State
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 424 U.S. 1 - Buckley v. Valeo · 1976Most cited · 10,511 citing opinions
each State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession of the United States; (j) "identification" means
How the Supreme Court has restated “State”
Each Supreme Court definition of “State,” 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 “State”
Court decisions citing the 7 opinions that defined “State” — 14,840 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 8 definitions, chronological · 1805–2015
- ORIGINAL
These clauses show that the word state is used in the constitution as designating a member of the union, and excludes from the term the signification attached to it by writers on the law of nations. When the same term, which has been used plainly in this limited sense in the articles respecting the legislative and executive departments, is also employed in that which respects the judicial department, it must be understood as retaining the sense originally given to it.
in the U.S. Constitution
any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, and the Canal Zone.") ; Federal Communications Act, 48 Stat. 1064 , 1065, §3(g), as amended, 47 U. S. C. § 153 (g) (1934) (" 'United States' means the several States and Territories, the District of Columbia, and the pos *387 sessions of the United States, but does not include the Canal Zone."); Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 52 Stat. 1040 , § 201 (a), 21 U. S. C. § 321 (a) (1938)
each State of the United States and the District of Columbia.
- 1991·499 U.S. 244 - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arabian American Oil Co.[fn3]· cited 1,579×
a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, the Canal Zone, and Outer Continental Shelf lands defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
) with §§ 1961(3M4) (defining what the terms "person" and "enterprise" include).
each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States." The Government contends that these dogfights were unlawful at the time they occurred, while Stevens disputes the assertion.
each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia." 42 U.S.C.