Brown v. Maryland
BROWN V. MARYLAND
BROWN V. MARYLAND, 12 Wheaton 419 (1827), a case on the right of a state to control the sale of imported merchandise. It afforded Justice John Marshall an opportunity to supplement his first opinion on the meaning of the commerce clause of the Constitution as originally stated in Gibbons v. Ogden. Marshall ruled that the Constitution prohibited a state from levying imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be "absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws." The principle, broadly stated so that it would apply to foreign as well as interstate commerce, formed the basis of future opinions on the subject of commerce. (See also Original Package Doctrine.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Corwin, Edward S. The Commerce Power Versus States Rights. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1962. The original edition was published in 1936.
Kelly, Alfred H., Winfred A. Harbison, and Herman Belz. The American Constitution. New York: Norton, 1991. The original edition was published in 1948.
Thomas RobsonHay/a. r.
See alsoCooley v. Board of Wardens of Port of Philadelphia ; Commerce Clause ; Gibbons v. Ogden .