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1/2/2020 1 www.cnettleman.net [email protected] CN | www.CNettleman.net BOUNDARIES, BOUNDARIES EVERYWHERE! Presented by Dr. Tony Nettleman, PSM, Esq. © Copyright Nettleman Land Surveying, INC (2016) www.cnettleman.net [email protected] www.cnettleman.net [email protected] WHAT ARE BOUNDARIES? Lines demarcating ownership Nations States Counties/local government Private parties Lines demarcating possession Social constructs 1 2 3

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Page 1: ISPLS Boundaries Boundaries · BOUNDARIES, BOUNDARIES EVERYWHERE! Presented by ... MACRO BOUNDARIES • Boundaries Between Nations • Boundaries Between States • Boundaries Between

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BOUNDARIES,

BOUNDARIES

EVERYWHERE!

Presented by

Dr. Tony Nettleman, PSM, Esq.

©

Copyright Nettleman Land Surveying, INC (2016)

www.cnettleman.net [email protected]

www.cnettleman.net [email protected]

WHAT ARE BOUNDARIES?

• Lines demarcating ownership

– Nations

– States

– Counties/local government

– Private parties

• Lines demarcating possession

• Social constructs

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MODERN AND HISTORIC CAUSES OF

PRESENT DAY BOUNDARY PROBLEMS

• Erroneous early maps

• Competition for lands

• Poorly written descriptions with ambiguous words

• Lost settlers and surveyors

• Inadequate financing

• Evolution of methods and equipment

• Land becoming scarce

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MACRO BOUNDARIES

• Boundaries Between Nations

• Boundaries Between States

• Boundaries Between Large Land Grants (Historic And Modern)

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NATION BOUNDARIES ARE FOUGHT

In the air

Under the sea,

or…………..

Wherever they

are located

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IN THE AIR

• Aug 2014: “Pentagon: China tried to block U.S. military jet in dangerous mid-air intercept”

• Dec 2014: “Norwegian F-16 in Near-Miss With Russian Fighter Jet”

• Sept 2015: “Chinese jet nearly collides with American spy plane gathering intelligence off China's coast in dangerous mid-air interception”

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UNDER THE SEA

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7005483.stm

BBC: ARCTIC SEABED “BELONGS TO RUSSIA”

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USING LOCAL TALENT

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LET’S GET PERSONAL

WITH MACROS

• What major country has macro boundaries with two other countries?

– That are in excess of 10,000 miles; one has no major hindrances, but

has some serious issues

– The second boundary has majority fences and water

What are the three countries?

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U.S. AND CANADA

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EVEN IN NEVADA

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BOUNDARIES BETWEEN STATES ARE

FOUGHT….

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SCOTUS JURISDICTION

Appellate Jurisdiction Original Jurisdiction

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28 U.S.C. 1251

• (a) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of all controversies between two or more States.

• (b) The Supreme Court shall have original but not exclusive jurisdiction of:– (1) All actions or proceedings to which ambassadors, other

public ministers, consuls, or vice consuls of foreign states are parties;

– (2) All controversies between the United States and a State;

– (3) All actions or proceedings by a State against the citizens of another State or against aliens.

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MICRO BOUNDARIES

• Boundaries between individuals

• Boundaries between parcels

• Boundaries between lots

• Boundaries between estates of land

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Neighborly Behavior

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Neighborly Behavior

But Why The Anger?

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Our Land

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But Why The Anger?

Land is Special

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TODAY’S CLASS

• List and describe the processes that create

national, state, local, and private boundaries

• Understand how the United States was

created and list the different countries where

the land came from

• Understand the points of conflict in boundary

disputes at all levels (macro and micro) and

give an example of each

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HIERARCHY OF BOUNDARIES

Nation States

States

Local Govt.

Pvt.

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HIERARCHY OF BOUNDARIES

Nation States

States

Local Govt.

Pvt.

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CREATION OF NATION STATES

So How Did They All Get Created?

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CREATION OF NATION STATES

How Many Countries in the World?

196

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CREATION OF NATION STATES

• War

• Revolution

• Treaty

• Peace Treaty/Surrender

• The Internet

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REVOLUTION

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TREATY

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted (resolution 181) to partition

Palestine between a Jewish and an Arab state, with Jerusalem under an international regime.

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OR EVEN AMBIGUITY

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HIERARCHY OF BOUNDARIES

Nation States

States

Local Govt.

Pvt.

