|
|
United States v. District Court for Eagle County, 401 U.S. 520 (1971)
Contents:
Show Summary
Hide Summary
General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
United States v. District Court for Eagle County, 401 U.S. 520 (1971)
United States v. District Court in and for the County of Eagle No. 87 Argued March 2, 1971 Decided March 24, 1971 401 U.S. 520
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF COLORADO
Syllabus
This case arises from the attempted joinder pursuant to 43 U.S.C. § 666 of the United States as a defendant in a proceeding in state court for the adjudication of water rights covering the Eagle River system in Colorado. Under § 666(a),
[c]onsent is given to join the United States as a defendant in any suit (1) for the adjudication of rights to the use of water of a river system or other source, or (2) for the administration of such rights, where it appears that the United States [owns] or is in the process of acquiring water rights by appropriation under State law, by purchase, by exchange, or otherwise. . . .
The United States contended that § 666 applies only to water rights that it had acquired under state law, and does not constitute consent to have adjudicated in a state court the Government’s reserved water rights arising from withdrawals of land from the public domain. Its objection was overruled by the trial court, and the Colorado Supreme Court denied the Government’s motion for a writ of prohibition.
Held: Section 666(a) is an all-inclusive statutory provision that subjects to general adjudication in state proceedings all rights of the United States to water within a particular State’s jurisdiction regardless of how they were acquired. Any conflict between adjudicated rights and reserved rights of the United States, if preserved in the state proceeding, can ultimately be reviewed in this Court. Pp. 522-526.
169 Colo. 555, 458 P.2d 160, affirmed.
MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. MR. JUSTICE HARLAN, though joining in the opinion, filed a concurring statement, post, p. 530.
Contents:
Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," United States v. District Court for Eagle County, 401 U.S. 520 (1971) in 401 U.S. 520 401 U.S. 521. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=7LL7LCETHCW6BQX.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." United States v. District Court for Eagle County, 401 U.S. 520 (1971), in 401 U.S. 520, page 401 U.S. 521. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=7LL7LCETHCW6BQX.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in United States v. District Court for Eagle County, 401 U.S. 520 (1971). cited in 1971, 401 U.S. 520, pp.401 U.S. 521. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=7LL7LCETHCW6BQX.
|