

and damage to interstate shipments.

28. Accord: Chicago, B. & Q. Ry. v. Miller, 226 U.S. 513 (1913).

An Iowa law and a provision of the Nebraska Constitution were

held to have been superseded by the Carmack Amendment.

29. Accord: Chicago, St. P., M. & O. Ry. v. Latta, 226 U.S. 519 (1913).

A Nebraska constitutional provision was held to have been superseded by the Carmack Amendment.

30. McDermott v. Wisconsin, 228 U.S. 115 (1913).

A Wisconsin food labeling law was invalid insofar as it exacted

labeling requirements, as to articles in interstate commerce, that conflicted with those required under the Federal Pure Food and Drug Act,

imposed an invalid burden on interstate commerce.

31. Missouri, K. & T. Ry. v. Harriman Bros., 227 U.S. 657 (1913).

Because the federal Carmack Amendment preempted the field of

regulation pertaining to determination of an interstate railroad’s liability for loss or damages to goods in transit, Texas law outlawing contractual stipulations specifying a period of limitations for filing of claims

by a shipper which was briefer than that sanctioned by the federal

law was unenforceable.

Justices concurring: Lurton, McKenna, Holmes, Hughes (separately), Day, Van

Devanter, Lamar, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Pitney

32. St. Louis, S. F. & T. Ry. v. Seale, 229 U.S. 156 (1913).

When the Federal Employers’ Liability Act was applicable, by reason that the injured employee was engaged in interstate commerce, a

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2547
Texas law affording a remedy for said injuries was superseded by reason of the supremacy of the former.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, McKenna, Holmes, Day, Lurton, Hughes,

Pitney, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Lamar

33. New York Cent. R.R. v. Hudson County,227 U.S. 248 (1913).

Congress having expressly included ferries used in connection with

interstate railroads in its legislation regulating interstate commerce,

two New Jersey municipal ordinances fixing passenger rates for travel

on ferries between New Jersey and New York points were superseded

and therefore invalid.

34. Chicago, B. & Q. R.R. v. Hall, 229 U.S. 511 (1913).

An attachment, under Iowa law, of a railroad worker’s wages, which

was obtained less than four months prior to the worker’s having been

adjudicated bankrupt, conflicted with a provision of federal bankruptcy law that nullified liens obtained within four months prior to

the filing of a petition in bankruptcy and hence was not entitled to

full faith and credit in Nebraska courts.

35. Erie R.R. v. New York, 233 U.S. 671 (1914).

Congress’s having completely preempted the field by its Hours of

Service Act of 1907, notwithstanding that the act did not take effect

until 1908, a New York labor law of 1907 regulating hours of service

of railroad telegraph operators engaged in interstate commerce was

invalid.

36. Globe Bank v. Martin, 236 U.S. 288 (1915).

Attachments and liens on real estate of a bankrupt, acquired pursuant to Kentucky laws within four months prior to the filing of a petition in bankruptcy under federal law, were null and void, and distribution of the proceeds from the sale of such real estate was governed

by federal rather than by state law.

37. Southern Ry. v. Railroad Comm’n, 236 U.S. 439 (1915).

An Indiana statute requiring railway companies to place grabirons and hand-holds on the sides and ends of every car having been

superseded by the Federal Safety Appliance Act, penalties imposed under the former could not be recovered as to cars operated on interstate railroads, although engaged only in intrastate traffic.

38. Kirmeyer v. Kansas, 236 U.S. 568 (1915).

A Kansas prohibition law could not be validly enforced to prevent

Kansas dealer from accepting orders for alcoholic beverages which were

2548 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
to be completed by interstate delivery to Kansas purchasers from a

point in Missouri; under the federal Wilson Act the interstate transportation did not end until delivery to the consignee was completed.

39. Charleston & W. Car. Ry. v. Varnville Furniture Co.,237 U.S. 597 (1915).

A South Carolina law that imposed a penalty on carriers for their

failure to adjust claims within 40 days imposed an invalid burden on

interstate commerce and also was in conflict with the federal Carmack

Amendment.

40. Rossi v. Pennsylvania, 238 U.S. 62 (1915).

A Pennsylvania liquor law could not be enforced against one who

solicited orders for the delivery of alcoholic beverages to be shipped to

the consignee from another state; under the federal Wilson Act of 1890

liquor shipped in interstate commerce did not become subject to state

regulation until after delivery to the consignee.

41. New York Central R.R. v. Winfield, 244 U.S. 147 (1917).

Congress, by enactment of the Federal Employees’ Liability Act,

having preempted the field as to determination of the liability of interstate railroad carriers to compensate employees for injuries sustained

while engaged in interstate commerce, award under New York Workmen’s Compensation Act for injuries sustained in interstate commerce

by railway employee could not be upheld.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Holmes, Pitney, McReynolds, Day, McKenna,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Clarke

42. Accord: Erie R.R. v. Winfield, 244 U.S. 170 (1917).

For the same reason, a New Jersey Workmen’s Compensation Act

was held inapplicable to a railway worker injured while engaged in

interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Van Devanter, Holmes, Day, Pitney, McKenna, McReynolds,

White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brandeis, Clarke

43. Southern Pacific Co. v. Jensen, 244 U.S. 205 (1917).

New York Workmen’s Compensation Act was unconstitutional as

applied to employees engaged in maritime work, for it afforded a remedy unknown to common law, and hence was not among the common

law remedies saved to suitors from exclusive federal admiralty jurisdiction by the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Day, Van Devanter, McKenna, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes (separately), Pitney (separately), Brandeis, Clarke

Accord: Clyde S.S. Co. v. Walker, 244 U.S. 255 (1917).

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2549
Justices concurring: McReynolds, Day, Van Devanter, McKenna, White, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Holmes, Pitney, Brandeis, Clarke

44. Accord: Steamship Bowdoin Co. v. Industrial Accident Comm’n of California, 246 U.S. 648 (1918), as to the inoperative effect of a California Workmen’s Compensation Act.

45. American Express Company v. Caldwell, 244 U.S. 617 (1917).

Consistent with natural supremacy, a South Dakota law regulating advance of interstate rates could not be applied to changes in intrastate rates which a carrier put into effect pursuant to an order of

the Interstate Commerce Commission to abate discrimination against

interstate traffic.

Justices concurring: Brandeis, Holmes, Pitney, McReynolds, Day, Clarke, Van

Devanter, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: McKenna

46. New Orleans & N.E.R.R. v. Scarlet, 249 U.S. 528 (1919).

Mississippi “Prima Facie” act, relieving plaintiff of burden of proof

to establish negligence, could not constitutionally be applied by a state

court in suits under the Federal Employees’ Liability Act.

Accord: Yazoo & M.V.R.R. v. Mullins, 249 U.S. 531 (1919).

47. Pennsylvania R.R. v. Public Service Comm’n, 250 U.S. 566 (1919).

Pennsylvania law, as applied to an interstate train terminated by

a mail car, forbidding operation of any train consisting of United States

mail, or express, cars without rear end of car being equipped with a

platform with guard rails and steps was inoperative by reason of conflict with federal legislation and regulations which preempted the field.

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, Pitney, McReynolds,

Brandeis, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Clarke

48. Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. v. Warren-Godwin Co., 251 U.S. 27 (1919).

By virtue of federal legislation preempting the field, Mississippi

law could not be applied to determine validity of a contract by a telegraph company limiting its responsibility when its lower rate is paid

for unrepeated interstate messages.

Justices concurring: Holmes, McKenna, Day, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Brandeis,

Clarke, White, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Pitney

49. Western Union Tel. Co. v. Boegli, 251 U.S. 315 (1920).

Federal legislation having preempted the field, Indiana law could

no longer subject a telegraph company to a penalty for failure to deliver promptly in Indiana a message sent from a point in Illinois.

2550 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
50. Merchant’s Nat’l Bank v. Richmond, 256 U.S. 635 (1921).

A Richmond, Virginia, ordinance and a Virginia statute that, as

construed, levied a tax on state and national bank shares at the aggregate rate of $1.75 per $100 of valuation and upon intangibles at the

aggregate rate of 85 per $100 valuation, a substantial proportion of

which property was in the hands of individual taxpayers, were void as

in conflict with federal law prohibiting discriminatory taxation of national bank shares for the reason that the tax was imposed on the

national bank stocks to the aggregate value of more than $8,000,000

whereas the value of state bank stocks taxed was only $6,000,000.

51. First Nat’l Bank v. California, 262 U.S. 366 (1923).

A California law that escheated to a state bank deposits unclaimed for 20 years, notwithstanding that no notice of residence has

been filed with the bank by the depositor or any claimant, was invalid

as applied to deposits in national banks because of conflict with federal law.

52. Bunch v. Cole, 263 U.S. 250 (1923).

When lease of an Indian allotment, made by the allottee in excess

of the powers of alienation granted by federal law, is declared null and

void by federal law, Oklahoma statute, as judicially applied, which gave

the lease the effect of a tenancy at will and as controlling the amount

of compensation which the allottee may recover for use and occupation by the lessees also was void, consistently with the principle of national supremacy.