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CREATION OF STATES

1. The particular condition that someone or

something is in at a specific time. "the state

of the company's finances.“

2. A nation or territory considered as an

organized political community under one

government. "Germany, Italy, and other

European states"

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WHAT MUST BE CONSIDERED

IN STATE BOUNDARIES

• How the original boundaries were created?

• When or how many times the boundaries were changed or defined?

• What words were used in creating them?

• Were they surveyed and described?

• What authorities created them?

• How are they defined today?

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CREATION OF STATES

How Did We Get From 13 to 50?

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CREATION OF STATES

How Did We Get From 13 to 50?

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THE BEST BOOK ABOUT HOW

STATE BOUNDARIES WERE CREATED

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HIERARCHY OF BOUNDARIES

Nation States

States

Local Govt.

Pvt.

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CREATION OF POLITICAL

SUBDIVISIONS

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CREATION OF

POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS

• Counties, in their infancy, were organized to be administrative agencies of the state

• Shortly after their creation, counties moved into other areas of government support, including social services, corrections, child protection, library services, public health services, planning and zoning, economic development, parks and recreation, water quality, and solid waste management.

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CREATION OF

POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS

• Counties are typically governed by a board of

directors known as commissioners

• Directors are elected in 2, 3, 4 year terms that

are usually staggered

• In addition to commissioners, they are county

attorney, county auditor, county treasurer,

county recorder, and county sheriff

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EVER WONDER?

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HIERARCHY OF BOUNDARIES

Nation States

States

Local Govt.

Pvt.

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HOW ARE LAND PARCELS CREATED?

• By Words

• By Actions

• By Law

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HOW ABOUT CONVEYANCES?

•Simultaneous

•Sequential

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BOUNDARY PROBLEMS

BETWEEN STATES

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WHAT TWO STATES HAD

THE FIRST PROBLEM? • New York

• South Carolina

• New Jersey

• North Carolina

• Connecticut

• Rhode Island

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Virginia and Delaware

• Pennsylvania

• Georgia

• New Hampshire

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THEY ARE………..

RHODE ISLAND

&

MASSACHUSETTS

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WHAT YEAR WAS

THIS CASE FINAL?

2010

2000

1990

1980

1970

1960

1950

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LET’S TRY SOME MORE…

1940

1930

1920

1910

1900

1890

1880 HELL, NO!!!!!!!!!!!

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FINALLY!!!!

1870

1860

1850

YOU GOT IT

1841

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EXERCISE 2: STATES

• RHODE ISLAND v.

MASSACHUSETTS

40 U.S. 233 (1841)

• NEW JERSEY v. NEW

YORK

523 U.S. 767 (1998)

• ALABAMA v. GEORGIA

64 U.S. 505

• GEORGIA v. SOUTH

CAROLINA

497 U.S. 376 (1990)

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EXERCISE 2: STATES

• So What Happened?

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SOUTH CAROLINA v.

NORTH CAROLINA

No Court Case?

“It may come as a surprise that North and South Carolina, two states

better known for philandering politicians and restrictive voter ID laws

than progressive politics, are quietly collaborating on an enormous

undertaking to re-mark their misplaced 334-mile common boundary.”

NY Times 2014

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HISTORY

• How far back do we go?

• 280 years!!!!

• Who split NC and SC?

• The British

• How so?

• “NW from Atlantic coast to 35th parallel” +

“35th due west to south seas”

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HISTORY

• What happened?

• “The original 1735 survey party (1) didn’t

show up, (2) didn’t get paid, and (3) gave up

12 miles too short”

• So what did they do?

“drove a stake into the ground 1 miles too far

south, and went home”

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PROCEDURAL POSTURE

• Surveyed in 1735

• Re-surveyed in 1764 (shaving 422,000 acres

off of SC)

• 1990’s Duke Energy sale

• SC v. GA costs the state $10 million in legal

fees

• 1993: signed SC/NC cooperative to re-

establish agreement

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EVIDENCE

• Centuries-old property maps geo-rectified

with GIS

• Stone monument set in 1928

• 1928 plats

• Aerial photos

• What else?

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OPINION

• There is no opinion…only mutual cooperation

and agreement

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RHODE ISLAND v.

MASSACHUSETTS

40 U.S. 233 (1841)

This case decided where

boundary issues between

states would be litigated

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RHODE ISLAND v.

MASSACHUSETTS

PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND

REVIEW THIS CASE AT

http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/40333/

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RHODE ISLAND v.

