Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Company v. Oregon
United States Supreme Court
223 U.S. 118 (1912)
- Written by Philip Glass, JD
Facts
A 1902 amendment to the Oregon Constitution provided for the use of the initiative process. The initiative process allowed the electorate to vote on a prospective law originating with the electorate itself. In 1906, the Oregon electorate proposed a corporate-tax law. A majority of the Oregon electorate voted for this law, resulting in its 1907 implementation. The Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Company (Pacific States) (defendant) failed to pay the tax. Thus, Oregon (plaintiff) sought to compel Pacific States's payment of the overdue tax. Pacific States claimed that the 1902 amendment violated Art. IV, § 4 of the US Constitution.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (White, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 814,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.