Baldwin v. Fish and Game Commission of Montana

E15223

United States Supreme Court case court decision

Baldwin v. Fish and Game Commission of Montana is a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld Montana’s higher elk-hunting license fees for nonresidents and narrowed the scope of the Privileges and Immunities Clause to exclude purely recreational activities.

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court case → court decision →
areaOfLaw	Equal Protection jurisprudence → Privileges and Immunities jurisprudence → United States constitutional law → constitutional law →
citation	436 U.S. 371 →
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted	Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution → Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution →
court	Supreme Court of the United States →
decisionDate	1978 →
dissentingJustices	John Paul Stevens → William H. Rehnquist →
geographicLocation	Montana →
holding	Montana may charge higher elk-hunting license fees to nonresidents than to residents → differential elk-hunting license fees for nonresidents do not violate the Privileges and Immunities Clause → recreational hunting is not a fundamental right protected by the Privileges and Immunities Clause → the Privileges and Immunities Clause does not apply to purely recreational activities →
impact	affirmed broad state authority over wildlife management → cited as precedent in later cases involving nonresident hunting and fishing fees → narrowed the scope of the Privileges and Immunities Clause →
jurisdiction	State of Montana → United States →
keyPrinciple	commercial and livelihood-related activities receive greater Privileges and Immunities protection than recreational activities → fundamental rights under the Privileges and Immunities Clause are limited to activities bearing upon the vitality of the nation as a single entity → states may treat residents and nonresidents differently in access to recreational resources →
legalIssue	Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment → Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV → discrimination against nonresidents →
majorityJustices	Byron R. White → Harry A. Blackmun → Lewis F. Powell Jr. → Potter Stewart → Thurgood Marshall → Warren E. Burger → William J. Brennan Jr. →
majorityOpinionBy	Harry A. Blackmun →
partyType	individual hunter → state administrative agency →
petitioner	Baldwin →
relatedCase	Hicklin v. Orbeck → Toomer v. Witsell →
relatedDoctrine	state ownership and control of wildlife → state police power →
respondent	Fish and Game Commission of Montana →
stateParty	Montana →
subjectMatter	elk hunting licenses → nonresident hunting fees → state wildlife regulation →
vote	7-2 →

Referenced by (1)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Privileges and Immunities Clause →	keyCase