MASSACHUSETTS

This case set the

precedent that boundary

disputes between states

would be heard by the

Supreme Court

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WHAT IS ORIGINAL

JURISDICTION ?

THE POWER TO HEAR

A CASE FOR THE

FIRST TIME

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WHERE DO YOU GO AFTER

THE SUPREME COURT?

“Take it

to GOD”

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THE QUESTION IS

“WHO IS GOD?”

Does God look like this?

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WRONG RELIGION

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OR THIS

“So if you don’t like it,

you know where you can go”

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THE EVIDENCE

• Grant by King James to the Council of

Plymouth in 1621 describing the boundary as

“lying within the space of three English miles

on the south part of the Charles River, or of

any or every part thereof…”

• The accompanying map was described by the

Supreme Court as “marvelously inaccurate”

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HOW MASSACHUSETTS

LOCATED THE BOUNDARY

In 1642:

• Woodward and Saffrey, representing

Massachusetts, located the “southernmost

point on the Charles River”

• They measured three miles south,

establishing Woodward and Saffrey’s station

• And finally established “a line drawn through

the latitude at 41 degrees 55 minutes”

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HOW RHODE ISLAND LOCATED

THE BOUNDARY

SURVEY???

WHAT SURVEY?????

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THE REHOBOTH AGREEMENT

• Both states appointed boundary

commissioners and gave them unlimited

power to “run the boundary line” and

AGREED ON A BOUNDARY

• But the Massachusetts legislature refused to

ratify the agreement in 1848

• Then Massachusetts sued Rhode Island in the

Supreme Court

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WHEN WAS THE DISPUTE

FINALLY RESOLVED?

1862

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AND THE LESSON LEARNED

Some boundaries have to be resolved

through political means, especially

when the evidence is so ambiguous

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NEW JERSEY v. NEW YORK

523 U.S. 767 (1998)

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHY

NEW JERSEY WON

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NEW JERSEY v. NEW YORK

523 U.S. 767 (1998)

PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND

REVIEW THIS CASE AT

http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/523

/767

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THE BASICS

• There is NO federal law of real property

• There are federal laws for surveys only that

apply to the public lands

• The Supreme Court applies the lex loci of the

state where the land is located

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WHAT WERE THE STATES

FIGHTING ABOUT?

TAXES

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THE SYMBOL OF AMERICA

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AND ITS APPURTENANCES

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THE FACTS

• New York has title to Ellis Island through a 1834

“compact” between New York and New Jersey

• Compact states that New York shall retain its

present jurisdiction over the island while New

Jersey got the surrounding waters and

submerged lands

• Ellis Island was later expanded by dumping large

amounts of dirt to create a much larger area

(about 90% of the island is fill)

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THE DISPUTE

• A law professor was appointed by the two states as a “special master” to decide the boundary

• This “law professor” ignored the 1834 compact and drew “new boundaries”

• New York then took it to the Supreme Court, which stated that the special master had no right to “re-draw” existing boundary lines, as set by the Compact

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THE LAW

• Supreme Court, by 6-3, decided that the 1834

Compact set the boundary line

• Specifically, New York got the original Ellis

land and New Jersey got all the surrounding

waters, including the filled-in land

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GEORGIA v. SOUTH CAROLINA

497 U.S. 376 (1990)

• One of the longest running boundary disputes in US history!

• Basically, a dispute over the boundary along the Savannah River

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GEORGIA v. SOUTH CAROLINA

497 U.S. 376 (1990)

PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND

REVIEW THIS CASE AT

http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/497

/376/

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THE HISTORY

• In 1787, the two states agreed in the Treaty of Beaufort that the boundary along the Savannah River was the river's "most northern branch or stream," "reserving all islands in [the river] to Georgia”

• Treaty language clarified in a 1922 Supreme Court case, which held the border should be in the middle of the river between the two shores, with the border half way between any island and the South Carolina shore

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THE PROBLEM

• New islands were created from natural processes, and some of those islands were inside South Carolina’s ownership area

• So what happens when new islands are created? According to SCOTUS, the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina is redrawn

• South Carolina disagreed and claimed the new islands were property of South Carolina

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THE OPINION

• SCOTUS decided that both new islands were the property of Georgia

• But the Court also set a compromise seaward boundary drawing it perpendicular to a line between Tybee Island and Hilton Head Island

• One history text described the case, "In 1990 the United States Supreme Court awarded South Carolina 7,000 acres of water and 3,000 acres of land along the Savannah River, increasing the size of the state by four and a half square miles"

