United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Conner Elliott, 59 U.S. 591 (1855)

Conner Elliott

59 U.S. 591

Syllabus

The first clause of the second section of the fourth article of the Constitution provides that "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states."

The Court will not describe and define these privileges and immunities in a general classification, preferring to decide each case as it may come up.

The law of Louisiana gives a community of acquets or gains between married persons, where the marriage is contracted within the state, or where the marriage is contracted out of the state, and the parties afterwards go there to live.

The privilege thus conferred upon the wife does not extend, by virtue of the clause in the Constitution above quoted, to a native-born citizen of Louisiana who was married while under age in the State of Mississippi, in which state was her domicile together with her husband during the continuance of the marriage. Land in Louisiana, acquired by the husband during the marriage, was not subject to the Louisiana law in respect to the community of acquets or gain.

This right was one which attached to the contract of marriage, which the State of Louisiana had a right to regulate. and was not one of the personal rights of a citizen within the meaning of the Constitution.

The case is stated in the opinion of the Court.