53. Sperry Oil Co. v. Chisholm, 264 U.S. 488 (1924).

An Oklahoma law that required that a lease on a family homestead be executed by the wife as well as by the husband was inoperative, consistently with the principle of national supremacy, to the extent that under federal law Congress had empowered a Cherokee Indian

to make an oil or gas lease on his restricted “homestead” allotment

subject only to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

54. Missouri ex rel. Burnes Nat’l Bank v. Duncan, 265 U.S. 17 (1924).

Because the Federal Reserve Act authorizes national banks to act

as executors, a Missouri law was ineffective, under the principle of national supremacy, to withhold such powers from such banks.

Justices concurring: Holmes, Sanford, Brandeis, McKenna, Van Devanter, Butler,

Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Sutherland, McReynolds

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2551
55. Asakura v. City of Seattle, 265 U.S. 332 (1924).

A Seattle ordinance that limited the pawnbroking business to citizens was void as applied to a Japanese alien lawfully admitted into

the United States and protected by a treaty with Japan according to

nationals of the latter country the right to carry on a “trade.”

56. Missouri Pacific R.R. v. Stroud, 267 U.S. 404 (1925).

When carrier had two routes by which freight might move between two points in a state, the second of which was partly interstate,

a suit against the carrier for discrimination in the furnishing of cars

which arose out of use of the interstate route in conformity with the

carrier’s practice was governed by the Interstate Commerce Act, and

the Missouri law governing such discrimination was superseded and

inapplicable (Art. VI).

57. Lancaster v. McCarty, 267 U.S. 427 (1925).

A federal law (39 Stat. 441 (1916)) that authorized carriers to limit

liability upon property received for transportation to value declared

by shipper, where the rates were based on such value pursuant to authority of Interstate Commerce Commission, superseded Texas law in

respect to a claim for damage to goods shipped intrastate between Texas

points for the reason that the tariff and classification had been adopted by the carrier pursuant to an order of the Commission requiring it to remove discrimination against interstate commerce which had

resulted from lower Texas intrastate rates.

58. Davis v. Cohen, 268 U.S. 638 (1925).

When the Federal Transportation Act of 1920 provided that suits

on claims arising out of federal wartime control of the railroads might

be brought against a federal agent, if instituted within two years after federal control had ended, Massachusetts law allowing amendments of proceedings prior to judgment, could not be invoked to substitute the Agent as defendant more than two years after federal control

had ended; the suit in which the substitution was attempted had erroneously been filed against the railroad rather than against the Federal Director General during the period of federal control, and since

the substitution amounted to filing a new action, invocation of the Massachusetts law was repugnant to the Federal Transportation Act’s provisions as to limitations.

59. First Nat’l Bank v. Anderson, 269 U.S. 341 (1926).

As applied to national banks, an Iowa tax law providing for a

levy on shares of such banks at rates less favorable than the rates

2552 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
applied to moneyed capital invested in competition with such banks

was repugnant to federal law prohibiting such discrimination (Art.

VI).

60. Oregon-Washington Co. v. Washington, 270 U.S. 87 (1926).

Federal legislation having preempted the field, a Washington law

that established a quarantine against importation of hay and alfalfa

meal, except in sealed containers, coming from areas in other states

harboring the alfalfa weevil, was inoperative.

Justices concurring: Taft, C.J., Holmes, Van Devanter, Brandeis, Butler, Sanford,

Stone

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Sutherland

61. Napier v. Atlantic Coast Line R.R.,272 U.S. 605 (1926).

The Federal Boiler Inspection Act having occupied the field of regulation pertaining to locomotive equipment on interstate highways, a

Georgia law requiring cab curtains and automatic fire box doors was

preempted.

62. Missouri Pacific R.R. v. Porter, 273 U.S. 341 (1927).

Congress’s having occupied the field by its own legislation, an

Arkansas law that prohibited carriers from incorporating into their

bills of lading stipulations exempting the carriers from liability for

loss of shipments by fire not due to the carriers’ negligence was

preempted.

63. First Nat’l Bank v. Hartford, 273 U.S. 548 (1927).

Wisconsin tax law, as imposed on shares of a national bank, was

in conflict with a federal law prohibiting state taxation of such shares

at rates in excess of those levied on moneyed capital employed in competition with the business of such banks and was therefore inoperative as to the shares of such banks.

64. Accord: Minnesota v. First Nat’l Bank, 273 U.S. 561 (1927), holding inoperative for the same reason a Minnesota law taxing national bank shares.

65. Accord: Commercial Nat’l Bank v. Custer County, 275 U.S. 502 (1927),

holding inoperative a similar Montana tax law.

66. Accord: Keating v. Public Nat’l Bank, 284 U.S. 587 (1932), holding inoperative for the same reason a New York tax law.

67. Montana Nat’l Bank v. Yellowstone County, 276 U.S. 499 (1928).

A Montana law that levied a tax on national bank shares was inconsistent with a federal law prohibiting a levy on such shares “at a

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2553
greater rate than is assessed upon other moneyed capital in the hands

of individual citizens of such State.”

68. Hunt v. United States, 278 U.S. 96 (1928).

Arizona game laws were not enforceable in a national game preserve and could not be invoked to prevent the killing of wild deer in

the preserve as ordered by federal officers acting under the authority

of federal law.

69. International Shoe Co. v. Pinkus, 278 U.S. 261 (1929).

An Arkansas insolvency law was superseded by the Federal Bankruptcy Act to the extent that a creditor of one who invoked the state

laws was entitled to have his claim paid by the state receiver in conformity with the order of distribution sanctioned by the federal law.

Justices concurring: Butler, Holmes, Stone, Sanford, Van Devanter, Taft, C.J.

Justices dissenting: McReynolds, Brandeis, Sutherland

70. Nielsen v. Johnson, 279 U.S. 47 (1929).

An Iowa inheritance tax law that discriminated against nonresident alien heirs violated a treaty with Denmark.

71. Carpenter v. Shaw, 280 U.S. 363 (1930).

An Oklahoma law that imposed a 3% tax on the gross value of

royalties from oil and gas was void as a tax on the right reserved to

Indians as owners and lessors of the fee when applied to Indians who

had received allotments exempted under the Atoka agreement and leased

by them for production of oil and gas (Art. VI).

72. Lindgren v. United States, 281 U.S. 38 (1930).

The right of action given under the Federal Merchant Marine Act

to the personal representative to recover damages on behalf of beneficiaries for the death of a seaman resulting from negligence was exclusive and precluded a right of recovery because of unseaworthiness predicated upon the death statute of Virginia, where the injury was sustained.

73. Baizley Iron Works v. Span, 281 U.S. 222 (1930).

A Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act could not be invoked to obtain recovery for injuries sustained by a workman while

painting angle irons in the engine room of a ship tied to a pier in navigable waters; recovery was controlled exclusively by federal maritime

law.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Sutherland, Butler, Van Devanter

Justices dissenting: Stone, Holmes, Brandeis

2554 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
74. Accord: Employers’ Liability Assurance Co. v. Cook, 281 U.S. 233 (1930).

A Texas workman’s compensation law is inapplicable for the same

reason.

Justices concurring: McReynolds, Butler, Sutherland, Van Devanter, Stone

(separately), Holmes (separately), Brandeis (separately)

75. Santovincenzo v. Egan, 284 U.S. 30 (1931).

A New York law pertaining to the descent of property of an alien

decedent was inoperative as to the property of an alien because of the

conflicting provisions of a treaty negotiated with the nation to which

the decedent owed allegiance.

76. Van Huffel v. Harkelrode, 284 U.S. 225 (1931).

Federal bankruptcy courts are empowered to sell the real estate

of bankrupts free from liens for state taxes; lien laws of Ohio stipulating that the liens were to attach to the property were ineffective to

prevent the federal court from transferring the liens from the property to the proceeds of the sale.

77. Henkel v. Chicago, St. P., M. & O. Ry., 284 U.S. 444 (1932).

A Minnesota statute fixing amounts to be paid as compensation

or in fees to expert witnesses could not be applied to determine costs

in a federal court proceeding because the statute was superseded by a

federal enactment determining the fees to be paid witnesses.

78. Murray v. Gerrick & Co., 291 U.S. 315 (1934).

Washington Workman’s Compensation Act, adopted after the United

States had acquired exclusive jurisdiction over a tract that became Puget

Sound Navy Yard, could not be invoked by the widow and child of a

worker fatally injured while working for a contractor in the Yard because Congress by law had consented only to suits by a personal representative under the Washington Wrongful Death Statute.

79. Jennings v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 294 U.S. 216 (1935).

Section of Indiana Bank Collection Code which purported to make

the owners of paper which a bank had collected, but which it had not

satisfied, preferred claimants in the event of the bank’s failure, regardless of whether the funds representing such paper could be traced or

identified as part of the bank’s assets or intermingled with or converted into other assets of the bank, was inoperative as to a national

bank by reason of conflict with applicable federal law.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2555
80. Accord: Old Company’s Lehigh v. Meeker Co., 294 U.S. 227 (1935), embracing a comparable New York statutory provision.

