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Chisholm v. Georgia

 

 
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Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1793), is considered by many to be the first United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 case of great significance and impact. Because of its early date, there is little legal precedent (particularly in American law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
) available.

792 in South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, Alexander Chisholm, the executor of the estate of Robert Farquhar, attempted to sue the state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 in the Supreme Court over payments due him for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
.






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Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1793), is considered by many to be the first United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 case of great significance and impact. Because of its early date, there is little legal precedent (particularly in American law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
) available.

Background of the case

In 1792 in South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, Alexander Chisholm, the executor of the estate of Robert Farquhar, attempted to sue the state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 in the Supreme Court over payments due him for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , also known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Thirteen Colonies on the North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers....
. United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the government of the United States....
 Edmund Randolph
Edmund Randolph

Edmund Jenings Randolph was an United States lawyer, Governor of Virginia, United States Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General....
  argued the case for the plaintiff
Plaintiff

A plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy, and if successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the plaintiff and make the appropriate court order ....
 before the Court. The defendant, Georgia, refused to appear, claiming that as a "sovereign
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
" 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, in a 4–1 decision, found in favor of the plaintiff, with Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal courts and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States....
 John Jay
John Jay

John Jay was an United States politician, statesman, Patriot , diplomat, a Founding Fathers of the United States, President of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779 and, from 1789 to 1795, the first Chief Justice of the United States....
 concurring with Justices Blair
John Blair

John Blair, Jr. was an Politics of the United States, Founding Fathers of the United States, and Patriot .John Blair was one of the best-trained jurists of his day....
, Wilson
James Wilson

James Wilson , was a Scotland lawyer, most notable as a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He was twice elected to the Continental Congress, a major force in the drafting of the United States Constitution, a leading legal theoretician and one of the six original justices appointed by George Washington to the Supreme Cour...
, and Cushing
William Cushing

William Cushing was an early associate justice of the United States United States Supreme Court, from its inception to his death. He was the longest-serving of the Court's original members, sitting on the bench for 21 years....
, and Justice Iredell
James Iredell

James Iredell was one of the original Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by U.S....
 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.) The Court argued that Article 3, Section 2, of the Constitution abrogated the States' sovereign immunity and granted federal courts the affirmative power to hear disputes between private citizens and States.

Subsequent developments

In 1795, largely as a result of Chisholm, the Eleventh Amendment
Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by the United States Congress on March 4, 1794 and was ratified on February 7, 1795....
 was ratified, which removed federal 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
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Amendments that was first intended to secure the rights of former Slavery in the United States....
 remedial powers, abrogates the states' immunity from suit. See, e.g., Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer
Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer

Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, Case citation , was a Supreme Court of the United States decision that determined that the United States Congress has the power to abrogation doctrine the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution sovereign immunity of the U.S....
, 427 U.S. 445
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1976).

See also

  • List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 2
    List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 2

    This is a list of all the Supreme Court of the United States and other cases from volume 2 of the United States Reports. Note that Dallas's reports covered both federal and state courts of all levels in Philadelphia....


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