Geer v. Connecticut

Geer v. Connecticut, 161 U.S. 519 (1896), was a United States Supreme Court decision, which dealt with the transportation of wild fowl over state lines. Geer held that the states owned the wild animals within their borders and could strictly regulate their management and harvest. According to the Geer Court, “the right to preserve game flows from the undoubted existence in the State of a police power.” Although this statement is often quoted by state advocates, it is followed by the qualification that this power reaches only “in so far as its exercise may not be incompatible with, or restrained by, the rights conveyed to the Federal government by the Constitution.” The Geer decision supported the view that the states owned all resident wildlife, but at the time there were no conflicting federal wildlife laws.[1]

Geer v. Connecticut
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 22, 1895 Decided March 2, 1896
Full case name	Edward M. Geer v. State of Connecticut
Citations	161 U.S. 519 (more) 16 S. Ct. 600; 40 L. Ed. 793
Holding
The states owned the wild animals within their borders and could strictly regulate their management and harvest.
Court membership
Chief Justice Melville Fuller Associate Justices Stephen J. Field · John M. Harlan Horace Gray · David J. Brewer Henry B. Brown · George Shiras Jr. Edward D. White · Rufus W. Peckham
Case opinions
Majority	White, joined by Fuller, Gray, Brown, Shiras
Dissent	Field
Dissent	Harlan
Brewer, Peckham took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Overruled by
Hughes v. Oklahoma, 441 U.S. 322 (1979)

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 161
• Live export
• Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920)
• Hunt v. United States, 278 U.S. 96 (1928)
• Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. 529 (1976)

References

1. Coggins, G. C. (1980). "Wildlife and the Constitution: the walls come tumbling down". Washington Law Review. 55: 295–358.

Further reading

• Landres, Peter; Meyer, Shannon; Matthews, Sue (2001). "The Wilderness Act and Fish Stocking: An Overview of Legislation, Judicial Interpretation, and Agency Implementation". Ecosystems. 4 (4): 287–295. doi:10.1007/s10021-001-0011-6.

External links

• Works related to Geer v. Connecticut at Wikisource
• Text of Geer v. Connecticut, 161 U.S. 519 (1896) is available from:  Justia  Library of Congress