81. Schuylkill Trust Co. v. Pennsylvania, 296 U.S. 113 (1935).

A Pennsylvania law that levied a tax on trust companies was in

conflict with provisions of federal law proscribing discriminatory taxation of national bank shares by virtue of deductions allowed trust company for amounts represented by shares owned in Pennsylvania corporations already taxed or exempted, without any corresponding deduction

on account of nontaxable federal securities owned or on account of national bank shares already taxed.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Hughes, C.J., Van Devanter, Butler, McReynolds,

Sutherland

Justices dissenting: Cardozo, Brandeis, Stone

82. Oklahoma v. Barnsdall Corp., 296 U.S. 521 (1936).

An Oklahoma law that levied a tax on the gross production of oil,

as applied to oil produced by lessees of lands of Indian tribes, was not

authorized by a federal law consenting to levy of a different tax, and

hence was inoperative as a tax on a federal instrumentality.

83. Lawrence v. Shaw, 300 U.S. 345 (1937).

A North Carolina property tax law could not be enforced so as to

levy a tax on bank deposits made by petitioner as guardian of an incompetent veteran of World War I; by the terms of applicable federal

law bank deposits which resulted from the receipt of federal veterans

benefits payments were exempted from local taxation.

84. Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52 (1941).

A Pennsylvania alien registration statute, imposing requirements

at variance with those set forth in the Federal Alien Registration Act

of 1940 containing a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of aliens,

is rendered unenforceable by reason of conflict with federal legislative

and treaty-making powers.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Black, Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy

Justices dissenting: Stone, Hughes, C.J., McReynolds

85. Federal Land Bank v. Bismarck Lumber Co., 314 U.S. 95 (1941).

Because the Federal Farm Loan Act exempts federal land banks

from state taxes, other than those on property acquired in the course

of dealings, the North Dakota sales tax cannot validly be collected on

the sale of materials to a federal land bank to be used in improving

real estate (Art. VI, cl. 2).

2556 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
86. Cloverleaf Butter Co. v. Patterson, 315 U.S. 148 (1942).

Consistently with the Supremacy Clause, federal laws and regulations relating to the entire process of manufacture of renovated butter

supersede state laws under which Alabama officials inspected and seized

packing stock butter acquired by a manufacturer of renovated butter

for interstate commerce.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Black, Reed, Douglas, Jackson

Justices dissenting: Stone, C.J., Frankfurter, Murphy, Byrnes

87. Tulee v. Washington, 315 U.S. 681 (1942).

Being repugnant to the terms of a treaty concluded with the Yakima

Indians reserving to the members of the tribe the right to take fish at

all usual places in common with the citizens of Washington Territory,

a Washington law requiring such Indians to pay license fees for the

exercise of such privilege cannot be enforced.

88. Pollock v. Williams, 322 U.S. 4 (1944).

Florida Statute of 1941, §§ 817.09 and 817.10, made it a misdemeanor to induce advances with intent to defraud by a promise to perform labor, and further made failure to perform labor for which money

had been obtained prima facie evidence of intent to defraud. The statute violates the Thirteenth Amendment and the Federal Antipeonage

Act for it cannot be said that a plea of guilty is uninfluenced by the

statute’s threat to convict by its prima facie evidence section.

Justices concurring: Roberts, Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson,

Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Stone, C.J., Reed

89. Hill v. Florida ex rel. Watson, 325 U.S. 538 (1945).

A Florida law providing that no one shall be licensed as a “business agent” of a labor union without meeting certain specified standards and that all labor unions in the state must file annual reports

disclosing certain information and pay an annual fee circumscribes the

“full freedom” to choose collective bargaining agents secured to employees by the National Labor Relations Act.

Justices concurring: Stone, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Rutledge

Justices dissenting: Roberts, Frankfurter

90. First Iowa Hydro-Electric Coop. v. FPC, 328 U.S. 152 (1946).

An Iowa statute requiring a permit for construction of a dam in

navigable waters is preempted to the extent that it purports to authorize a state veto of a hydro-electric project licensed by the Federal Power

Commission pursuant to the Federal Power Act. While the Federal Power

Act authorizes the Commission to require a licensee to comply with

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2557
requirements of state law that are not inconsistent with federal purposes, these federal purposes may not be subordinated to state control

through operation of the state permitting requirement.

Justices concurring: Burton, Stone, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge

Justice dissenting: Frankfurter

91. Bethlehem Steel Co. v. New York Employment Relations Bd., 330 U.S.

767 (1947).

Where the National Labor Relations Board had asserted general

jurisdiction over unions of foreman employed by industries subject to

the National Labor Relations Act but had refused to certify such unions

as collective bargaining representatives on the ground that to do so at

the time would obstruct rather than further effectuation of the purposes of the Act, certification of such unions by the New York Employment Relations Board under a state act is invalid as in conflict with

the National Labor Relations Act and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

92. Accord: Plankington Packing Co. v. WERB, 338 U.S. 953 (1950).

A decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court upholding a similar

action by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Board is summarily reversed.

93. Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp.,331 U.S. 218 (1947).

By amendments of the United States Warehouse Act, Congress terminated the dual system of regulation and substituted an exclusive

system of federal regulations of warehouses licensed under the federal

act. Such warehouses therefore no longer need to obtain Illinois licenses or comply with Illinois laws regulating those phases of the warehouse business which have been regulated under the federal act. Compliance with Illinois law is limited to those phases of the business that

the federal act expressly subjects to state law.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Murphy, Jackson, Burton

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Rutledge

94. Seaboard Air Line R.R. v. Daniel, 333 U.S. 118 (1948).

A South Carolina law providing that any railroad line within the

state must be owned and operated only by state-created corporations

may not be applied to prevent a Virginia corporation, so authorized by

the Interstate Commerce Commission under § 5 of the Interstate Commerce Act, from owning and operating an entire railway system with

mileage in South Carolina.

2558 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
95. Takahashi v. Fish & Game Comm’n, 334 U.S. 410 (1948).

California’s requirement that every person bringing fish ashore in

the state for sale obtain a commercial fishing license, but denying such

a license to any person ineligible for citizenship, precluded a resident

Japanese alien from earning his living as a commercial fisherman in

the ocean waters off the state and was invalid both under the Equal

Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and under a federal

statute (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge,

Burton

Justices dissenting: Reed, Jackson

96. La Crosse Tel. Corp. v. WERB, 336 U.S. 18 (1949).

Certification by the state employment relations board under a Wisconsin labor relations act of a union as the collective bargaining representative of employees engaged in interstate commerce is invalid as

in conflict with the National Labor Relations Act; the employer is invalid as applied to deny utility employees the right to strike. As applied, the law conflicts with the National Labor Relations Act.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Jackson, Clark

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Burton, Minton

97. H. P. Hood & Sons v. Du Mond, 336 U.S. 525 (1949).

Denial of a license under the New York Agricultural and Market

Law violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and the Federal Agricultural Marketing Act where the denial was based on grounds

that the expanded facilities would reduce the supply of milk for local

markets and result in destructive competition in a market already adequately served.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Douglas, Jackson, Burton

Justices dissenting: Black, Frankfurter, Murphy, Rutledge

98. Wissner v. Wissner, 338 U.S. 655 (1950).

The California community property law could not be invoked to

sustain an award to a deceased soldier’s widow of one-half of the proceeds of an insurance policy issued under the National Life Insurance

Act; the federal law accords the insured soldier the right to designate

his beneficiary, in this instance, his mother, and his widow, not having been designated, is expressly precluded from acquiring a vested

right to these proceeds.

99. New Jersey Ins. Co. v. Division of Tax Appeals, 338 U.S. 665 (1950).

Collection by a New Jersey taxing district of a tax on intangible

property of a stock insurance company, computed without deducting

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2559
the principal amount of certain United States bonds and accrued interest thereon was invalid by reason of conflict with federal law exempting federal obligations from state and local taxation.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Clark,

Minton

Justice dissenting: Black

100. United Automobile Workers v. O’Brien, 339 U.S. 454 (1950).

The strike vote provision of the Michigan Mediation Law, which

prohibits the calling of a strike unless a state-prescribed procedure for

mediation is followed and unless a majority of the employees in a statedefined bargaining unit authorizes the strike, conflicts with the National Labor Relations Act and is invalid.

101. Bus Employees v. WERB, 340 U.S. 383 (1951).

The Wisconsin Public Utility Anti-Strike Law, which substituted arbitration upon order of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Board for

collective bargaining whenever an impasse is reached in the bargaining

process, is invalid as applied to deny utility employees the right to strike.

As applied, the law conflicts with the National Labor Relations Act.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Black, Reed, Douglas, Jackson, Clark

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Burton, Minton

102. Carson v. Roane-Anderson Co., 342 U.S. 232 (1952).

Tennessee Retailers’ Sales Tax Act could not be enforced as to sales

of commodities to a contractor employed by the Atomic Energy Commission; the contractor’s activities were those of the Commission and

exempt under federal law.

