Virginia v. Maryland, 540 U.S.

United States Reports

The United States Reports are the official record of the rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceedings of the Supreme Court of the United States. Opinions of the court in each case, prepended with a headnote prepared by the Reporter of Decisions, and any concurring or dissenting opinions are...

 56 (2003) is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 settled a dispute between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 regarding Virginia's riparian rights to the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

. The Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision that Maryland has no legal authority to regulate or prohibit Virginia and its political subdivisions from building and improving structures in the river and from drawing water from the river. The decision drew heavily on a 1785 compact between the two states concerning the Potomac River.

External links

• "Reporter of Decisions" "Syllabus" of Virginia v. Maryland from Cornell University Law School