Definitions from Case Law

the officer or agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary and secondary schools.

The principle forbids recognition of the immunity when the burden on the state is so speculative and uncertain that if allowed it would restrict the federal taxing power without af

immunity from non-discriminatory taxation sought by a private person for his property or gains because he is engaged in operations under a government contract or lease cannot be su

While the ultimate authority to determine the validity of legislation under the Fourteenth Amendment is rested in this court, local conditions are of such varying character that wh

Every state possesses exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty over persons and property within its territory. ... The other principle of public law referred to follows from the one

secretary of state." See note following Miss.Code Ann. § 29-3-1 (Supp.1985).

all laws, decisions, rules, regulations, or other State action having the effect of law.

The local laws can never confer jurisdiction on the courts of the United States; they can only furnish rules to ascertain the rights of parties; and thus assist in the administrati

Where a contract which is relied upon arises from a state law or municipal ordinance having the effect of such law, in interpreting for itself such law or ordinance this court will

The state law creates legal interests but the federal statute determines when and how they shall be taxed.

The statute of Mississippi, proprio vigore, is of no force or effect in the courts of the United States, it not being competent for any state legislature to regulate the forms of s

the repugnance or conflict should be direct and positive, so that the two acts could not be reconciled or consistently stand together

They were the laws of [the state] at the time; and, therefore, entered into the contract, and formed a part of it, without any express stipulation to that effect in the deed... the

This Court, in accordance to a steady course of decision for many years, feels it to be an incumbent duty carefully to examine and ascertain if there be a settled construction by t

In the absence of congressional legislation the settled general rule is that, without violating the commerce clause, the states may legislate concerning relative rights and duties

the effect of the commerce clause of the Constitution was not to deprive the state of Pennsylvania of authority to legislate as to those within its jurisdiction concerning the liab

Wherever any lien is given by a state statute for a cause of action cognizable in admiralty, either in rem or in personam, proceedings in rem to enforce such lien are within the ex

a written statement made by said witness and signed or otherwise adopted or approved by him * * *.' Written statements of this kind were taken from all five eyewitnesses by the FBI

State of mind is itself a fact, and may be a material fact, and false and fraudulent representations may be made about it; and persons who make or deal in substances or composition

In the state of war, nation is known to nation only by their armed exterior; each threatening the other with conquest or annihilation. The individuals who compose the belligerent s

in a state of war between two nations, declared by the authority in whom the municipal constitution vests the power of making war, the two nations and all their citizens or subject

The importance of strict adherence to the governing principle that the State must show a direct interest of its own and not merely seek recovery for the benefit of individuals who

Whatever soil below low-water mark is the subject of exclusive propriety and ownership, belongs to the State on whose maritime border, and within whose territory it lies, subject t

The wild animals within its borders are, so far as capable of ownership, owned by the state in its sovereign capacity for the common benefit of all its people. Because of such owne

Except as restrained by its own fundamental law, or by the supreme law of the land, a state possesses all legislative power consistent with a republican form of government; therefo

In the absence of Federal legislation, the states are at liberty, in the exercise of their police power, to establish regulations for securing safety in the physical operation of r

an absolute requirement that a railroad shall furnish a certain number of cars at a specified day, regardless of every other consideration except strikes and other public calamitie

Subject to the restrictions of the Federal Constitution, the state may determine the limits of the jurisdiction of its courts, and the character of the controversies which shall be

all collateral review of a conviction provided by a state,' " 208 F.3d, at 360

This court has repeatedly upheld the power of a state to impose upon a railway company liability to an employee engaged in train service for an injury inflicted through the neglige

It is within the power of the state to enact laws creating and defining crimes against its sovereignty, regulating the procedure in the trial of those who are charged with committi

whenever, under the guise or pretense of a rebilling rate, some merchants are given a low local rate, the commission is justified in making that rate the rate for all. ... when [a

It is not to be doubted that the power to preserve fish and game within its borders is inherent in the sovereignty of the state, subject, of course, to any valid exercise of author

The authority of the states to control by appropriate legislation the rates of fare to be charged by street railway companies and other common carriers wholly within their borders

The power of a state to regulate the use of motor vehicles on its highways has been recently considered by this court and broadly sustained. It extends to nonresidents as well as t

The state may not select either of these departments for arbitrary control. Thus, it would not be contended that the state might require passengers to be carried for nothing, or th

any " kind of State Registration whatsoever that might affect interstate carriers.

