Today in Supreme Court History: April 19, 1920

4/19/1920: Missouri v. Holland decided.

The White Court (1920)

Comments

[apedad]

Wiki provides a point on this case that I never thought of:

"Many legal analysts have argued that the decision [that treaties are the law of the land and apply to states], implies that Congress and the President can essentially amend the Constitution by means of treaties with other countries."

I'm not sure about amending the Constitution but I could see a President and 2/3s of Senators creating a treaty which could have major implications, e.g. a treaty that bans executions, etc.

[SMP0328]

It should be noted that Missouri v. Holland was greatly narrowed by Reid v. Covert (1957), which ruled that a treaty could not be used to circumvent the Bill of Rights or to otherwise get around a clear provision of the Constitution. This means a treaty regarding the Constitution can be used only as a tiebreaker when the Constitution is unclear.

I think Missouri v. Holland was wrongly decided and should be overruled, but Reid v. Covert has greatly limited the damage the former decision can wrought.

[DaivdBehar]

A treaty about the boundary with Canada prohibited the spread of slavery to any more states. Dred Scott violated that ratified treaty.

[apedad]

The Rush–Bagot Treaty is my favorite treaty.

It's why we have the longest, undefended border in the world.