Toomer v. Witsell

E15620

Privileges and Immunities Clause case United States Supreme Court case constitutional law case court case

Toomer v. Witsell is a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court case that significantly interpreted the Privileges and Immunities Clause by striking down discriminatory state licensing fees imposed on out-of-state commercial fishermen.

Statements (37)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Privileges and Immunities Clause case → United States Supreme Court case → constitutional law case → court case →
areaOfLaw	constitutional law → federalism → interstate commerce and privileges and immunities →
citationStatus	leading authority on Article IV Privileges and Immunities Clause →
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted	Article IV Privileges and Immunities Clause → Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution →
country	United States →
court	Supreme Court of the United States →
decisionDate	1948 →
discriminationType	discriminatory licensing fees against out-of-state commercial fishermen →
holding	South Carolina’s discriminatory licensing fees on out-of-state commercial shrimp fishermen violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause → States may not impose discriminatory burdens on nonresidents with respect to fundamental economic activities without substantial justification → The Privileges and Immunities Clause protects the right of citizens to pursue a common calling in other states on substantially equal terms →
impact	became a leading precedent on economic rights protected by the Privileges and Immunities Clause → limited states’ ability to impose discriminatory licensing schemes on nonresidents → significantly clarified the scope of the Privileges and Immunities Clause →
legalIssue	scope of the Privileges and Immunities Clause → state discrimination against nonresidents → validity of discriminatory state licensing fees →
party	Toomer → Witsell →
protectedClass	nonresident United States citizens →
relatedCaseArea	cases limiting state discrimination against nonresidents in economic activities →
relatedDoctrine	interstate equality of citizenship → state police power limits under the Constitution →
rightRecognized	right of citizens to pursue a common calling in other states → right of nonresident citizens to be free from unreasonable economic discrimination by other states →
standardArticulated	requirement that discrimination against nonresidents bear a close or substantial relationship to the state’s objectives → substantial reason test for discrimination against nonresidents under the Privileges and Immunities Clause →
stateInvolved	South Carolina →
stateLawChallenged	South Carolina statute regulating commercial shrimp fishing →
subjectMatter	commercial shrimp fishing → state licensing fees →

Referenced by (4)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Baldwin v. Fish and Game Commission of Montana → Hicklin v. Orbeck → United Building & Construction Trades Council v. Mayor and Council of Camden →	relatedCase
Privileges and Immunities Clause →	keyCase