prior appropriation
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 297 U.S. 517 - State of Washington v. State of Oregon · 1936Most cited · 48 citing opinions
The essence of the doctrine of prior appropriation is beneficial use, not a stale or barren claim. Only diligence and good faith will keep the privilege alive.
How often courts cite the case defining “prior appropriation”
Court decisions citing the opinion that defined “prior appropriation” — 48 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining case 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.