United States v. Bekins

United States v. Bekins
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided April 25, 1938
Full case name	United States v. Bekins et al., Trustees, et al.; Lindsay-Strathmore Irrigation District v. Bekins et al., Trustees, et al.
Citations	304 U.S. 27 (more)
Holding
The federal government's bankruptcy powers can extend to state agencies without violating federalism principles.
Court membership
Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes Associate Justices James C. McReynolds · Louis Brandeis Pierce Butler · Harlan F. Stone Owen Roberts · Benjamin N. Cardozo Hugo Black · Stanley F. Reed
Case opinions
Majority	Hughes, joined by Brandeis, Stone, Roberts, Black, Reed
Dissent	McReynolds, joined by Butler
Cardozo took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Bankruptcy Clause

United States v. Bekins, 304 U.S. 27 (1938), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the federal government's bankruptcy powers can extend to state agencies without violating federalism principles.^[1][2][3]

Significance

Two year earlier, the court invalidated the Municipal Bankruptcy Act of 1934 in Ashton v. Cameron County Water Improvement District No. 1, emphasizing concerns over federalism. In response, Congress passed a revised Municipal Bankruptcy Act in 1936 that emphasized the autonomy of states in the bankruptcy process. Bekins upheld the revised statute. Bekins did not explicitly overrule Ashton; instead, it said the statute's respect for federalism was constitutionally adequate.^[1]

In dissent, Justice McReynolds (who wrote Ashton) said that Ashton ought to have applied in this case as well.^[1]

References

1. United States v. Bekins, 304 U.S. 27 (1938).
2. Lieberman, Jethro K. (1999). "Bankruptcy". A Practical Companion to the Constitution. p. 65.
3. "Chapter 9 - Bankruptcy Basics". United States Courts. Retrieved 2024-12-13.

External links

• Text of United States v. Bekins, 304 U.S. 27 (1938) is available from: Cornell Findlaw Justia