103. Accord: General Electric Co. v. Washington, 347 U.S. 909 (1954), embracing exemption of a similar contractor from Washington business and occupation tax law.

104. Dameron v. Brodhead, 345 U.S. 322 (1953).

Where a serviceman domiciled in one state is assigned to military

duty in another state, the latter state (here Colorado) is barred by § 514

of the Soldiers and Sailor’s Civil Relief Act of 1940 from imposing a

tax on his tangible personal property temporarily located within its

borders, even when the state of his domicile has not taxed such property.

Justices concurring: Vinson, C.J., Reed, Frankfurter, Jackson, Burton, Clark,

Minton

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas

2560 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
105. Franklin Nat’l Bank v. New York, 347 U.S. 373 (1954).

Insofar as the New York Banking Law forbids national banks to

use the word “saving” or “savings in their business or advertising,” it

conflicts with federal laws expressly authorizing national banks to receive deposits and to exercise incidental powers and is void.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Jackson, Burton,

Clark, Minton

Justice dissenting: Reed

106. Castle v. Hayes Freight Lines, 348 U.S. 61 (1954).

An Illinois law providing for a 90-day suspension of a motor carrier upon a finding of 10 or more violations of regulations calling for a

balanced distribution of freight loads in relation to the truck’s axles

cannot be applied to an interstate motor carrier holding a certificate

of convenience and necessity issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission under the Federal Motor Carrier Act. A state may not suspend the carrier’s rights to use the state’s highways in its interstate

operations. The Illinois law, as applied to such carrier, also violates

the Commerce Clause.

107. Pennsylvania v. Nelson, 350 U.S. 497 (1956).

The Smith Act, as amended, 18 U.S.C. § 2385, which prohibits the

knowing advocacy of the overthrow of the Government of the United

States by force and violence, supersedes the enforceability of the Pennsylvania Sedition Act, which proscribes the same conduct. The scheme

of federal regulation is so pervasive as to make reasonable the inference that the Congress left no room for the states to supplement it—

enforcement of state sedition acts presents a serious danger of conflict

with the administration of the federal program.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Clark, Harlan

Justices dissenting: Reed, Burton, Minton

108. Railway Employes’ Dep’t v. Hanson, 351 U.S. 225 (1956).

A “right to work” provision of the Nebraska Constitution cannot

be invoked to invalidate a “union shop” agreement between an interstate railroad and unions of its employees for the reason that such

“union shop” agreement is expressly authorized by § 2(11) of the Railway Labor Act.

109. Leslie Miller, Inc. v. Arkansas, 352 U.S. 187 (1956).

An Arkansas statute requiring licensing of contractors cannot be

applied to a federal contractor operating pursuant to a contract issued

under authority of the Armed Services Procurement Act of 1947.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2561
110. Guss v. Utah Labor Bd., 353 U.S. 1 (1957).

The Utah Labor Board, acting pursuant to Utah law, may not exercise jurisdiction over a labor dispute involving an employer engaged

in interstate commerce if the NLRB declined to exercise jurisdiction

and had not ceded jurisdiction to the state board pursuant to § 10(a)

of the National Labor Relations Act.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan

Justices dissenting: Burton, Clark

111. Public Util. Comm’n v. United States, 355 U.S. 534 (1958).

A California statute making contingent upon prior approval by its

Public Utilities Commission of the Federal Government’s practice, sanctioned by federal procurement law, of negotiating special rates with

carriers for the transportation of federal property in California is void

as conflicting with the federal practices.

Justices concurring: Black, Frankfurter, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, Whittaker

Justices dissenting: Warren, C.J., Burton, Harlan

112. City of Chicago v. Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry., 357 U.S. 77 (1958).

As applied to a newly organized motor carrier hired by interstate

railroads operating in and out of Chicago to transfer interstate passengers and their baggage between different railway terminals in that City,

the provision in the Chicago Municipal Code requiring any new transfer service to obtain a certificate of convenience and necessity plus approval of the City Council is unconstitutional. Chicago has no power

to decide whether the new motor carrier can operate a service which

is an integral part of interstate railway transportation subject to regulations under the Federal Interstate Commerce Act.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, Whittaker

Justices dissenting: Frankfurter, Burton, Harlan

113. Teamsters Union v. Oliver, 358 U.S. 283 (1959).

An Ohio antitrust law cannot be invoked to prohibit enforcement

of a collective bargaining agreement between a group of interstate motor carriers and local labor unions, which agreement stipulates that

truck drivers owning and driving their own vehicles shall be paid the

prescribed wages plus at least a prescribed minimum rental for the

use of their vehicles. The state antitrust law, insofar as it is applied

to prevent contracting parties from enforcing agreement upon a subject matter as to which the National Labor Relations Act directs them

to bargain, is invalid.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Clark, Harlan, Brennan

Justice dissenting: Whittaker

2562 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
114. San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236 (1959).

The failure of the NLRB to assume jurisdiction does not leave California free to apply its laws defining torts and regulating labor relations for purposes of awarding damages to an employer for economic

injuries resulting from the picketing of his plant by labor unions not

selected by his employees as their bargaining agent. Since the employer is engaged in interstate commerce, California laws cannot be

applied to matters falling within the compass of the National Labor

Relations Act.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Clark, Whittaker, Stewart (separately)

115. Accord: DeVries v. Baumgartner’s Electric Co., 359 U.S. 498 (1959), as

to a South Dakota law.

Justices concurring: Frankfurter, Brennan, Warren, C.J., Black, Douglas

Justices dissenting: Clark, Harlan, Whittaker, Stewart

116. Accord: Superior Court v. Washington ex rel. Yellow Cab, 361 U.S. 373

(1960), as to a Washington law.

117. Accord: Bogle v. Jakes Foundry Co., 362 U.S. 401 (1960), as to a Tennessee law.

118. Accord: McMahon v. Milam Mfg. Co., 368 U.S. 7 (1961), as to a Mississippi law.

119. Accord: Marine Engineers v. Interlake Co., 370 U.S. 173 (1962), as to a

Minnesota law.

120. Accord: Waxman v. Virginia, 371 U.S. 4 (1962), as to a Virginia law prohibiting picketing by non-employees.

121. Accord: Construction Laborers v. Curry, 371 U.S. 542 (1963), involving

enjoinder of picketing as violating Georgia right-to-work law.

Justice concurring: Harlan (separately)

122. Accord: Journeymen & Plumbers’ Union v. Borden, 373 U.S. 690 (1962),

as to a Texas law.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Warren, C.J., Brennan, Black, Stewart, White

Justices dissenting: Douglas, Clark

123. Accord: Iron Workers Local 207 v. Perko,373 U.S. 701 (1963), as to an

Ohio law.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Warren, C.J., White, Brennan, Stewart, Black

Justices dissenting: Douglas, Clark

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2563
124. Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 (1960).

A Virginia statute making it a misdemeanor for any person to remain on the premises of another after having been forbidden to do so

could not be enforced against a Negro for refusing to leave the section

reserved for white people in a restaurant in a bus terminal by reason

of conflict with provision of Interstate Commerce Act forbidding interstate motor vehicle bus carriers from subjecting persons to unjust discrimination.

Justices concurring: Black, Douglas, Warren, C.J., Brennan, Stewart, Frankfurter,

Harlan

Justices dissenting: Whittaker, Clark

125. United States v. Oregon, 366 U.S. 643 (1961).

An Oregon escheat law could not be applied to support state’s claim

to property of a resident who died without a will or heirs in a Veterans’ Hospital in Oregon; the United States has asserted title to the

property under a superseding federal law.

Justices concurring: Black, Warren, C.J., Brennan, Stewart, Frankfurter, Harlan,

Clark

Justices dissenting: Douglas, Whittaker

126. United States v. Shimer, 367 U.S. 374 (1961).

Pennsylvania Deficiency Judgment Act had been displaced by applicable provisions of the Federal Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of

1944, and regulations issued thereunder, and could not be invoked to

bar suit by the Veterans’ Administration against a veteran to recover

the indemnity for a defaulted home loan which it had guaranteed and

which had been foreclosed by the lender.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Brennan, Stewart, Warren, C.J., Clark, Whittaker,

Frankfurter

Justices dissenting: Black, Douglas

127. Federal Land Bank v. Kiowa County, 368 U.S. 146 (1961).

A Kansas statute declaring that oil and gas leases and the royalties derived therefrom were taxable as personal property could not be

applied to subject to local taxation an oil and gas lease and income

therefrom derived by a Federal Land Bank from property acquired in

satisfaction of a debt; under supervening federal law such Land Banks

were exempted from all taxes “except taxes on real estate.”

Justice concurring specially: Black

128. United States v. Union Central Life Ins. Co., 368 U.S. 291 (1961).

A Michigan law regulating the manner in which a federal tax lien

must be recorded was in conflict with applicable provisions of the In2564 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
ternal Revenue Code and therefore was ineffective for purposes of withholding priority to the Government’s lien.