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ALABAMA v. GEORGIA

64 U.S. 505

ANOTHER STATE BOUNDARY DISPUTE

INVOLVING A RIVER AS THE

CONTROLLING NATURAL MONUMENT

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ALABAMA v. GEORGIA

64 U.S. 505

PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND

REVIEW THIS CASE AT

http://supreme.Justia.Com/cases/federal/

us/64/505/case.html

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THE STORY

• 1733: Georgia boundaries created in writing

• 1802: Georgia ceded lands west of the Chattahoochee to the U.S. which then created Alabama

• 1835 Georgia boundaries run on ground 1803 and Alabama boundaries created in writing

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MICROFILM COPY OF

ACCOMPANYING 1835 PLAT

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SKETCH OF DISPUTE

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THE BOUNDARY WAS DESCRIBED AS..

"West of a line beginning on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River where the same crosses the boundary between the United States and Spain, running up the said river and along the western bank thereof"

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THE PROBLEM

• Georgia claimed the boundary should be

located along the western edge of the river at

the high-water mark

• Alabama claimed the boundary should be

located along the western edge of the river at

the “usual or common low-water mark”

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RUNNING THE BOUNDARY

The Supreme Court decided that:

• “Said line commences at a point where the

31st degree of north latitude crosses the

Chattahoochee River”

• The same line “runs upon the western bank

at the usual or common low-water mark”

• The line ends at Nickajack

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THE OPINION

• The Court held that the language of the contract implied that there was ownership of soil and jurisdiction in Georgia in the bed of the river

• Since substantial lands were inundated and then left dry throughout the year and Georgia owned the river bed, then the Compact should be interpreted in favor of Georgia

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MISSOURI v. KENTUCKY

78 U.S. 395 (1870)

“It seems that the old maps (those ex. Gr.

Prior to A.D. 1800), indicative of the physics

and hydraulics of the Mississippi, are

not greatly to be relied upon”

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MISSOURI v. KENTUCKY

78 U.S. 395 (1870)

PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND

REVIEW THIS CASE AT

http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/78/

395/

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MOVEMENTS OF THE RIVER

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THE STORY

• 1763: The boundary was established as the middle of the River Mississippi in a treaty signed by France, Spain, and England

• 1859: Missouri sued Kentucky to “ascertain and establish…the boundary between the two States at a point on the Mississippi River known as Wolf Island”

• Missouri claimed Wolf Island was on her side of the channel when the boundary was established

• Kentucky begged to differ

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THE PROBLEM

Who owns Wolf Island???

When the Missouri/Kentucky

boundary was established,

was Wolf Island to the east

or west of the main channel?

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THE EVIDENCE: MISSOURI

• Missouri’s witnesses “stated that from the present time back to 1830 the main channel of the river was on the east side of the island, and that from 1830 as far back as 1794, both channels were navigable”

• Other evidence included several military maps that showed “the island as nearly in the middle of the river, but the larger portion of it west of the middle line”

• The military maps were relied on, stating the channel to be on both sides, but best on the east side

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THE EVIDENCE: KENTUCKY

• The island was entered in the Virginia land office during the Revolutionary War; the State now known as Kentucky being then part of Virginia

• In 1828, one of the courts of Kentucky exercised jurisdiction over the island in a matter of apprenticeship

• More than a score of witnesses, many of them ancient, including boatmen, navigators, and several persons, testified that the main channel of the river was to be regarded on the east side of the island

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THE OPINION

• Dismissing the suit, the court ruled that if the

island, in 1763, or in 1820, or at any

intermediate period, was east of this line, the

jurisdiction of Kentucky rightfully attached to it

• If the river subsequently turned its course, and

now ran east of the island, the status of the

parties was not altered, because the channel

which the river abandoned remained, as before,

the boundary between the states

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NORTH CAROLINA v.

TENNESSEE

235 U.S. 1

Both states having in 1821 created a joint

commission and having agreed

to abide by its judgment, the question

in this case is what the agreement meant

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NORTH CAROLINA v. TENNESSEE

235 U.S. 1

PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND

REVIEW THIS CASE AT

http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/235

/1/case.html

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WHAT THE SUPREME COURT DID

NOT KNOW (OR FORGOT)

• Original line run by George Struthers in 1799

• Field notes were sent to Tennessee and “lost”

until 1917

• Sent to Raleigh “lost again”

• Adopted by Tennessee as “line”, rejected

by North Carolina

• “Found” in 1982 and showed errors in law

description

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SUPREME COURT DIAGRAM

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WHERE IS THE HIGHEST POINT

BETWEEN THE STATES?THUNDERHEAD IS THE HIGHEST POINT BETWEEN NORTH CAROLINA AND TENNESSEE

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BOUNDARY

PROBLEMS BETWEEN

COUNTIES

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EXERCISE 3: COUNTIES

• TARRANT COUNTY V.

