United States v. Wheeler (1920)

United States v. Wheeler
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 28, 1920
Decided December 13, 1920
Full case nameUnited States v. Wheeler, et al.
Citations254 U.S. 281 (more)
41 S. Ct. 133; 65 L. Ed. 270; 1920 U.S. LEXIS 1159
Case history
PriorDemurrer sustained, United States v. Wheeler, 254 F. 611 (D. Ariz. 1918).
Holding
The Constitution grants to states, not the federal government, the power to prosecute individuals for wrongful interference with the right to travel.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Edward D. White
Associate Justices
Joseph McKenna · Oliver W. Holmes Jr.
William R. Day · Willis Van Devanter
Mahlon Pitney · James C. McReynolds
Louis Brandeis · John H. Clarke
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by McKenna, Holmes, Day, Van Devanter, Pitney, McReynolds, Brandeis
DissentClarke
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. IV, §2; §19 of the Criminal Code

United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 (1920), was an 8-to-1 landmark decision of the US Supreme Court that held that the Constitution alone does not grant the federal government the power to prosecute kidnappers, even if moving abductees across state lines on federally-regulated railroads at the behest of local law enforcement officials, and only the states have the authority to punish a private citizen's unlawful violation of another's freedom of movement.[1] The case was a landmark interpretation of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Constitution,[2][3] and contains a classic legal statement of the right to travel which continues to undergird American jurisprudence.[4][5]

  1. ^ United States v. Wheeler, 254 U.S. 281 (1920). Public domain This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
  2. ^ Berger, Raoul. "New Deal Symposium: The Activist Legacy of the New Deal Court." Washington Law Review. 59 Wash. L. Rev. 751 (September 1984).
  3. ^ Nelson, William E. The Fourteenth Amendment: From Political Principle to Judicial Doctrine. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-674-31625-8
  4. ^ Bogen, David Skillen. Privileges and Immunities: A Reference Guide to the United States Constitution. Westport, Ct.: Praeger Press, 2003. ISBN 0-313-31347-4
  5. ^ "Note: Membership Has Its Privileges and Immunities: Congressional Power to Define and Enforce the Rights of National Citizenship." Harvard Law Review. 102:1925 (June 1989).