Commissioners of Wicomico County v. Bancroft

Citations

• 203 U.S. 112
• 27 S. Ct. 21
• 51 L. Ed. 112
• 1906 U.S. LEXIS 1571

Syllabus

<p>In the absence of a contract protected by the impairment clause of the Federal Constitution, whether a statutory exemption has been repealed by a subsequent statute is a question of state law in which the decisions of the highest court of the State are binding.</p> <p>It is only where an irrepealable contract exists that it is the duty of this court to decide for itself irrespective of the decisions of the state court whether a subsequent act impairs the obligation of such contract.</p> <p>Even though Federal courts might exercise independent judgment, in this case the decisions of the Supreme Court of Maryland are followed to the effect that an act directing a new assessment of property in the State and expressly declaring that property of every railroad in the State be valued and assessed, amounted to a repeal of prior exemptions from taxation where there was no irrepealable contract.</p> <p>A proviso in a state statute taxing all property of railroads that no irre-pealable contract of exemption shall be affected construed as expressing the legislative intent to repeal all exemptions nos protected by binding contracts beyond legislative control.</p>