Justices concurring: Black, Frankfurter, Brennan, Warren, C.J., Clark, Stewart,

Whittaker, Harlan

Justice dissenting: Douglas

129. Campbell v. Hussey, 368 U.S. 297 (1961).

Congress having preempted the field by enactment of the Federal

Tobacco Inspection Act establishing uniform standards for classification of tobacco, a Georgia law which required Type 14 tobacco grown

in Georgia to be identified with a white tag could not be enforced.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Whittaker (separately), Warren, C.J., Brennan,

Stewart, Clark

Justices dissenting: Black, Frankfurter, Harlan

130. Free v. Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (1962).

Treasury regulations creating a right of survivorship in United States

Savings Bonds preempted application of conflicting provisions of Texas

Community Property Law which prohibited a married couple from taking advantage of such survivorship regulations whenever the purchase price of said bonds was paid out of community property.

131. State Bd. of Ins. v. Todd Shipyards, 370 U.S. 451 (1962).

A Texas law imposing a premium tax on insured parties who purchased insurance from insurers not licensed to sell insurance in Texas

could not be collected, consistently with the Federal McCarranFerguson Act, on insurance contracts purchased in New York from a

London insurer by the terms of which premiums thereon and claims

thereunder were payable in New York.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Brennan, Warren, C.J., Stewart, Harlan, Clark

Justice dissenting: Black

132. Lassiter v. United States, 371 U.S. 10 (1962).

Louisiana laws that segregated passengers in terminal facilities

of common carriers were unconstitutional by reason of conflict with

federal law and the Equal Protection Clause.

133. United States v. Buffalo Savings Bank, 371 U.S. 228 (1963).

A New York law that provided that payments out of proceeds of a

foreclosure of property to discharge state tax liens should be deemed

“expenses” of the mortgage foreclosure sale was ineffective to defeat

priority accorded by federal law to federal tax liens antedating liens

for state and local real property taxes and assessments.

Justices concurring: Warren, C.J., Black, Brennan, Stewart, Goldberg, Harlan,

Clark, White

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2565
Justice dissenting: Douglas

134. Paul v. United States, 371 U.S. 245 (1963).

A California statute that authorized the fixing of minimum wholesale and retail prices for milk could not be enforced as to purchases of

milk for military consumption or for resale at commissaries at federal

military installations in California; conflicting federal statutes and regulations governing procurement with appropriated funds of goods for

the Armed Forces required competitive bidding or negotiation reflecting active competition which would be nullified by minimum prices determined by factors not specified in federal law.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Black, Warren, C.J., White, Brennan, Clark

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Harlan, Goldberg

135. Michigan Nat’l Bank v. Robertson, 372 U.S. 591 (1963).

Suability of an out-of-state national bank in courts of Nebraska is

determined by applicable provisions of the federal banking laws and

not by recourse to a Nebraska statute defining the venue of local actions involving liability under the Nebraska Installment Loan Act.

Justices concurring: Black (separately), Douglas (separately)

136. Accord: Mercantile Nat’l Bank v. Langdeau, 371 U.S. 555 (1963), as to

venue in Texas.

Justices concurring: White, Stewart, Brennan, Warren, C.J., Goldberg

Justices dissenting: Harlan, Douglas, Black

137. Sperry v. Florida, 373 U.S. 379 (1963).

A Florida law regulating admission to the bar could not be enforced, consistently with the principle of national supremacy, to prevent a person admitted to practice before the United States Patent Office as a Patent Attorney from serving clients in the latter capacity in

Florida.

138. Bus Employees v. Missouri, 374 U.S. 74 (1963).

Missouri’s King-Thompson Act, which authorized the governor to

seize and operate a public utility when the public welfare was jeopardized by a strike threat, was inconsistent with 29 U.S.C. § 157 of the

National Labor Relations Act defining the rights of employees as to

collective bargaining and, consistently with national supremacy, could

not be enforced.

139. Corbett v. Stergios, 381 U.S. 124 (1965).

Iowa’s reciprocal inheritance law conditioning the right of nonresident aliens to take Iowa real property by intestate succession upon

existence of a reciprocal right of United States citizens to take real

2566 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
property upon same terms and conditions in alien’s country could not

under United States-Greece treaty and Supremacy Clause bar Greek

national from inheriting property.

140. Nash v. Florida Industrial Comm’n, 389 U.S. 235 (1967).

A Florida unemployment compensation law disqualifying for benefits any person unemployed as a result of a labor dispute when applied to disqualify a person who has filed an unfair labor practice charge

against her employer because of her discharge conflicts with federal

labor law and is void under Supremacy Clause.

141. Rosado v. Wyman, 397 U.S. 397 (1970).

A New York statute changing levels of benefits and deleting items

to be included in levels of benefit which reduced moneys to recipients

conflicted with federal law which required states to adjust upward in

terms of increases costs of living amounts deemed necessary for subsistence.

Justices concurring: Harlan, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Black, Burger, C.J.

142. Lewis v. Martin, 397 U.S. 552 (1970).

A California statute reducing the amount of dependent children

funds going to any household by the amount of funds imputed to presence of a “man-in-the-house” who was not legally obligated to support

the child or children conflicts with federal law as interpreted by valid

HEW regulations.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall

Justices dissenting: Burger, C.J., Black

143. California Dep’t of Human Resources Dev. v. Java, 402 U.S. 121 (1971).

A California statute providing for suspension of unemployment compensation if the former employer appeals an eligibility decision of a

departmental examiner, the suspension to last until decision of the appeal, conflicts with the federal act’s requirement that compensation must

be paid when due.

144. Perez v. Campbell, 402 U.S. 637 (1971).

An Arizona statute providing that a discharge in bankruptcy shall

not operate to relieve a judgment creditor under the Motor Vehicle Safety

Responsibility Act of any obligation under the Act conflicts with the

provision of the federal bankruptcy law which discharges a debtor of

all but specified judgments.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2567
145. Townsend v. Swank, 404 U.S. 282 (1971).

An Illinois statute and implementing regulations which made needy

dependent children 18 through 20 years old eligible for welfare benefits if they were attending high school or vocational training school

but not if they were attending college or university conflicts with federal social security law.

146. Sterrett v. Mothers’ & Children’s Rights Org., 409 U.S. 809 (1972).

A district court decision holding invalid as in conflict with the federal Social Security Act an Indiana statute denying benefits to persons aged 16 to 18 who are eligible but for the fact that they are not

regularly attending school is summarily affirmed.

147. Philpott v. Welfare Board, 409 U.S. 413 (1973).

A New Jersey statute providing for recovery by the state of reimbursement for financial assistance when the recipient subsequently obtains funds cannot be applied to obtain reimbursement out of federal

disability insurance benefits inasmuch as federal law bars subjecting

such funds to any legal process.

148. City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, 411 U.S. 624 (1973).

A Burbank, California ordinance placing an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on jet take-offs from its local airport is invalid as in conflict with

the regulatory scheme of federal statutory control.

Justices concurring: Douglas, Brennan, Blackmun, Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stewart, White, Marshall

149. Department of Game v. Puyallup Tribe, 414 U.S. 44 (1973).

A Washington State statute construed to prohibit net fishing by

members of the Tribe conflicts with the Tribe’s treaty rights and is invalid.

150. Beasley v. Food Fair, 416 U.S. 653 (1974).

North Carolina’s right-to-work law giving employees discharged by

reason of union membership a cause of action against their employer

cannot be applied to supervisors in view of 29 U.S.C. § 164(a), which

provides that no law should compel an employer to treat a supervisor

as an employee.

151. Letter Carriers v. Austin, 418 U.S. 264 (1974).

A Virginia statute creating cause of action for “insulting words”

as construed to permit recovery for use in labor dispute of words “scab”

and similar words is preempted by federal labor law.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, Stewart, White, Blackmun

2568 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
Justice concurring specially: Douglas

Justices dissenting: Powell, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

152. Moe v. Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes,425 U.S. 463 (1976).

Montana laws imposing personal property taxes, vendor license fees,

and a cigarette sales tax may not constitutionally be applied to reservation Indians under Supremacy Clause because federal statutory law

precludes such application.

153. Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. 529 (1976).

A New Mexico law providing for the roundup and sale by a state

agency of “estrays” cannot under the Supremacy Clause be constitutionally applied to unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States that are protected by federal law.

154. Machinists & Aerospace Workers v. WERC, 427 U.S. 132 (1976).

A Wisconsin statute proscribing concerted efforts by employees to

interfere with production, except through actual strikes, cannot under

the Supremacy Clause be constitutionally applied to union members’

concerted refusal to work overtime during negotiations for renewal of

an expired contract since such conduct was intended by Congress to

be regulable by neither the states nor the NLRB.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Power, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Stewart, Rehnquist

155. Jones v. Rath Packing Co., 430 U.S. 519 (1977).

California’s statutory imposition of weight requirements in packaging for sale of bacon and flour which did not allow for loss of weight

resulting from moisture loss during distribution while the applicable

federal law does is invalid (1) as to bacon because of express federal

law and (2) as to flour because adherence to state law would defeat a

purpose of the federal law.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stewart as to flour

156. Douglas v. Seacoast Products, Inc., 431 U.S. 265 (1977).

A Virginia statute prohibiting nonresidents from fishing within certain state waters is preempted by federal enrollment and licensing laws

that grant an affirmative right to fish in coastal waters.

