public purpose
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 292 U.S. 40 - A. Magnano Co. v. Hamilton · 1934Most cited · 563 citing opinions
taxation
that requirement has regard to the use which is to be made of the revenue derived from the tax, and not to any ulterior motive or purpose which may have influenced the Legislature in passing the act
How the Supreme Court has restated “public purpose”
Each Supreme Court definition of “public purpose,” 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 “public purpose”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “public purpose” — 881 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 3 definitions, chronological · 1917–1934
- ORIGINAL
It is well settled that moneys for other than public purposes cannot be raised by taxation, and that exertion of the taxing power for merely private purposes is beyond the authority of the State.
taxation
The legislation does not segregate private schools, or their pupils, as its beneficiaries or attempt to interfere with any matters of exclusively private concern. Its interest is education, broadly; its method, comprehensive. Individual interests are aided only as the common interest is safeguarded.