On its face the order as applied was an interference with such commerce. It undertook to fix the time allowed for stops in the course of interstate transit. It was a serious interf

any regulation of such subject made by the state, or under its authority, which directly burdens interstate commerce, is a regulation of such commerce, and repugnant to the Constit

But, broad as is the power of regulation, the state does not enjoy the freedom of an owner. The fact that the property is devoted to a public use on certain terms does not justify

A state may regulate the conduct of railways within its borders... Under this power of regulation a state may require carriers to provide reasonable and adequate facilities to serv

the state, if it had seen proper, might have excepted from the operation of the statute cases in which the insured, by his representations when obtaining a policy, perpetrated a fr

The only requirements consistently recognized have been that the regulation not discriminate against or place an embargo on interstate commerce, that it safeguard an obvious state

the state has the power (certainly until Congress legislates upon the subject) with regard to the provision which shall accompany the sale or assignment of rights arising under a p

the authority to provide for the public health, safety, and morals, and we have upheld such a basis for legislation.

In the absence of legislation by Congress, the states are not denied the exercise of their power to secure safety in the physical operation of railroad trains within their territor

any person residing in the United States, the Government of the United States or an agency thereof, or the government of a State or a political subdivision thereof, who asserts a c

the term 'States' as used in 28 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(1) should not be read to include their political subdivisions

all the political communities exercising legislative powers in the country, embracing, not only those political communities which constitute the United States, but also those commu

With the exception named in the Constitution, every state has absolute immunity from suit. Without its consent it cannot be sued in any court, by any person, for any cause of actio

When its action does not conflict with federal legislation, the sovereign authority of the State over the conduct of its citizens upon the high seas is analogous to the sovereign a

if the company has furnished all such proper and reasonable accommodation to the locality as fairly may be demanded ... then any interference with the company (either directly, by

It belongs to the state, as the guardian and trustee for its people, and having control of its affairs, to prescribe the conditions upon which it will permit public work to be done

The state of Virginia had the undoubted right to exclude the Pennsylvania corporation and to forbid its constituting branches within the Virginia boundaries. As it had that right b

As a state has power to refuse permission to a foreign insurance company to do business at all within its confines, and as it has power to withdraw that permission when once given,

From the character of the parties, and the nature of the controversy, we cannot, without committing great injustice, apply to this case the rules as to time, which govern Courts of

a contract made by a foreign corporation with a citizen of another state is not necessarily void because the corporation had not complied with the laws of such other state, imposin

The title which a state holds to land under navigable waters is different in character from that which it holds in land intended for sale and occupation; in the former case it bein

It does not follow that because a state may be sued by the United States without its consent, therefore the United States may be sued by a state without its consent. Public policy

the State may modify or supplement the maritime law by creating liability which a court of admiralty will recognize and enforce when the state action is not hostile to the characte

it was not designed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to prevent a state from changing its system of taxation in all proper and reasonable ways, nor to compel the states to

A state may not tax, burden, or interfere with interstate and foreign commerce or tax as such gross earnings derived therefrom or impose a license fee or other burden upon the occu

A state may tax such part of the income of a non-resident as is fairly attributable either to property located in the state or to events or transactions which, occurring there, are

the excise taxes imposed or the fees required by any state or the District of Columbia upon or based upon the gallon of liquor, and the term gallon shall mean one hundred twenty-ei

The immunity which it implied was sustained only because it was one deemed necessary to protect the states from destruction by the federal taxation of those governmental functions

Such a court is required where the challenged statute or regulation, albeit created or authorized by a state legislature, has statewide application or effectuates a statewide polic

Due to the limitation of the Assimilative Crimes Act of 1825 to state laws in force at the time of its own enactment, the Act gradually lost much of its effectiveness in maintainin

a place or position; and it may be said that wherever a man, in pursuance of orders, stays or remains, he is stationed, and that if he is a military man, such place becomes a milit

any building, structure, facility, or installation which emits or may emit any air pollutant.

