Court Opinion

ID: 9421977
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:00:46.889003+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:22:33.515635
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Frankfurter,
dissenting.
In the absence of comprehensive legislation by Congress dealing with the matter, I would go a long way to sustain the power of the United States, as parens patriae, to enjoin a nuisance that seriously obstructs navigation. But that road to judicial relief in this case is, in light of Willamette Iron Bridge Co. v. Hatch, 125 U. S. 1, barred by the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. For the reasons set forth by my Brother Harlan, the structure and history of that Act, reflected by the very particularities of its provisions, make it unavailable for the situation now before the Court.