Date decided 1886 | Citations 118 U.S. 557 () | |
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Full case name Wabash, St. L. & P. Ry. Co. v. People of State of Illinois Majority Miller, joined by Field, Harlan, Woods, Matthews, Blatchford Dissent Waite, joined by Bradley, Gray Similar Munn v Illinois, United States v E C Knight, Muller v Oregon, Fletcher v Peck, ALA Schechter Poultry C | ||
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois, 118 U.S. 557 (1886)[1], also known as the Wabash Case, was a Supreme Court decision that severely limited the rights of states to control interstate commerce. It led to the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Contents
The court
The majority's opinion was written by Justice Samuel Miller; joining him were Justices Stephen Field, John Harlan, William Woods, Thomas Matthews, and Samuel Blatchford. Dissenting were Chief Justice Morrison Waite and Justices Joseph Bradley and Horace Gray.
The case
The case was argued on April 14, 1886 - April 15, 1886 and was decided on October 25, 1886 by vote of 6 to 3. Associate Justice Miller wrote for the Court with Associate Justices Field, Harlan, Woods, Matthews, and Blatchford concurring; Associate Justices Bradley and Gray, along with Chief Justice Waite, dissented.
In Wabash, "direct" burdens on interstate commerce were not permitted by the Export Tax Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 9); however, those "indirect" burdens were permitted under the Commerce Clause. This was a standard enacted in Cooley v. Board of Wardens (1852).