Downes v. Bidwell, 182 US 244 (1901) was a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided whether territories (as opposed to states) of the United States were subject to the provisions and protections of the United States Constitution This question is sometimes stated as "does the Constitution follow the flag?". The resulting decision narrowly held that the U.S. Constitution did not necessarily apply to territories. Instead, the United States Congress had jurisdiction to create law within territories in certain cirumstances, particularly dealing with revenue, that would not be allowed by the U.S. Constitution for proper states within the union. Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... A territory is a defined area (including land and waters), usually considered to be a possession of an animal, person, organization, or institution. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ...

Background

The case specifically concerned a merchant, Samuel Downes, who owned S. B. Downes & Company. His company had imported [orange]s into the port of New York from the newly acquired territory of Puerto Rico and had been forced to pay import duties on them. His claim was that, as a territory of the United States, such duties were under the jurisdiction of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that "all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." Since the duty on oranges did not exist for other parts of the United States, he argued that it should not exist for Puerto Rico. Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... An import duty is a tariff paid at a border or port of entry to the relevant government to allow a good to pass into that governments territory. ... A territory is a defined area (including land and waters), usually considered to be a possession of an animal, person, organization, or institution. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is...

Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court decided, in a five to four decision, that newly annexed territories were not properly part of the United States for purposes of the U.S. Constitution in the matter of revenues, administrative matter, and the like. However, the court was careful to note that the Constitutional guarantees of a citizen's rights of liberty and property were applicable to all: such guarantees "... cannot be under any circumstances transcended ..." said Justice Edward Douglass White in his concurring opinion. Territories were only due the full protections of the Constitution when the U.S. Congress had incorporated them as an "integral part" of the United States. Chief Justice Edward Douglass White took the office in 1910. ...

The dissent written by Justice John Marshall Harlan held that the U.S. Congress was always bound to enact laws within the jurisdiction of the Constitution. In it, he said, "This nation is under the control of a written constitution, the supreme law of the land and the only source of the powers which our government, or any branch or officer of it, may exert at any time or at any place." He held that the Congress had no existence, and therefore had no authority, outside of the U.S. Constitution. See also Harlans grandson John Marshall Harlan II, who was also an American Supreme Court associate justice. ...

Consequences

The idea of territorial incorporation is generally agreed to have arisen from Justice White's concurring decision noted above. Note that incorporation in this case does not refer to the legal process whereby a company takes on certain of the characteristics of a person (for which, see incorporation). The concept of territorial incorporation is that the United States can be proprietor of a territory without having actually incorporated the territory into the United States. These unincorporated territories are not due the full benefits of the U.S. Constitution, as noted from Justice White's decision above. Incorporation is: In business, incorporation is the creation of a corporation. ...

This idea has been used in court cases ever since in affirming that the citizens of certain territories can be subject to laws and regulations that are not Constitutionally applicable to other citizens of the United States. Many citizens of territories that have been designate unincorporated have seen the principle of territorial incorporation as a form of oppression (see, for example, Román, Ediberto, " The Alien-Citizen Paradox and Other Consequences of U.S. Colonialism (http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/frames/261/romatxt.html)", Florida State University Law Review, 1998).

References

" Downes v. Bidwell (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=182&invol=244)." FindLaw.com Supreme Court Case Law. Accessed on February 17, 2005. February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

"The Insular Cases (http://www.macmeekin.com/Library/Insular%20Cases.htm#Downes)." Dan MacMeekin, Island Law. Accessed on February 17, 2005. February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...