Murray v. Pocatello, 226 U.S. 318 (1912)
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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.
Murray v. Pocatello, 226 U.S. 318 (1912)
Murray v. Pocatello No. 575 Argued December 3, 4, 1912 Decided December 16, 1912 226 U.S. 318
ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT
OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Syllabus
This Court is not prepared on the facts in this case to overrule the highest court of a state in construing the relative powers of the legislature and municipalities in establishing rates for water.
The Supreme Court of Idaho having held that, under the constitution of the state, the legislature has a continuing and irrevocable power to establish the manner of fixing water rates, and that a municipality can only grant franchises subject to that power, this Court follows that construction, and therefore held that:
A statute of the State of Idaho establishing a method for fixing water rates is not unconstitutional under the federal Constitution as impairing the obligation of the contract with a water company under an ordinance of a municipality previously enacted and which established a different method of fixing such rates.
A court which is not empowered to grant relief whatever the merits may be cannot decide what the merits are, and a judgment sustaining a demurrer to and dismissing the bill on the ground of such lack of power is not res judicata on the merits.
Where the judgment cannot be res judicata on the merits because the court has no power to grant relief, it is not made res judicata by reference to the opinion in which the court expresses its views on the merits.
21 Idaho 180 affirmed.
The facts, which involve the constitutionality under the contract clause of the federal Constitution of a statute of Idaho, are stated in the opinion.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Murray v. Pocatello, 226 U.S. 318 (1912) in 226 U.S. 318 226 U.S. 322. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=VBX1Q3REX26HNET.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Murray v. Pocatello, 226 U.S. 318 (1912), in 226 U.S. 318, page 226 U.S. 322. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=VBX1Q3REX26HNET.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Murray v. Pocatello, 226 U.S. 318 (1912). cited in 1912, 226 U.S. 318, pp.226 U.S. 322. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=VBX1Q3REX26HNET.
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