''Crandall v. Nevada'', 73 U.S. (6 Wall.) 35 (1868), was a
landmark decision
Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...
of the
US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
that affirmed that a
state cannot inhibit people from leaving the state by taxing them.
The decision was written by Justice Miller. Chief Justice Chase and Justice Clifford concurred.
Background
In 1867, a
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
statute imposed a $1 tax on every person leaving the state by
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
,
stage coach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
, or other vehicles engaged or employed in the business of transporting passengers for hire.
Questions raised
*Does the tax violate Article I, section 10, which prohibits state "Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports?"
*Is the tax allowed?
Majority opinion
The Court reasoned that the
right to travel
Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...
is a fundamental right. The people of the United States constituting one nation, a State may not impose a tax on a person for the "privilege" of traveling from or for passing through it.
The Court stated that a person traveling is different from the transportation of a good, which prevents imposts or duties on a person. The tax was not a prohibited impost, and precedent from ''
Cooley v. Board of Wardens
''Cooley v. Board of Wardens'', 53 U.S. (12 How.) 299 (1852), was a US Supreme Court case that held that a Pennsylvania law requiring all ships entering or leaving Philadelphia to hire a local pilot did not violate the Commerce Clause of the Cons ...
'' was cited to show that a tax "does not itself institute any regulation of commerce of a national character...."
The Court also used precedent from ''
McCulloch v. Maryland
''McCulloch v. Maryland'', 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (1819), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that defined the scope of the U.S. Congress's legislative power and how it relates to the powers of American state legislatures. The dispute in ...
''
[.] to show it is the very presence of the tax that is
unconstitutional, not how much of a burden it is:
"But if the government has these rights on her own account, the citizen also has correlative rights. He has the right to come to the
seat of the government... this right is in its nature independent of the will of any State over whose soil he must pass in the exercise of it."
Concurring opinions
Chief Justice Chase and Justice Clifford concurred by basing their reasoning on the
Commerce Clause of the Constitution. They claimed that the tax impeded
interstate commerce
The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among ...
.
See also
*
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 73
References
*
*
External links
*
* {{caselaw source
, case = ''Crandall v. Nevada'', {{ussc, name=, link=, 73, 35, 1868, Wall., 6, el=no
, courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/87885/crandall-v-nevada/
, findlaw = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/73/35.html
, googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1583639400005024936
, justia =http://supreme.justia.com/us/73/35/case.html
, loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep073/usrep073035/usrep073035.pdf
, openjurist =https://openjurist.org/73/us/35
1868 in United States case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Chase Court
United States taxation and revenue case law
Legal history of Nevada
1868 in Nevada