Chisholm v. Georgia

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Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419 (1793)[2 U.S. 419] (Full text of the decision at Findlaw.com), is considered by many to be the first great United States Supreme Court case. Because of its early date, there is little background information (particularly in American law) available for it.

Contents

1 Background of the case
2 The Court's decision
3 Subsequent developments
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Background of the case

In 1792 in South Carolina, Alexander Chisholm, the executor of the estate of Robert Farquhar, attempted to sue the state of Georgia in the Supreme Court over payments due them for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. U.S. Attorney General Edmund Randolph appeared to argue the case for the plaintiff before the Court. Georgia refused to appear, claiming that as a "sovereign," a state did not have to appear in Court to hear a suit against it to which it did not consent.

The Court's decision

The Court, on a 4-1 decision, found in favor of the plaintiff, with Chief Justice of the United States John Jay concurring with Justices Blair, Wilson, and Cushing, with Justice Iredell dissenting. (At the time, there was no one "majority" opinion; the Justices simply delivered their own opinions one by one, in order from the most junior to the most senior.) It cited Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution, which allows Federal courts the power to hear disputes between citizens and states.

Subsequent developments

In 1795, the Eleventh Amendment was ratified, which removed the federal court's jurisdiction in cases where citizens of one state or foreign countries attempt to sue another state. However, citizens of one state or foreign countries can still use the Federal courts if the state consents to be sued or if Congress, pursuant to a valid exercise of Fourteenth Amendment remedial powers, abrogates the states' immunity from suit. See, e.g., Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44 (1996).

References

Jean Edward Smith, John Marshall: Definer Of A Nation, New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1996.
Jean Edward Smith, The Constitution And American Foreign Policy, St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1989.

External links

[Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793)] (full text with links to cited Supreme Court opinions and sections of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, and C.F.R.)