Crandall v. Nevada
73 U.S. 35 (1868)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
A state law imposing a tax on persons for the right to leave the state is unconstitutional because it impermissibly burdens the fundamental right of citizens to travel freely throughout the United States, a right inherent in national citizenship and the structure of the federal government.
Facts:
- The State of Nevada enacted a statute imposing a one-dollar 'capitation tax' on every person leaving the state.
- The tax applied to individuals traveling by any 'railroad, stage coach, or other vehicle engaged or employed in the business of transporting passengers for hire.'
- The law made the owners and agents of these transportation companies responsible for collecting and paying the tax to the state.
- Crandall, an agent for a stagecoach company, was responsible for transporting a passenger out of Nevada.
- Crandall refused to report or pay the one-dollar tax for this passenger as required by the Nevada statute.
Procedural Posture:
- The State of Nevada brought an action against Crandall in state court for his failure to pay the passenger tax.
- The case was litigated through the Nevada court system.
- The Supreme Court of Nevada upheld the constitutionality of the tax statute.
- Crandall, as plaintiff in error, appealed the decision of the Nevada Supreme Court to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Does a state law imposing a capitation tax on every person leaving the state by railroad or stagecoach violate the U.S. Constitution?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Miller
Yes, the Nevada law violates the U.S. Constitution. The right of citizens to travel from state to state is a fundamental right implicit in the Constitution and essential to the nature of the federal union. The Court reasoned that this tax is on the passenger, not the transportation company, for the privilege of leaving the state. This right to travel is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but is a necessary component of national citizenship, allowing citizens to access the seat of government, interact with its various departments, and move freely throughout the nation. The federal government also has a right to call upon its citizens from any part of the country for service, a right that cannot be obstructed by a state tax. Citing McCulloch v. Maryland, the Court noted that the power to tax is the power to destroy; if a state can levy a one-dollar tax, it can levy a thousand-dollar tax, thereby preventing or seriously burdening the right of free movement and interfering with the operations of the federal government.
Concurring - Justice Clifford
Yes, the Nevada law is unconstitutional, but the Court's reasoning is incorrect. The judgment should rest exclusively on the ground that the tax is an impermissible regulation of interstate commerce. The power to regulate commerce among the several states is granted to Congress, and this state tax imposes a direct burden on that commerce. Therefore, the law is void because it interferes with a power constitutionally reserved for Congress, irrespective of whether Congress has legislated on the specific matter.
Analysis:
This landmark decision established the constitutional right to travel as a fundamental right of national citizenship. Rather than grounding this right in a specific provision like the Commerce Clause or the Privileges and Immunities Clause, the Court derived it from the very structure of the federal government and the relationship between citizens and that government. This 'structural' approach affirmed that states cannot use their taxing power to impede the essential functions of the federal government or the basic rights of its citizens. While later cases would also root the right to travel in other constitutional provisions, Crandall remains the foundational case establishing free movement as an attribute of U.S. citizenship.
Unlock the full brief for Crandall v. Nevada