157. Dothard v. Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321 (1977).

Alabama statutory height and weight requirements for prison guards

have an impermissible discriminatory effect upon women, and under

the Supremacy Clause must yield to the federal fair employment law.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2569
Justices concurring: Stewart, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist,

Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: White

158. Maher v. Buckner, 434 U.S. 898 (1977).

A Connecticut statutory rule rendering ineligible for welfare benefits individuals who have transferred assets within seven years of applying for benefits unless they can prove the transfer was made for

“reasonable consideration” is inconsistent with the Social Security Act

and therefore void.

159. Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 435 U.S. 151 (1978).

Certain provisions of a Washington statute imposing design or safety

standards on oil tankers using state waters and banning operation in

those waters of tankers exceeding certain weights, as well as certain

pilotage requirements, are invalid as conflicting with federal law.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: O’Connor, Thomas

Justice dissenting: Stevens

160. Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo, 439 U.S. 572 (1979).

California’s community property statute, under which property acquired during the marriage by either spouse belongs to both, may not

be applied to award a divorced spouse an interest in the other spouse’s

pension benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act, because the act

precludes subjecting benefits to any legal process to deprive recipients.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, White, Marshall, Powell, Stevens,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Rehnquist

161. Miller v. Youakim, 440 U.S. 125 (1979).

An Illinois law differentiating between children who reside in foster homes with relatives and those who do not reside with relatives

and giving the latter greater benefits than the former conflicts with

federal law, which requires the same benefits be provided regardless

of whether the foster home is operated by a relative.

162. Arizona Pub. Serv. Co. v. Snead, 441 U.S. 141 (1979).

Arizona’s imposition of tax upon electricity produced in state and

sold outside the state, which is not offset against other taxes as is the

case with electricity sold within state, violates a federal statute prohibiting any state from taxing the generation or transmission of electricity in a manner that discriminates against out-of-state consumers, and

thus is unenforceable.

2570 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
163. California Retail Liquor Dealers Ass’n v. Midcal Aluminum, 445 U.S.

97 (1980).

A California statute requiring all wine producers and wholesalers

to file fair trade contracts or price schedules with the state and to follow the price lists is a resale price maintenance scheme that violates

the Sherman Act.

164. Ventura County v. Gulf Oil Corp., 445 U.S. 947 (1980).

Ventura County, California zoning ordinances governing oil exploration and extraction activities cannot be applied to a company which

holds a lease from the United States Government because federal law

preempts the field.

165. Washington v. Confederated Colville Tribes,447 U.S. 134 (1980).

Imposition of a Washington State motor vehicle excise tax and mobile home, camper, and trailer taxes on vehicles owned by the Tribe or

its members and used both on and off the reservation violates federal

law and cannot stand under the Supremacy Clause.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Rehnquist

166. White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136 (1980).

Imposition of Arizona’s motor carrier license tax and use fuel tax

on a non-Indian enterprise authorized to do business in Arizona but

operating entirely on reservation conflicts with federal law and cannot

stand under the Supremacy Clause.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Stewart, Rehnquist

167. Central Machinery Co. v. Arizona Tax Comm’n, 448 U.S. 160 (1980).

Arizona’s imposition of tax upon on-reservation sale of farm machinery to Indian tribe by non-Indian, off-reservation enterprise conflicts with federal law and is invalid under the Supremacy Clause.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stewart, Powell, Rehnquist, Stevens

168. Chicago & N.W. Transp. Co. v. Kalo Brick & Tile Co., 450 U.S. 311 (1981).

An Iowa statute subjecting to damages a common carrier who abandons service and thereby injures shippers is preempted by the Interstate Commerce Act, which empowers the ICC to approve cessation of

service on branch lines upon carrier petitions.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2571
169. Alessi v. Raybestos-Manhattan, Inc., 451 U.S. 504 (1981).

A New Jersey workmen’s compensation provision denying employers the right to reduce retiree’s pension benefits by the amount of a

compensation award under the act is preempted by federal pension regulation law.

170. Maryland v. Louisiana, 451 U.S. 725 (1981).

Louisiana’s “first-use tax” statute which, because of exceptions and

credits, imposes a tax only on natural gas moving out-of-state, impermissibly discriminates against interstate commerce, and another provision that required pipeline companies to allocate cost of the tax to

the ultimate consumer is preempted by federal law.

171. McCarty v. McCarty, 453 U.S. 210 (1981).

California community property statute, to the extent it treated retired pay of Army officers as property divisible between spouses on divorce, is preempted by federal law.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, White, Marshall, Powell, Stevens, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Brennan, Stewart

172. Agsalud v. Standard Oil Co., 454 U.S. 801 (1981).

A court of appeals decision holding preempted by federal pension

law Hawaii law requiring employers to provide their employees with

a comprehensive prepaid health care plan is summarily affirmed.

173. Blum v. Bacon, 457 U.S. 132 (1982).

A provision of New York’s emergency assistance program precluding assistance to persons receiving AFDC to replace a lost or stolen

AFDC grant is contrary to valid federal regulations proscribing inequitable treatment under the emergency assistance program.

174. Fidelity Fed. Savings & Loan Ass’n v. de la Cuesta,458 U.S. 141 (1982).

California’s prohibition on unreasonable restraints on alienation,

construed to prohibit “due-on-sale” clauses in mortgage contracts, is

preempted by Federal Home Loan Bank Board regulations permitting

federal savings and loan associations to include such clauses in their

contracts.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, White, Marshall, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stevens

175. Ramah Navajo School Bd. v. Bureau of Revenue, 458 U.S. 832 (1982).

A New Mexico tax imposed on the gross receipts that a nonIndian construction company received from a tribal school board for

construction of a school for Indian children on reservation is preempted by federal law.

2572 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, Blackmun, Powell, O’Connor, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, White, Stevens

176. Memphis Bank & Trust Co. v. Garner, 459 U.S. 392 (1983).

A Tennessee tax on the net earnings of banks, applied to interest

earned on obligations of the United States, is void as conflicting with

31 U.S.C. § 3124.

177. Busbee v. Georgia, 459 U.S. 1166 (1983).

A federal district court decision that Georgia’s congressional redistricting plan is invalid as having a racially discriminatory purpose in

conflict with the Voting Rights Act is summarily affirmed.

178. Pennsylvania Public Utility Comm’n v. CONRAIL, 461 U.S. 912 (1983).

A federal district court decision holding that federal statutes (the

Federal Railroad Safety Act and the locomotive boiler inspection laws)

preempt a Pennsylvania law requiring locomotives to maintain speed

records and indicators, summarily affirmed by an appeals court, is summarily affirmed.

179. Exxon Corp. v. Eagerton, 462 U.S. 176 (1983).

Prohibition on pass-through to consumers of an increase in Alabama’s oil and gas severance tax is invalid as conflicting with the Natural Gas Act to the extent that it applies to sales of gas in interstate

commerce.

180. Philco Aviation v. Shacket, 462 U.S. 406 (1983).

An Illinois statute recognizing the validity of an unrecorded, oral

sale of an aircraft is preempted by the Federal Aviation Act’s provision that unrecorded “instruments” of transfer are invalid.

181. Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, 463 U.S. 85 (1983).

The New York Human Rights Law is preempted by ERISA to the

extent that it prohibits practices that are lawful under the federal law.

182. American Bank & Trust Co. v. Dallas County, 463 U.S. 855 (1983).

A Texas property tax on bank shares, computed on the basis of a

bank’s net assets without any deduction for the value of United States

obligations held by the bank, is invalid as conflicting with Rev. Stat.

§ 3701 (31 U.S.C. § 3124).

Justices concurring: Blackmun, Brennan, White, Marshall, Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stevens

183. Arcudi v. Stone & Webster Engineering, 463 U.S. 1220 (1983).

An appeals court holding that a Connecticut statute requiring employers to provide health and life insurance to former employees is preSTATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2573
empted by ERISA as related to an employee benefit plan, is summarily affirmed.

184. Aloha Airlines v. Director of Taxation, 464 U.S. 7 (1983).

A Hawaii “property tax” on the gross income of airlines operating

within the state is preempted by a federal prohibition on state taxes

on carriage of air passengers “or on the gross receipts derived therefrom.”

185. Southland Corp. v. Keating, 465 U.S. 1 (1984).

California’s franchise law, requiring judicial resolution of certain

claims, is preempted by the United States Arbitration Act, which precludes judicial resolution in state or federal courts of claims that contracting parties agree to submit to arbitration.

