Postal Tel Cable Co v. City Council of Charleston’s Empirical Analysis
153 U.S. 692 · 1894
Citation profile
13 federal appellate · 8 district · 45 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 120 later decisions (32 by the Supreme Court) — most recently July 1958 · most notably Rast v. Van Deman & Lewis Co. (1916), Sprout v. City of South Bend (1928)
13 federal appellate · 8 district · 45 state decisions — followed in 16 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Leloup v. Port of Mobile · Case of the State Freight Tax Reading Railroad Company v. Pennsylvania · Telegraph Company v. Texas · License Tax Cases · Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Attorney General of Commonwealth
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 120 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““That principle is, in regard to telegraph companies which have accepted the provisions of the act of congress of July 24, 1866, sections 5263 to 5268 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, that they shall not be taxed by the authorities of a state for any messages, or receipts arising from messages, from points within the state to points without or from points without the state to points within, but that such taxes may be levied upon all messages carried and delivered exclusively within the state. The foundation of this principle is that messages of the former class are elements of commerce between the states and not subject to legislative control- of the states, while the latter class are elements of internal commerce solely within the limits and jurisdiction of the state, and therefore subject to its taxing power. (Page 473.)”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““It is further contended that the ruling of the cited cases does not cover the case of a telegraph company which has constructed its lines along the post-roads in the city of Charleston, and elsewhere, and which is exercising its functions under the act of congress as an agency of the government of the United States. It is obvious that the advantages or privileges that are conferred upon the company by the act of July 24, 1866 (Rev. Stat. §§ 5263-5268), are in the'line of authority to construct and maintain its lines as a means or instrument, of interstate commerce.” (Page 700.)”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“"This is a hardship, if such exists, that is not within our province to redress. If business done wholly within the state is within the taxing power of the state, the courts of the United States cannot review or correct the action of the state in the exercise of that power.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.