Court Opinion

ID: 9421649
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 22:59:12.780081+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:22:31.418647
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Harlan,
whom Mr. Justice Frankfurter and Mr. Justice Burton join,
dissenting.
In my opinion the Court has acted prematurely in striking down this Chicago ordinance as it relates to Transfer. I accept the premise that the railroads have the right to choose whom they please to perform the transfer services, subject only to the City’s right to regulate how transfer vehicles shall be operated. Nevertheless, the validity of the ordinance should not be determined until Transfer has applied to Chicago for a “terminal” license and the local authorities have had an opportunity to act on the application. Not until then will it be known whether the ordinance, as it may be applied to Transfer’s operations, trespasses upon paramount federal concerns. Proper regard for the City’s legitimate interests in enforcing this local enactment entitles Chicago to that opportunity. Cf. Public Utilities Comm’n of California v. United States, 355 U. S. 534, 546 (dissenting opinion).
*90No provision of the Interstate Commerce Act purports to pre-empt Chicago’s power to apply its ordinance to one in the position of Transfer. This is therefore not a case where particular provisions of federal and local legislation conflict in such a way that they cannot logically or practically stand together, cf. Cloverleaf Butter Co. v. Patterson, 315 U. S. 148; First Iowa Hydro-Electric Cooperative v. Federal Power Comm’n, 328 U. S. 152, nor one where there is such overall similarity between federal and state regulation that a congressional purpose to displace state action in its entirety can fairly be deduced. Cf. Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U. S. 52; Pennsylvania v. Nelson, 350 U. S. 497. And because Transfer does not hold a certificate of necessity from the Interstate Commerce Commission, and seemingly cannot get one, see Status of Parmelee Transportation Co., 288 I. C. C. 95, no conflict appears between federal and local regulatory policies respecting those performing transfer services. Cf. Castle v. Hayes Freight Lines, Inc., 348 U. S. 61. The sole question is thus whether the ordinance must be struck down, when applied to Transfer’s operations, as “inconsistent” with the policy of the Interstate Commerce Act to foster efficient interstate transportation.
In determining whether Chicago’s ordinance should now be annulled it must be borne in mind that local authorities are not foreclosed from regulating matters of local concern merely because there may be some incidental, but not burdensome, effect on interstate commerce. At least since Cooley v. Board of Wardens, 12 How. 299, it has been recognized that because regulation of local incidents of interstate transportation is, as a practical matter, beyond the effective reach of Congress, there would frequently be an undesirable absence of needed regulation unless States and municipalities were free to act. See California v. Thompson, 313 U. S. 109; see also H. P. Welch Co. v. New Hampshire, 306 U. S. 79; Eichholz v. *91Public Service Comm’n of Missouri, 306 U. S. 268. So much indeed is recognized by the Court today when it says that Chicago, as part of its “considerable authority” to regulate the operation of transfer vehicles, may exact fees for their use of the city streets and may require them to meet with safety regulations and to be registered with the City. And, of course, the Court’s examples do not exhaust the scope of local regulatory power to insure safe transportation. Nor can I perceive why the City should not be permitted to exercise such power before permitting unlicensed vehicles to travel on its streets. On the other hand, I would agree that Chicago, under the guise of promoting safe and proper transportation, could not validly limit on “economic” grounds those with whom the railroads may contract to carry its interstate passengers through the City. Cf. Buck v. Kuykendall, 267 U. S. 307.
We do not yet know how Chicago will apply the ordinance. If it should grant Transfer a license, that will end the present controversy. If a license is denied, it will then be time enough to determine whether the basis for denial runs afoul of federal transportation policy. It is true that the ordinance gives the City broad authority, but that does not justify the assumption that such authority will be exercised beyond permissible bounds, especially since Chicago has acknowledged that it could not properly withhold a license “solely or even primarily” because existing transfer facilities were adequate or because additional licenses would adversely affect the competitive situation. Only by refraining from passing on the ordinance until Chicago has had a chance to act under it, do we respect the long-standing tradition of this Court not to interfere prematurely with the administration of state and local enactments. See, e. g., Alabama Federation of Labor v. McAdory, 325 U. S. 450; Public Service Comm’n of Utah v. Wycoff Co., 344 U. S. 237. *92Cf. Spector Motor Service, Inc., v. McLaughlin, 323 U. S. 101.
The fact that this course of action would involve some further delay and expense does not, in my judgment, justify by-passing the municipal authorities. Transfer accepted the risk of such a result when it failed to apply for a license in the first instance. And if it is said that this course will expose the transfer operations to hazards in the interval, the answer is that the Federal District Court in Chicago possesses ample authority to prevent any interference with Transfer's activities pending final adjudication of the matters in controversy.
Some years ago, in a situation closely analogous to the one before us, this Court approved the decision of a three-judge District Court declining to entertain a complaint attacking the constitutionality of a Missouri statute which prohibited interstate carriers from using state highways without obtaining a permit from the State, on the ground that the complainant had not applied for such a permit. Columbia Terminals Co. v. Lambert, 30 F. Supp. 28; 309 U. S. 620. I believe that Columbia Terminals provides the guiding principle for the appropriate disposition of premature challenges to the validity of local ordinances. However, in view of the posture of the present litigation, I would follow a somewhat different course here, and would vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case to the District Court. Our mandate should enable the District Court to stay the operation of Chicago’s ordinance and to retain jurisdiction over this case, pending Transfer’s prompt steps to initiate license proceedings before the local authorities and the outcome of such proceedings.