Justices concurring: Burger, C.J., Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell

Justice concurring in part and dissenting in part: Stevens

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Rehnquist

186. Texas v. KVUE–TV, 465 U.S. 1092 (1984).

An appeals court holding that a Texas statute regulating the broadcast of political advertisements is preempted by the Federal Election

Campaign Act of 1971 to the extent that it imposes sponsorship identification requirements on advertising for candidates for federal office,

and to the extent that it conflicts with federal regulation of political

advertising rates, is summarily affirmed.

187. Michigan Canners Ass’n v. Agricultural Marketing Bd.,467 U.S. 461 (1984).

A Michigan statute making agricultural producers’ associations the

exclusive bargaining agents and requiring payment of service fees by

non-member producers is preempted as conflicting with federal policy

of the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967, protecting the right of

farmers to join or not join such associations.

188. Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp,467 U.S. 691 (1984).

The Oklahoma Constitution’s general ban on advertising of alcoholic beverages, as applied to out-of-state cable television signals carried by in-state operators, is preempted by federal regulations implementing the Communications Act.

189. Lawrence County v. Lead-Deadwood School Dist., 469 U.S. 256 (1985).

A South Dakota statute requiring local governments to distribute

federal payments in lieu of taxes in the same manner that they distribute general tax revenues conflicts with the Payment in Lieu of Taxes

Act, which provides that the recipient local government may use the

payment for any governmental purpose.

2574 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, O’Connor,

Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Stevens

190. Gerace v. Grocery Mfrs. of America, 474 U.S. 801 (1985).

An appeals court decision holding that federal laws (the Food, Drug,

and Cosmetic Act; the Meat Inspection Act; and the Poultry Products

Act) preempt a New York requirement that cheese alternatives be labeled “imitation” is summarily affirmed.

191. Wisconsin Dep’t of Industry v. Gould, Inc., 475 U.S. 282 (1986).

A Wisconsin statute debarring from doing business with the state

persons or firms guilty of repeat violations of the National Labor Relations Act is preempted by that Act.

192. Exxon Corp. v. Hunt, 475 U.S. 355 (1986).

A New Jersey statute creating an oil spill compensation fund is

preempted by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to the extent that the state fund is used to

finance cleanup activities at sites listed in the National Contingency

Plan.

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Rehnquist, O’Connor,

Burger, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Stevens

193. Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering, 476 U.S. 877 (1986).

A North Dakota statute disclaiming jurisdiction over actions brought

by tribal Indians suing non-Indians in state courts over claims arising

in Indian country is preempted by federal Indian law (Pub. L. 280).

Justices concurring: O’Connor, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Rehnquist, Brennan, Stevens

194. Offshore Logistics, Inc. v. Tallentire,477 U.S. 207 (1986).

Louisiana’s wrongful death statute is preempted by the Death on

the High Seas Act as applied to a helicopter crash 35 miles off shore.

Justices concurring: O’Connor, White, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Burger, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Powell, Brennan, Marshall, Stevens

195. Roberts v. Burlington Industries, 477 U.S. 901 (1986).

An appeals court holding that New York severance pay requirements were preempted by ERISA is summarily affirmed.

196. Brooks v. Burlington Industries, 477 U.S. 901 (1986).

An appeals court holding that North Carolina severance pay requirements were preempted by ERISA is summarily affirmed.

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2575
197. Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986).

North Carolina’s legislative redistricting plan, creating multimember districts having the effect of impairing the opportunity of black

voters to participate in the political process, is invalid under § 2 of the

Voting Rights Act.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

Justices concurring specially: O’Connor, Powell, Rehnquist, Burger.

Justices concurring in part and dissenting in part: Stevens, Marshall, Blackmun.

198. Rose v. Arkansas State Police, 479 U.S. 1 (1986).

A provision of Arkansas’ workers’ compensation act requiring that

death benefits be reduced by the amount of any federal benefits paid

is preempted by a federal requirement that federal benefits be “in addition to any other benefit due”; a contrary ruling by an Arizona appeals court is summarily reversed.

199. 324 Liquor Corp. v. Duffy, 479 U.S. 335 (1987).

A section of New York’s alcoholic beverage control law establishing retail price maintenance violates section 1 of the Sherman Act, and

is not saved by the Twenty-First Amendment.

Justices concurring: Powell, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Scalia

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

200. California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202 (1987).

A California statute governing the operation of bingo games is preempted as applied to Indian tribes conducting on-reservation games.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia

201. California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202 (1987).

A Riverside County, California ordinance regulating the operation

of bingo and various card games is preempted as applied to Indian

tribes conducting on-reservation games.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia

202. Perry v. Thomas, 482 U.S. 483 (1987).

The Federal Arbitration Act preempts a section of California Labor Code providing that actions for collection of wages may be maintained “without regard to the existence of any private agreement to

arbitrate.”

Justices concurring: Marshall, Brennan, White, Blackmun, Powell, Scalia,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Stevens, O’Connor

2576 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
203. Montana v. Crow Tribe of Indians, 484 U.S. 997 (1988).

A federal appeals court decision that Montana’s coal severance and

gross proceeds taxes, as applied to Indian-owned coal produced by nonIndians, are preempted by federal Indian policies underlying the Mineral Leasing Act of 1938, is summarily affirmed.

204. Schneidewind v. ANR Pipeline Co., 485 U.S. 293 (1988).

A Michigan statute requiring approval of the Michigan Public Service Commission before a natural gas company may issue long-term

securities is preempted as applied to companies subject to FERC regulation under the Natural Gas Act.

205. Bennett v. Arkansas, 485 U.S. 395 (1988).

An Arkansas statute authorizing seizure of prisoners’ property in

order to defray costs of incarceration is invalid as applied to Social

Security benefits, exempted from legal process by 42 U.S.C. § 407(a).

206. Mackey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc., 486 U.S. 825 (1988).

A Georgia statute barring garnishment of funds or benefits of employee benefit plans subject to ERISA is preempted by ERISA § 514(a)

as a state law that “relates to” covered plans.

Justices concurring: White, Brennan, Marshall, Stevens, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Kennedy, Blackmun, O’Connor, Scalia

207. Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988).

Wisconsin’s notice-of-claim statute, requiring that persons suing

state or local governments or officials in state court must give notice

and then refrain from filing suit for an additional period, is preempted as applied to civil rights actions brought in state court under

42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Justices concurring: Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

208. Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., 487 U.S. 500 (1988).

Virginia tort law governing product design defects is preempted

by federal common law as applied to suits against government contractors for damages resulting from design defects in military equipment

if the equipment conformed to reasonably precise specifications and if

the contractor warned the government of known dangers.

Justices concurring: Scalia, White, O’Connor, Kennedy, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2577
209. Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc., 489 U.S. 141 (1989).

A Florida statute prohibiting the use of the direct molding process to duplicate unpatented boat hulls, and creating a cause of action

in favor of the original manufacturer, is preempted by federal patent

law as conflicting with the balance Congress has struck between patent protection and free trade in industrial design.

210. Davis v. Michigan Dep’t of Treasury, 489 U.S. 803 (1989).

Michigan’s income tax law, by providing exemption for retirement

benefits of state employees but not for retirement benefits of Federal

employees, discriminates against federal employees in violation of 4

U.S.C. § 111 and in violation of the constitutional doctrine of intergovernmental tax immunity.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, O’Connor,

Scalia, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Stevens

211. FMC Corp. v. Holliday, 498 U.S. 52 (1990).

A provision of Pennsylvania’s motor vehicle financial responsibility law prohibiting subrogation and reimbursement from a claimant’s

tort recovery for benefits received from a self-insured health care plan

is preempted by ERISA as “relat[ing] to [an] employee benefit plan.”

Justices concurring: O’Connor, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Scalia, Kennedy,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Stevens

212. Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. McClendon, 498 U.S. 133 (1990).

A Texas common law claim that an employee was wrongfully discharged to prevent his attainment of benefits under a plan covered by

ERISA is preempted as a “State law” that “relates to” a covered benefit plan. The state cause of action also “conflicts directly” with an exclusive ERISA cause of action.

213. County of Yakima v. Yakima Indian Nation, 502 U.S. 251 (1992).

The County of Yakima, Washington’s excise tax on sales of allotted Indian land does not constitute permissible “taxation of land” within

the meaning of § 6 of the General Allotment Act, and is invalid.

214. Barker v. Kansas, 503 U.S. 594 (1992).

A Kansas tax on military retirement benefits is inconsistent with

4 U.S.C. § 111, which allows states to tax federal employees’ compensation if the tax does not discriminate “because of the source” of the

compensation. No similar tax is applied to state and local government

retirees, and there are no significant differences between the two classes

of taxpayers that justify the different tax treatment.

2578 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
215. Gade v. National Solid Wastes Mgmt. Ass’n, 505 U.S. 88 (1992).

Illinois’ “dual impact” laws designed to protect both employees and

the general public by requiring training and licensing of hazardous waste

equipment operators are preempted by § 18(b) of the Occupational Safety

and Health Act, 29 U.S.C. § 667(b), which requires states to obtain federal approval before enforcing occupational safety and health standards relating to issues governed by federal standards.

216. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504 (1992).

