Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-03-15
The Virginia Cases.


The Virginia eases. involving many
questions OF interest 10 all the States in
the Union, are set for hearing by the
supreme Court Of the United States to-
morrow. Nevertheless, il it be true, as
we have seen It stated. that these cases
are 1t the foot Of the docket for to-
morrow, there is no probability that
they viii be heard for several days.
Tho rule in SHELLEY's case and the
Dartmouth College case, like other
rulings and cases, amounted to new
departure. The court in every such
case ventures, so to speak, upon an
unknown sea. Or perhaps we should
say that in such cases the court is try
ing to sail by compass Of its own con-
struction.
Tho Supreme Court Of the United
States has gone too far in allowing the
eleventh article Of amendments to the
Federal Constitution TO be evaded, set
at naught, and treated with contempt.
Acting upon the judicial fiction that 70
sue States officer because he was a
States officer, and to compel him to do
what he could not be compelled to do
except Is States officer, was not to
sue the State, nor to compel her by
unconstitutional means to do what she
could not have been compelled by con-
stitutionsl means to do. the Supreme
Court has gone entirely too far and
trenched upon the reserved rights of
the States.
Now is the time for new ruling
new departure. The cases from Yir-
ginia present the matter in such light
that the court can hardly fail to see
that the pendulum has swung too far in
the direction Of judicial control over
State action. The plain provision Of
the Federal Constitution is that the judi
cial power Of the United States shall
not be construed to extend to any
suit in Law or equity commenced or
prosecuted against one of'the sUnitcd
States by citizens Of another State, or
by citizens or subjects Of any foreign
State. This language is characterized
by no ambiguity. 1t means just what
it says. II was put into the Constitu-
ton because State had been thus sued,
and was intended for no other purpose
than to forbid such suits thereafter.
We repeat that now is the time to
give effect to the eleventh amendment.
II has too long been treated as if it had
been put into the Constitution as a
piece Of useless verbiage. And if the
decisions Of .BoND and HUGHES, which
are now to come up for review, shall
be affirmed by the Supreme Court of
the United States, the constitutional
provision involved in these cases will
have become dead letter.
II Is to be regretted that the impor-
tant questions involved in these Virginia
cases did not go up to the Supreme
Court from New York, or Pennsylvania,
or Massachusetts,, or Ohio, or Illinois,
or some other northern State. The
Of just decision Of them
would be better; for judges are but
weak men, after all, and there is not
single Judge on the bench Of the Su-
preme Court who can be properly re-
garded as . representative southcrner.
Nevertheless, we look for o decision
which will give new life to the eleventh
amendment.
Moot cases are sometimes submitted
70 the courts in England, and in Massa-
chusetts and Maine aud other States Of
the American Union. The judges dis
like 10 decide such cases because they
are opt in giving their opinion to omit
qualifying words which . real case
would at once suggest, and to use
words which they would be restrained
from using by the peculiarities of
real case. Nevertheless, the judges do
decide these moot cases, but always
with The understanding that they may
change their decision, or at any rate
their reasons for their decision, should
4 cass come before them in which the
facts demanded q different decision or
difbrent reasons for such decision.
The Supreme Court Of the United
States is just nov SO circumstanced
tAst Il will be proper for it to regard
- moot cases al the cases that have
hitherto come before that tribunal to
Which State officers were made parties
because the State could not be sued.
Ard We ere exceedingly hopeful that
NE virginh cases viii result in re-
yiviag the eleventh amendment and re-
storing the dignity Of the several
States.
-- - -
A Good Law.