Virginia v. Maryland

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued October 7, 2003
Decided December 9, 2003

Full case name

Commonwealth of Virginia v. State of Maryland

Citations

Holding

Maryland has no authority to regulate or prohibit Virginia, its political subdivisions, or Virginia's residents from enjoying Virginia’s riparian rights in the Potomac River. While Maryland owns the riverbed up to the low water mark of the Virginia shore, both states enjoy equal riparian rights.

Court membership

Chief Justice William Rehnquist

Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer

Case opinions

Majority

Rehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer

Dissent

Stevens, joined by Kennedy

Virginia v. Maryland, 540 U.S. 56 (2003) is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States settled a dispute between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Maryland regarding Virginia's riparian rights to the Potomac River. The Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision that Maryland has no legal authority to regulate or prohibit Virginia and its political subdivisions from building and improving structures in the river and from drawing water from the river. The decision drew heavily on a 1785 compact between the two states concerning the Potomac River.

External links

"Reporter of Decisions" "Syllabus" of Virginia v. Maryland from Cornell University Law School

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