only such statuary as is cut, carved, or otherwise wrought by hand from a solid block or mass of marble, stone, or alabaster, or from metal, and as is the professional production o

Every state has an undoubted right to determine the status, or domestic and social condition, of the persons domiciled within its territory; except in so far as the powers of the s

The children of a marriage between an Indian woman and a white man usually take the status of the father; but if the wife retains her tribal membership and the children are born in

we deal with a statute which makes the 'status' of narcotic addiction a criminal offense, for which the offender may be prosecuted 'at any time before he reforms.' California has s

conditions 'objectively' in existence when the union's notice was served" stretched the language of the statute "to its outer limits," "ante," at 506.

-or perhaps even (what "Chevron" also excludes from deference) "manifestly contrary to the statute," we will discuss in the next Part of this opinion.

The statute dealt only with a rule of evidence, not with any substantive right. By making the entry of forfeiture upon the official record prima facie, but not conclusive, evidence

The provision of Section 54 relates to such statutes as the Safety Appliance Acts... the Hours of Service Act... and other statutes subjecting carriers in interstate commerce to pa

The meaning of 'statute of any state' is not limited to acts of state Legislatures. It is used to include every act legislative in character to which the state gives sanction, no d

Inasmuch as it concerns an interest in lands, and is in parol, it is void by the Statute of Frauds, and appearing as it does on the face of the bill, the defence of the Statute of

The Court can perceive no distinction between the sale of land to which a man has only an equitable title, and a sale, of land to which he has a legal title. They are equally withi

Only a suit involving 'a statute of general application' and not one affecting a 'particular municipality or district' can invoke Section 266. An official though localized by his g

Such provisions sometimes constitute a part of the definition of a cause of action created by the same or another provision, and operate as a limitation upon liability.

It seems, however, to be a settled rule that all the Plaintiffs in a suit must be competent to sue, otherwise the action cannot be supported . . . When once the statute runs agains

We know of no difference in this particular between a common law and statute right. Each must be pursued according to the general rule of law, unless a different rule be prescribed

It is a well settled principle, that a statute of limitations is the law of the forum, and operates upon all who submit themselves to its jurisdiction.

the point under consideration will be determined by settling what is the nature of a plea of the statute of limitations. Is it a plea that settles the right of a party on a contrac

It is a well settled principle, that the statute of limitations does not run against a state. If a contrary rule were sanctioned, it would only be necessary for intruders upon the

By the general principles of law, the party who seeks to recover, upon the ground of his being within some exception of the statute of limitations, is bound to establish such excep

The object of the law is to secure the individual from the machinations of dishonesty, when attempted under the advantages attendant upon lapse of time, loss of papers, and death o

where occurrences within the six-month limitations period in and of themselves may constitute, as a substantive matter, unfair labor practices... earlier events may be utilized to

It limits actions and executions on judgments rendered in the state Courts; and the same rule must be applicable to judgments obtained in the Courts of the United States... After t

The assent of Congress did not make the act giving it a statute of the United States, in the sense of the 25th section of the Judiciary Act. The construction of the act was in no w

The statute conveys the possession to the use, and transfers the use into possession, thereby making the cestui qui use complete owner of the lands and tenements, as well at law as

the language is precisely such as Parliament might have used, if the intention were confined to the mere removal of the disability of alienage... It does not, in terms, create a ri

Statutes in pari materia, like the acts of 1864 and 1866, are to be construed together, and repeals by implication are not favored if the acts can reasonably stand together.

The United States is not bound by state statutes of limitation or subject to the defense of laches in enforcing its rights. The same rule applies whether the United States brings i

Statutes of limitation form a part of the legislation of every government, and are necessary to the peace and repose of society. When they are addressed to courts of equity as well

They are statutes of repose to quiet title, to suppress fraud, and to supply the deficiency of proofs arising from the ambiguity and obscurity or antiquity of transactions. They pr

Statutes to prevent fraud on the revenue are construed less narrowly, even though a forfeiture results, than penal statutes and others involving forfeitures.

the statute, i. e. 23 Hen. 6, ch. 9, is like a tyrant; when he comes, he makes all void. But the common law is like a nursing father, makes void only that part where the fault is,