Skiriotes v. Florida

Skiriotes v. Florida
Argued March 14, 1941
Decided April 28, 1941
Full case nameLambris Skiriotes v. State of Florida
Docket no.658
Citations313 U.S. 69 (more)
Case history
PriorSkiriotes v. State, 144 Fla. 220, 197 So. 736 (Fla. 1940)
Holding
A state operating under the Tenth Amendment may regulate or criminalize the conduct of their citizens in the sea when not in conflict with federal law.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Charles E. Hughes
Associate Justices
Harlan F. Stone · Owen Roberts
Hugo Black · Stanley F. Reed
Felix Frankfurter · William O. Douglas
Frank Murphy
Case opinion
MajorityHughes, joined by Stone, Roberts, Black, Reed, Frankfurter, Douglas, Murphy
Laws applied
Tenth Amendment, Adams–Onís Treaty

Skiriotes v. Florida, 313 U.S. 69 (1941), was a Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the states, under the authority of the Tenth Amendment, do have the authority to govern their citizens' conduct in the sea, when not in conflict of federal law. The Appellant in this case challenged his conviction under a Florida law which prohibited citizens from using diving equipment to gather sponges in the Gulf of Mexico or the Straits of Florida. It also further allowed States to have a broad authority in deciding their own maritime boundary, when approved by Congress.