''Arizona v. California'' is a set of

United States 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 o ...

cases, all dealing with disputes over water distribution from the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

between the states of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It also covers the amount of water that the State of Nevada receives from the river as well. When a dispute arises between two states, the case is filed for

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the S ...

with the

. This is one of the very limited circumstances where the Court has original jurisdiction; that is, as a trial court and no lower may hear the case. In all other cases, the Court acts as the highest level

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

in the United States. The cases involved were all named ''Arizona v. California'', and were decided in 1931, 1934, 1936, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1979, 1983, 1984, and 2000. The original decision, , specified the amount of water to which Arizona was entitled under the

Colorado River Compact The Colorado River Compact is a 1922 agreement among the seven southwest U.S. states that fall within the Colorado River drainage basin. The pact governs the allocation of the river's water rights. The agreement, originally proposed by attorn ...

of 1922. Since then, the case has been relitigated several times because of Arizona's claims of California using more water than it is entitled. The court determined that the Secretary of the Interior was not bound by Prior-appropriation water rights in allocating water among the states. * : Arizona argued that the Colorado River Compact was unconstitutional. * : Arizona requested that the Supreme Court: **specify an amount of Colorado River water for Arizona's use **limit the amount allotted to California * : The court specified the amount of water to which each state in the Colorado River Compact was entitled. * : The court adjusted the amounts of water specified in 373 US 546. * : The court adjusted its previous decree. * : The court adjusted the specified amounts of water for all parties to the case. * : The court issued a decree regarding unadjudicated rights of Indian tribes to Colorado River water. * : The court adjusted its previous decree. * : The court adjusted the specified amounts of water for several parties to the case. * : The court approved a consolidated decree. In summary, as long as at least of water is available from the Colorado River, California is allocated ; Nevada, ; and Arizona, the remainder. If more water is available, California is entitled to 50% of the water from the Colorado River, Arizona to 46%, and Nevada to 4%. If less water is available, the Secretary of the Interior must allocate the water according to various formulas (which were the subjects of the court cases) to ensure that each state receives a specified amount, with California receiving an absolute fixed maximum of per year (376 U.S. 342). Some of the adjustments involved rights of the U.S. Government with respect to supplying water to Indian tribes pursuant to

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

s signed by the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

as far back as 1907. The 1962 oral arguments set a modern record for the Supreme Court: 16 hours over four days.

References

External links

* Lawrence Pratt Collection Concerning Arizona v. California and the Colorado River. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona V. California 1931 in United States case law 1934 in United States case law 1936 in United States case law 1963 in United States case law 1964 in United States case law 1968 in United States case law 1979 in United States case law 1983 in United States case law 1984 in United States case law 2000 in United States case law Colorado River Environment of Arizona Environment of California Flagged U.S. Supreme Court articles United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court original jurisdiction cases United States water case law United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court

See also

References

External links