Corfield v. Coryell

E15220

Corfield v. Coryell is an 1823 federal circuit court decision by Justice Bushrod Washington that famously articulated an influential early list of the fundamental rights protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Privileges and Immunities Clause.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Privileges and Immunities Clause case
United States federal court case
legal decision
appliesConstitutionalProvision Article IV Privileges and Immunities Clause
articulatesConcept fundamental rights of national citizenship
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states
definesTerm privileges and immunities
hasApproximateDecisionDate May 1823
hasCitationStyle Corfield v. Coryell
hasCountry United States
hasCourt United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
hasDecisionYear 1823
hasDefendant Coryell
hasDocketType civil case
hasFullCitation Corfield v. Coryell, 6 F. Cas. 546 (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1823)
hasHistoricalStatus leading early case on Article IV privileges and immunities
hasHolding The challenged New Jersey law did not violate the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution
hasIssue scope of the fundamental rights protected by the Article IV Privileges and Immunities Clause
whether a state could restrict nonresidents from harvesting certain natural resources
hasJudge Bushrod Washington
hasJudgeRole Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States sitting as Circuit Justice
hasJurisdiction United States federal courts
hasLanguage English
hasLegalDomain constitutional law
federal courts
hasLegalSignificance early exposition of the meaning of Article IV privileges and immunities
frequently cited in constitutional law scholarship
hasOpinionAuthor Bushrod Washington
hasPlaintiff Corfield
hasProceduralPosture federal circuit court decision, not reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States
hasReporterCitation 6 F. Cas. 546
hasTimePeriod antebellum era
influences 19th-century constitutional doctrine on national citizenship
later interpretations of the Privileges and Immunities Clause
involvesState New Jersey
involvesStateLaw New Jersey statute regulating oyster and clam harvesting
isCitedBy later federal and state court decisions interpreting the Privileges and Immunities Clause
isKnownFor providing an early influential list of fundamental rights protected by the Privileges and Immunities Clause
isReferencedIn constitutional law casebooks
scholarship on the Fourteenth Amendment Privileges or Immunities Clause
listsRight the right to access the courts of justice
the right to acquire and possess property
the right to exemption from higher taxes imposed on nonresidents
the right to protection by the government
the right to pursue a trade or calling
the right to pursue and obtain happiness and safety
the right to the elective franchise as regulated by each state
the right to travel and reside in any state

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Corfield v. Coryell
hasCitationStyle
Corfield v. Coryell ("Corfield v. Coryell, 6 F. Cas. 546 (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1823)")
hasFullCitation
Privileges and Immunities Clause
keyCase
Corfield
partyToCase

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