United States v. Louisiana

507 U.S. 7, 113 S. Ct. 1238, 122 L. Ed. 2d 381, 1993 U.S. LEXIS 1763, 61 U.S.L.W. 3576
CourtSupreme Court of the United States
DecidedFebruary 22, 1993
Docket9 ORIG
StatusPublished
Cited by91 cases

This text of 507 U.S. 7 (United States v. Louisiana) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of the United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Louisiana, 507 U.S. 7, 113 S. Ct. 1238, 122 L. Ed. 2d 381, 1993 U.S. LEXIS 1763, 61 U.S.L.W. 3576 (1993).

Opinion

SUPPLEMENTAL DECREE

By its decision of February 26, 1985, the Court overruled the exceptions of the United States to the Report of its Special Master insofar as it challenged the Master’s determination that the whole of Mississippi Sound constitutes historic inland waters, and, to this extent, adopted the Master’s recommendations and confirmed his Report.

On March 1, 1988, the Court resolved the disagreement between the United States and Mississippi as to that portion of the Mississippi coastline at issue in the above-captioned litigation and directed parties to submit to the Special Master a proposed appropriate decree defining the claims of Alabama and Mississippi with respect to Mississippi Sound. On August 17, 1990, the parties agreed on and submitted to the Special Master a proposed decree in accordance with the Court’s decision of March 1,1988, which was approved by the Court on November 5,1990. Pursuant to that supplemental decree, the baseline (coastline) of the State of Mississippi as well as a portion of the baseline of the State of Alabama was delimited and, by stipulation of the parties, fixed, as described by coordinates in that decree. That portion of the Alabama coastline not described by coordinates in the decree remained ambulatory.

*8 Thereafter, a dispute arose between the State of Alabama and the United States regarding their respective claims under the Submerged Lands Act, 43 U. S. C. § 1301 et seq., to offshore areas in which the baseline had not been fixed by the Court’s November 5, 1990, Decree. The parties thereafter filed a joint motion with this Court, requesting that the Court invoke its continuing jurisdiction to supplement the November 5, 1990, Decree. 498 U. S. 9 (1990). With that motion the parties submitted for the Court’s consideration a supplemental decree which would fix that portion of the Alabama baseline that had heretofore remained ambulatory, resolve the existing dispute, and avoid future jurisdictional controversies over the State of Alabama Submerged Lands Act grant.

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED as follows:

1. The parties’ joint motion to supplement the Court’s Decree of November 5,1990, is granted.

2. For the purpose of the Court’s Decree herein dated December 12, 1960, 364 U. S. 502 (defining the boundary line between the submerged lands of the States bordering the Gulf of Mexico), the coastline of the States of Alabama and Mississippi shall be determined on the basis that the whole Mississippi Sound constitutes state inland waters;

3. For the purposes of the said Decree of December 12, 1960, the coastline of Alabama includes:

(a) That portion of a straight line from a point on the eastern tip of Petit Bois Island where X = 215985 and Y = 77920 in the Alabama plane coordinate system, west zone, and X = 637152.89 and Y = 198279.25 in the Mississippi plane coordinate system, east zone, to a fixed point previously described as the western tip of Dauphin Island by the Court’s Decree of November 5, 1990, where X = 238690 and Y = 84050 in the Alabama plane coordinate system, west *9 zone, and X = 659783.79 and Y = 204674.56 in the Mississippi plane coordinate system, east zone, lying on the Alabama side of the Alabama-Mississippi boundary;

(b) A straight line from the fixed point previously described as the western tip of Dauphin Island where X = 238690 and Y = 84050 in the Alabama plane coordinate system, west zone, to a point on the western tip of Dauphin Island where X = 240239.49 and Y = 85266.90 in the same coordinate system;

(c) The baseline delimiting Dauphin Island determined by the following points in the Alabama plane coordinate system, west zone:

E. COORD. N. COORD.

X Y

A LINE FROM 240491.79 84972.10

240848.85 84605.82 THROUGH

241013.42 84311.65 THROUGH

241205.05 84118.32 THROUGH

241590.69 84065.03 THROUGH

242413.48 83796.45 THROUGH

242694.43 83824.75 THROUGH

243220.74 83810.88 THROUGH

243580.37 83798.21 THROUGH

244027.43 83744.51 THROUGH

244536.27 83740.89 THROUGH

244878.06 83687.95 THROUGH

245246.75 83715.64 THROUGH

245641.25 83672.44 THROUGH

245973.56 83518.55 THROUGH

246464.50 83464.57 THROUGH

246886.11 83532.32 THROUGH

247307.57 83579.87 THROUGH

247711.06 83566.93 THROUGH

248158.99 83634.51 THROUGH

248606.77 83681.89 THROUGH

*10 THROUGH 248905.97 83811.13

THROUGH 249204.96 83910.07

THROUGH 249538.75 83968.36

THROUGH 249890.17 84036.63

THROUGH 250276.60 84094.56

THROUGH 250934.57 84090.00

THROUGH 251636.34 84075.04

THROUGH 252313.25 84272.42

THROUGH 252936.89 84379.26

THROUGH 253683.35 84485.27

THROUGH 254464.61 84550.64

THROUGH 255158.29 84636.83

THROUGH 255930.50 84661.89

THROUGH 256527.80 84768.97

THROUGH 257100.01 85058.07

THROUGH 257636.92 85317.12

THROUGH 258244.41 85636.31

THROUGH 258841.55 85723.22

THROUGH 259456.50 85850.44

THROUGH 260045.14 85977.84

THROUGH 260695.58 86165.45

THROUGH 261143.78 86283.70

THROUGH 261758.98 86451.36

THROUGH 262312.84 86629.54

THROUGH 262734.31 86687.37

THROUGH 263076.76 86735.63

THROUGH 263313.48 86713.86

THROUGH 263594.99 86833.24

THROUGH 264034.80 87012.20

THROUGH 264447.62 8709.0.31

THROUGH 264763.68 87128.65

THROUGH 265255.32 87186.05

THROUGH 265712.59 87354.81

THROUGH 266107.99 87453.26

*11 THROUGH 266626.20 87550.92

THROUGH 267179.63 87668.56

THROUGH 267829.73 87815.89

THROUGH 268532.21 87922.49

THROUGH 269120.58 88019.73

THROUGH 269691.59 88147.40

THROUGH 270166.31 88306.00

THROUGH 270736.80 88352.87

THROUGH 271281.56 88490.83

THROUGH 271843.72 88608.49

THROUGH 272300.62 88726.82

THROUGH 272915.73 88894.67

THROUGH 273600.55 88991.37

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507 U.S. 7, 113 S. Ct. 1238, 122 L. Ed. 2d 381, 1993 U.S. LEXIS 1763, 61 U.S.L.W. 3576, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-louisiana-scotus-1993.