''Noble v. Union River Logging Railroad Co.'', 147 U.S. 165 (1893), was a decision of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

which held that the Secretary of the Interior violated the

Due Process Clause A Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibit the deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the federal and state governments, respectively, without due proces ...

when revoking a railroad corporation's right of way over public lands.

Background

The Union River Logging Railroad Company was a multi-purposed company that focused on building railroads to provide public transportation and logging. In 1882, Union River extended its railroad tracks to reach farther distances in more remote areas. Union River saw the opportunity to do so by taking advantage of an

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

of March 3, 1875, 18 Stat. 482 which allowed "railroads a right of way through the public lands of the United States". This case considered the rights of the Union River Logging Railroad company under 18 Stat. 482. Broad rights were granted in the past, but as the company continued to grow, the Department of Interior argued that Union River Logging Railroad was using the railroad for private use rather than public. Therefore, "The

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...

was not engaged in the business of a common carrier of passengers and freight at the time of its application, but in the transportations of logs for the private use and benefit of the several persons composing the said company". After the government attempted to revoke the plaintiff's land, Union River pushed back against these claims arguing that, since they had already been granted this approval it could not be taken away.

Supreme Court

The case was moved to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

which ruled that the rights could not be revoked from the Union River company, meaning the use of the land could still be used for transport. The main reason cited was

due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...

. From these results, it was shown that the patent should be granted where the 160 acres of land is public, not connected with the government. A court case used for this process was United States v. Schurz, 102 US 378 (1880), where a patent is granted if all of the right steps have been taken including being signed, countersigned, and duly recorded.

References

External links

* 1893 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Fuller Court {{SCOTUS-Fuller-stub