Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Oregon
| Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Oregon | |
|---|---|
| Argued November 3, 1911 Decided February 19, 1912 | |
| Full case name | Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Company v. Oregon |
| Citations | 223 U.S. 118 (more) |
| Holding | |
| Claims involving the Guarantee Clause constitute nonjusticiable political questions. Dismissed for want of jurisdiction. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | White, joined by unanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution | |
Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Oregon, 223 U.S. 118 (1912), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving the constitutionality of the citizens' initiative and the enforceability of the Guarantee Clause of the Constitution. In an opinion authored by Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, a unanimous Court rejected a corporation's argument that the Guarantee Clause forbade Oregon's initiative process, citing Luther v. Borden to conclude that such claims presented political questions and thus were non-justiciable.