DENTON COUNTY

139 S.W. 3D 22

• CITY OF NEWPORT

NEWS V WARWICK

COUNTY 191 VA. 591

(1950)

• BIBB COUNTY V.

MONROE COUNTY NOS.

S13A1395, S13A1396.

(MARCH 10, 2014)

• STATE V GARDEN

COUNTY NO. 19387

(1916)

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EXERCISE 3: COUNTIES

• So What Happened?

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TARRANT COUNTY v.

DENTON COUNTY

139 S.W. 3D 22

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TARRANT COUNTY v.

DENTON COUNTY

Tarrant County v. Denton County is

another great example of a

boundary dispute. You are not

required to brief this case, just

take special note of the parties

involved.

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TARRANT COUNTY v.

DENTON COUNTY

THE MAJOR QUESTION WAS

“WHERE IS TARRANT COUNTY’S

NORTH BOUNDARY?”

– Had to do with taxes

– Tarrant County used three college professors using GPS units

– Denton County did a “retracement” and found three original corners

– TARRANT WON!!!!!!!

WHY???

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TARRANT COUNTY V. DENTON COUNTY

139 S.W. 3D 22 (Texas 2004)

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BIBB COUNTY v. MONROE

COUNTY (2014)

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FACTS

• “These appeals involve a long-running boundary line dispute between Monroe County and Bibb County”

• Imagine that!

• “In 2005, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed land surveyor Terry Scarborough to identify the boundary between the counties, pursuant to a statutory process for settling boundary disputes first established in the 1880s”

• What is a statutory process?

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FACTS

• “In 2008, after receiving formal authorization

to proceed…, Scarborough conducted his

survey work and submitted his survey to the

Secretary…in 2009, delineating what he

concluded was the true boundary line…”

• Now’s Who’s Decision Is It?

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PROCEDURAL POSTURE

• Went to State Admin Hearing & Sec OK’d

survey

• Why?

• Then Went to Superior Court. Dismissed.

• Why?

• Then Writ on Mandamus Accepted?

• By Who, To Who, and So What?

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WHAT DOES SCO-GA SAY?

• Actions of officials under statute governing resolution of boundary disputes between counties may properly be subject of a petition for mandamus

• Mandamus would not lie to compel secretary of state to record survey and plat submitted by governor's appointed surveyor

• Trial court abused its discretion in denying no petitioning county's emergency motion to intervene

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LESSONS

• You Tell Me

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CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS

v. WARWICK COUNTY

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FACTS

• “Proceeding by the County of Warwick to establish true boundary line between that county and York County”

• We’ve heard this before

• “The General Assembly has power to increase or diminish the territorial limits of a county and to prescribe the procedure for settling disputed boundary lines between counties”

• By what authority?

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PROCEDURAL POSTURE

• “Warwick county filed a petition in the circuit

court of that county alleging that a doubt existed

as to the true boundary line between Warwick

and York counties and requested that the exact

location of the boundaries be established”

• By What Method?

• “circuit court adjudicated that doubt did exist and

appointed five commissioners”

• Why 5 commissioners?

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PROCEDURAL POSTURE

• “The city of Newport News filed a petition in

which it sought to be made a party defendant

to the proceeding”…Denied!

• Why?

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THE DISPUTE

THE BLIZZARDS OF

WINTER DESCEND

When Friend Measures Frontage

With Friend

A Snowy December

When Sheeler's Remember

Exactly Where Lot Boundaries End

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IN CLOSING

A.C. MULFORD IN 1912 WROTE:

For after all, when it comes to a question of

stability of property and the peace of the

community (and the world) it is far more

important to have a somewhat faulty

measurement if the spot where the line truly

exists than it is to have an extremely accurate

measurement of the place where the line does

not exist at all

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AND FINALLY…….

LET US USE OUR KNOWLEDGE

WISELY, THE LAW WITH

COMPASSION AND

TECHNOLOGY SPARINGLY

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