alien
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 225 U.S. 460 - Low Wah Suey v. Backus · 1912Most cited · 473 citing opinions
one born out of the jurisdiction of the United States, and who has not been naturalized under their Constitution and laws.
How the Supreme Court has restated “alien”
Each Supreme Court definition of “alien,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “alien”
Court decisions citing the 4 opinions that defined “alien” — 631 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 4 definitions, chronological · 1819–1912
- ORIGINAL
For though an alien may take an estate, by the act of the parties, as, by purchase; yet he can never take by the act of the law, as, by descent, for he has no inheritable blood.
cannot take by descent; no inheritable blood
At the time when this law was enacted, the plaintiffs, though aliens, had a complete, though defeasible, title to the land, of which they could not be deprived for the cause of alienage, but by an inquest of office; and no grant of the State could, upon the principles of the common law, be valid, until the title of the State was so established.
inquest of office required before forfeiture
It is perfectly clear that, at common law, her title is invalid, for no person can claim lands by descent through an alien, since he has no inheritable blood.
inheritable blood at common law