State of Missouri v. Holland - Bird Protection And Treaty-making, The Ownership Of Nature, The Migratory Bird Treaty, Further Readings

court laws william appellant

Appellant

Frank W. McAllister, Attorney General of Missouri

Appellee

Ray P. Holland

Appellant's Claim

That federal laws pursuant to the Migratory Bird Act and enforcement thereof were an invasion of sovereign states rights as set forth in the Tenth Amendment.

Chief Lawyers for Appellant

Alexander C. King, Solicitor General; William L. Frierson, Assistant Attorney General

Chief Lawyers for Appellee

John T. Gose, J. Harvey

Justices for the Court

Louis D. Brandeis, John Hessin Clarke, William Rufus Day, Oliver Wendell Holmes (writing for the Court), Joseph McKenna, James Clark McReynolds, Edward Douglass White

Justices Dissenting

Mahlon Pitney, Willis Van Devanter

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

19 April 1920

Decision

The Court ruled in favor of Holland, upholding the U.S. government's treaty and its relevant statutes.

Significance

By affirming Congress' right to make treaties whose terms might supercede state laws, the Court established one of the first wildlife protection laws.

Related Cases

Baldwin v. Franks, 120 U.S. 678 (1887).
Baldwin v. Montana Fish and Game Commission, 430 U.S. 371 (1978).

Sources

Eblen, Ruth A. and William R. Eblen, eds. The Encyclopedia of the Environment Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

Additional Topics

State of Missouri v. Holland - Bird Protection And Treaty-making

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State of Missouri v. Holland - The Ownership Of Nature

The U.S. government's position included a list of 23 bird species threatened with extinction by the contemporary habits of sport hunters, some of whom boasted of killing as many as 10,000 birds in one night. Yet the case heard by the Court had become less about bird life than about states rights and the power of the U.S. government to make treaties. The state of Kansas filed a brief, supporting Mi…

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