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Cohens v. Virginia

 

 
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Cohens v. Virginia
 
 
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Cohens v. Virginia, , was a 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...
 decision most noted for John Marshall
John Marshall

John Marshall was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. Marshall was Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835....
 and the Court's assertion of its power to review state supreme court decisions in criminal law
Criminal law

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply....
 matters when they claim their Constitutional rights have been violated. The Court had previously asserted a similar jurisdiction over civil cases in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee

Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, , was a landmark Supreme Court of the United States case decided on March 20, 1816. It was the first case to assert ultimate Supreme Court authority over state courts in matters of federal law....
, . An act of the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 authorized the operation of a lottery
Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. Some governments outlaw it, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national lottery....
 in the District of Columbia.






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Cohens v. Virginia, , was a 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...
 decision most noted for John Marshall
John Marshall

John Marshall was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. Marshall was Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835....
 and the Court's assertion of its power to review state supreme court decisions in criminal law
Criminal law

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply....
 matters when they claim their Constitutional rights have been violated. The Court had previously asserted a similar jurisdiction over civil cases in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee

Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, , was a landmark Supreme Court of the United States case decided on March 20, 1816. It was the first case to assert ultimate Supreme Court authority over state courts in matters of federal law....
, . An act of the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 authorized the operation of a lottery
Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. Some governments outlaw it, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national lottery....
 in the District of Columbia. The Cohen brothers proceeded to sell D.C. lottery
D.C. Lottery

This article deals with the lottery for the Washington, D.C.. For the lottery in Washington state, see: Washington's Lottery.The D.C. Lottery is run by the city of Washington, the capital of the United States....
 tickets in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
, violating state law. State authorities tried and convicted the Cohens, and then declared themselves to be the final arbiters of disputes between the states and the national government. They were fined $100. In this case, the Cohens were prosecuted successfully by the state of Virginia for selling lottery tickets from the District of Columbia in Virginia, thereby violating Virginia state law. The Supreme Court upheld their convictions. The larger issue the court dealt with in making their decision was that of reviewing state court cases. The Supreme Court claimed full appellate jurisdiction over any case tried before a United States Court. Virginia, however, decided that this was unacceptable and declared the decision the Supreme Court made null and void, even though it had upheld the previous conviction, because Virginia felt the ruling limited states' rights
States' rights

States' rights refers to the idea, in politics of the United States and United States constitutional law, that U.S. states possess certain rights and political powers in relation to the federal government of the United States....
.

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