Citations 297 U.S. 547 (more) | Majority Unanimous | |
Full case name The State of Wisconsin v. The State of Michigan | ||
Two Supreme Court cases, Wisconsin v. Michigan, 295 U.S. 455 (1935) and Wisconsin v. Michigan, 297 U.S. 547 (1936), settled a border dispute between Wisconsin and Michigan.
Contents
Lake Superior to Lac Vieux Desert
An original description of the portion of the Wisconsin-Michigan boundary in 1838 was based on inaccurate maps.
The Green Bay Channel and Island
The 1836 boundary description described the line through northwest Lake Michigan as “the most usual ship channel”. This description needed clarification as two routes were in use. A 1936 Supreme Court decision chose the northernmost ship channel, in which Michigan lost the intervening water area and four islands: Plum, Detroit, Washington, and Rock. A similar case was brought to the Supreme Court in 1926 but was dismissed. See Michigan v. Wisconsin 270 U.S. 295 (1926)