Adams Express Co. v. Kentucky

214 U.S. 218, 29 S. Ct. 633, 53 L. Ed. 972, 1909 U.S. LEXIS 1910

• Court: Supreme Court of the United States
• Decided: May 24, 1909
• Docket: 144
• Status: Published

Opinion

Mr. Justice Brewer,

after, making the foregoing statement, delivered the opinion of the court.

The jurisdiction of this court is' not open to dispute. Defendant contended That the Kentucky statute as applied to the transportation.of liquor from State to State was in conflict with the section of the Federal Constitution vesting jurisdiction' in Congress over interstate commerce. This contention was denied by the state court, and thus a question arose under the Federal Constitution decided adversely to the plaintiff in error. Western Turf Association v. Greenberg, 204 U. S. 359.

Liquor, however obnoxious and hurtful it may be in the judgment of many, is a recognized article of commerce. license Cases, 5 How. 504, 577; Leisy v. Hardin, 435 U. S. 100, 110.

In Vance v. Vandercook Company (No. 1), 170 U. S. 438, 444, Mr. Justice White, delivering the opinion of the court, said:

“Equally we|l established is the proposition that the right to send liquors from one State into another, and the act of sending the same, 'is interstate commerce, the regulation whereof has been committed by the Constitution of the United States to Congress, and, hence, that a state law which denies such a right, or substantially.interferes with or hampers the same, is in conflict with the Constitution.of the United States.”

That the transportation is not complete until delivery 'to the consignee is also settled. , _ .

In Rhodes v. Iowa, 170 U. S. 412, 426, it was held that the Wilson Act “was not intended to and did not cause the power •of the State to attach to -.an interstate commerce shipment, whilst the merchandise was ;in transit under'such 'shipment,, .and until its arrival at the'point of destination and delivery there to the consignee.”

This legislation is in the exercise of the police :power, á powér which, generally speaking, belongs to the State, and is-an attempt in virtue of that power to directly regulate commerce, but in case of conflict between the powers claimed by the'State and those which belong exclusively to.Congress, the former must, yield, for the Constitution of the United States and the laws made in pursuance thereof are “the supreme law. of the land.”

Section 5258 of .the Revised Statutes of the United States provides:

“Every railroad company in the United States . .' . is hereby, authorized to carry upon and over its road . . ,. all passengers '. . . freight, and property on their way from any State to' another State, and to receive compensation therefor.” New Orleans Gas Company v. Louisiana Light Company, 115 U. S. 650; Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois, 118 U. S. 557.

In Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Wharton, 207 U. S. 328, 334, it was declared “that any exercise of state authority, in whatever form manifested, which directly regulates interstate commerce, is repugnant to the commerce clause of the Constitution.”

In Adams Express Company v. Kentucky, 206 U. S. 129, 135, it was said:

“ The testimony showed that the package, containing a gallon of whiskey, was shipped from Cincinnati, Ohio, to George Meece, at East Bernstadt, Kentucky. The transaction was therefore one of interstate commerce, and within the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress. The Kentucky statute is obviously an attempt to regulate such interstate commerce. This is hardly questioned by the Court of Appeals, and is beyond dispute under the decisions of this court.”

Clearly within the cases above cited the statute before us as applied to transportation from State to State cannot be sustained.'

The judgment of the Circuit Court of Hart County, Kentucky, is reversed, and the case remanded to that court for further proceedings not inconsistent with the views expressed in this opinion.

Me. Justice Haelan dissents.