Case library · The Fisherman's Rights
The Cost of Coming North
Mullaney v. Anderson (1952)
Charge: Nonresident fishing-fee discriminationCourt: U.S. Supreme CourtState: AlaskaDocket: The Fisherman's Rights
May a government charge nonresident fishermen ten times the resident license fee to cover higher enforcement costs?
The facts
A territory charged commercial fishermen $5 a year for a license if they lived there and $50 if they did not. A fishermen's union and its secretary-treasurer sued on behalf of some 3,200 nonresident members. The tax official said nonresidents were far more expensive to police, and the trial court found about nine-tenths of enforcement spending went on them. He could not say what that cost in money.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Mullaney v. Anderson, 342 U.S. 415 (1952)
Read more at supreme.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.