Two claims, based on New Jersey law and brought against cigarette companies for damages for lung cancer allegedly resulting from

smoking, are preempted under the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act: failure-to-warn claims requiring a showing that the tobacco companies’ post-1969 advertising should have included additional warnings, and fraudulent misrepresentation claims predicated

on state law restrictions on advertising.

217. Oklahoma Tax Comm’n v. Sac & Fox Nation, 508 U.S. 114 (1993).

Oklahoma may not impose income taxes or motor vehicle taxes

on members of the Sac and Fox Nation who live in “Indian country,” whether the land is within reservation boundaries, on allotted

lands, or in dependent communities. Such tax jurisdiction is considered to be preempted unless Congress has expressly provided to the

contrary.

218. Department of Treasury v. Fabe, 508 U.S. 491 (1993).

An Ohio statute setting priority of claims against insolvent insurance companies is preempted by the federal priority statute, 31 U.S.C.

§ 3713, which accords first priority to the United States, to the extent

that the Ohio law protects the claims of creditors who are not policyholders. Insofar as it protects the claims of policyholders, the law is

saved from preemption by section 2(b) of the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

Justices concurring: Blackmun, White, Stevens, O’Connor, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Kennedy, Scalia, Souter, Thomas

219. American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens, 513 U.S. 219 (1995).

The Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, to the extent that it authorizes

actions in state court challenging as “unfair or deceptive” marketing

practices an airline company’s changes in its frequent flyer program,

is preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act, which prohibits states

from “enact[ing] or enforc[ing] any law . . . relating to [air carrier] rates,

routes, or services.”

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices concurring specially: O’Connor, Thomas

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2579
Justice dissenting: Stevens

220. Oklahoma Tax Comm’n v. Chickasaw Nation, 515 U.S. 450 (1995).

Oklahoma may not impose its motor fuels excise tax upon fuel sold

by Chickasaw Nation retail stores on tribal trust land. The legal incidence of the motor fuels tax falls on the retailer, located within Indian country, and the petitioner did not properly raise the issue of whether

Congress had authorized such taxation in the Hayden-Cartwright Act.

221. Barnett Bank of Marion County v. Nelson, 517 U.S. 25 (1996).

A federal law empowering national banks in small towns to sell

insurance (12 U.S.C. § 92) preempts a Florida law prohibiting banks

from dealing in insurance. The federal law contains no explicit statement of preemption, but preemption is implicit because the state law

stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment of one of the federal law’s

purposes.

222. Doctor’s Associates, Inc. v. Casarotto, 517 U.S. 681 (1996).

A Montana law declaring an arbitration clause unenforceable unless notice that the contract is subject to arbitration appears in underlined capital letters on the first page of the contract is preempted by

the Federal Arbitration Act.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Stevens, O’Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justice dissenting: Thomas

223. Foster v. Love, 522 U.S. 67 (1997).

A Louisiana statute that provides for an “open primary” in October for election of Members of Congress and that provides that any

candidate receiving a majority of the vote in that primary “is elected,”

conflicts with the federal law, 2 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 7, that provides for a

uniform federal election day in November, and is void to the extent of

conflict. “[A] contested selection of candidates for a congressional office that is concluded as a matter of law before the federal election

day . . . clearly violates § 7.”

224. United States v. Locke, 529 U.S. 89 (2000).

Four Washington State regulations governing oil tanker operations and manning are preempted. Primarily through Title II of the

Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972, Congress has occupied the

field of regulation of general seaworthiness of tankers and their crews,

and there is no room for these state regulations imposing training and

English language proficiency requirements on crews and imposing staffing requirements for navigation watch. State reporting requirements

applicable to certain marine incidents are also preempted.

2580 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
225. Beneficial Nat’l Bank v. Anderson, 539 U.S. 1 (2003).

Alabama’s usury statute is preempted by sections 85 and 86 of

the National Bank Act as applied to interest rates charged by national banks.

Justices concurring: Stevens, O’Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer,

Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Scalia, Thomas

226. American Ins. Ass’n v. Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396 (2003).

California’s Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act, which requires

any insurance company doing business in the state to disclose information about policies that it or “related” companies sold in Europe between 1920 and 1945, is preempted as interfering with the Federal

Government’s conduct of foreign relations.

Justices concurring: Souter, O’Connor, Kennedy, Breyer, Rehnquist, C.J.

Justices dissenting: Ginsburg, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas

227. Aetna Health, Inc. v. Davila, 542 U.S. 200 (2004).

Suits brought in state court alleging that HMOs violated their duty

under the Texas Health Care Liability Act “to exercise ordinary care

when making health care treatment decisions” are preempted by ERISA

§ 502(a), which authorizes suit “to recover benefits due [a participant]

under the terms of his plan.”

228. Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005).

California law allowing use of marijuana for medical purposes is

preempted by the Controlled Substances Act’s categorical prohibition

of the manufacture and possession of marijuana.

Justices concurring: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: O’Connor, Thomas, Rehnquist, C.J.

229. Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services v. Ahlborn, 547

U.S. 268 (2006).

Arkansas statute that imposes lien on tort settlements in an amount

equal to Medicaid costs, even when Medicaid costs exceed the portion

of the settlement that represents medical costs, is preempted by the

Federal Medicaid law insofar as the Arkansas statute applies to amounts

other than medical costs.

230. League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, 548 U.S. 399 (2006).

Part III of the opinion found a Texas redistricting statute to violate the federal Voting Rights Act because it diluted the voting power

of Latinos.

Justices concurring in Part III: Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, Ginsberg, Breyer

Justices dissenting from Part III: Roberts, C.J., Alito, Scalia, Thomas

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2581
231. Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A., 550 U.S. 1 (2007).

A national bank’s state-chartered subsidiary real estate lending business is subject to federal, not state, law.

Justices concurring: Ginsburg, Alito, Breyer, Kennedy, Souter

Justices dissenting: Stevens, Roberts, C.J., Scalia

232. Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 128 S. Ct. 999 (2008).

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act bars common-law claims

challenging the safety and effectiveness of medical devices that have

been given premarket approval by the FDA.

Justices concurring: Scalia, Roberts, C.J., Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Breyer,

Alito, Stevens

Justice dissenting: Ginsburg

233. Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association, 128 S. Ct. 989 (2008).

The federal Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which prohibits states from

enacting any law related to a motor carrier price, route, or service,

preempts two provisions of a Maine statute that regulate the delivery

of tobacco to customers within the state.

234. Haywood v. Drown, 556 U.S. ___, No. 07–10374, slip op. (2009).

New York statute that gave the state’s supreme courts—its trial

courts of general jurisdiction—jurisdiction over suits brought under 42

U.S.C. § 1983, except in the case of suits seeking money damages from

corrections officers, was preempted because it was “contrary to Congress’s judgment that all persons who violate federal rights while acting under color of state law shall be held liable for damages.”

Justices concurring: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer

Justices dissenting: Thomas, Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Alito

235. PLIVA Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U.S. ___, No. 09–993 (2011).

Louisiana statute which provides for liability where a manufacturer has a duty to warn of a products is preempted by federal labeling requirements, despite the fact that the manufacturer of a generic

drug could have sought assistance from the Food and Drug Administration to convince manufacturers of the brand-name equivalent drug

to change their labeling, allowing the generic manufacturer to follow

suit.

Justices concurring: Thomas, Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Alito

Justice concurring in all but Part III–B–2: Kennedy

Justices dissenting: Sotomayor, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan

236. National Meat Ass’n v. Harris, 565 U.S. ___, No. 10–224, slip op. (2012).

California state statute dictating what slaughterhouses must do

with pigs that cannot walk preempted by provision of the Federal Meat

2582 STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED
Inspection Act (FMIA) expressly preempting state requirements that

are in addition to, or different than, those made under the FMIA, where

FMIA is more permissive.

237. Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp., 565 U.S. ___, No. 10–879,

slip op. (2012).

Pennsylvania state-law tort claim by the estate of maintenance engineer alleging defective design of locomotive components and failure to

warn of attendant dangers held preempted by the Locomotive Inspection Act, where purpose of the Act was found to be regulation of locomotive equipment generally and not limited to regulation of activities of locomotive operators or use of locomotives while engaged in transportation.

Justices concurring: Thomas, Roberts, C.J., Scalia, Kennedy, Alito, Kagan

Justices dissenting in part: Sotomayor, Ginsburg, Breyer

238. Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. ___, No. 11–182, slip op. (2012).

Arizona state penalties for violating federal alien registration requirements held preempted by federal law that occupied the field; state

sanctions against unauthorized aliens seeking employment or working held preempted by comprehensive system of federal employer sanctions that eschewed employee sanctions; state authority for police arrests of individuals believed to be deportable on criminal grounds held

preempted as upsetting careful policy balance struck by Congress; state

policy of checking immigration status of individuals stopped by police

during ordinary course of state law enforcement activities held not to

be preempted on its face because federal law contemplated and facilitated status checks.

Justices concurring: Kennedy, Roberts, C.J., Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor

Justices dissenting in part: Scalia, Thomas, Alito

STATE AND LOCAL LAWS HELD PREEMPTED 2583