Santa Clara County V. Southern Pacific Railroad
Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 118 U.S. 394 (1886) was a matter brought before the United States Supreme Court - but not decided by the court - which dealt with taxation of railroad properties. A report issued by the Court Reporter claimed to state the sense of the Court - without a decision or written opinions published by or of the Court. This was the first time that the Supreme Court was reported to hold that the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection clause granted constitutional protections to corporations as well as to natural persons, although numerous other cases, since Dartmouth College v. Woodward in 1819, have recognized that corporations were entitled to some of the protections of the Constitution. In the opinion, the Court consolidated three separate cases:
- Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company
- California v. Central Pacific Railroad Company
- California v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company
Read more about Santa Clara County V. Southern Pacific Railroad: History and Legal Dispute, The Headnote, Defense Argument, Decision, Significance
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)