About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Urb. St. & Loc. L. Newsl. 1 (1990-1991)

handle is hein.journals/stlolane29 and id is 1 raw text is: URBAN, STATE and LOCAL LAW NEW LET TER Missouri v. Jenkins: Taxation Without Representation or Remedy of Last Resort? By Patricia J. Whitten The judiciary ... has no influence over either the sword or the purse, no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society, and can take no active resolution whatever. The Federalist, No. 78, at 523 (A. Hamilton) (J. Cooke ed. 1961) The Congress shall have power to levy and collect taxes ... U.S. Constitution, Article 'I, § 8, cl. 1 The power to tax involves the power to destroy. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819) A court order directing a local government body to levy its own taxes is plainly a judicial act within the power of a federal court. Missouri v. Jenkins, 88-1150, 58 U.S.L.W. 4480, 4486 (April 18, 1990) In a decision hailed by civil rights advocates and assailed by those interested in more limited judicial authority, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April that federal judges can force local officials to raise taxes to remedy school desegregation. (Missouri v. Jen- kins, 58 U.S.L.W. 4480 (April 18, 1990).) There was, not unexpectedly, an immediate outcry and media focus on this case, with its proponents indicating that it sets a precedent allowing judicial taxation. However, to many who are more familiar with this area of practice, particularly with school desegregation litigation, Missouri v. Jenkins repre- sents a logical-though quite significant-extension of the court decisions preceding it. In the view of some, it is also a necessary step in light of the obsta- cles in the path of remediating constitutional viola- tions including the high cost of remedies and the reluctance of taxpayers to fund them. In th Missouri v. Jenkins is yet another 5-4 decision of a Message from the C philosophically divided Su- Supreme Court Wa preme Court. Authored by Section News ....... Justice Byron R. White, who Washington's Laby was joined by Justices Bren- Ways ............ nan, Marshall, Blackmun, New Canadian Env is 2hair tch. rintl iron and Stevens, the Court in Jenkins ruled that a local government with taxing authority may be ordered to levy taxes in excess of the limit set by state statute where there is reason based in the Constitution for not observing the statutory limitation. 58 U.S.L.W. at 4486. The Court upheld the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals's decision finding that although a district court judge could not directly order a tax increase to fund desegregation, the judge could order a school district to increase its tax levy and could set aside state constitutional and statutory limits on local taxes. Background Facts Thirteen years ago, the Kansas City, Missouri, School District and a group of black school district students filed a suit against the state of Missouri for operating a segregated and allegedly inferior public school system. The district issue court realigned the school district as a codefendant and r .................. 2 found that the system was in- ................... 3 deed segregated. After years ................... 5 of litigation, the district court ine determined that the state and ................. 10 the school district were 75 mental Law ... 14 (Continued on page 16) Section of Urban, State and Local Government Law Vol. 14, No. 1, Fall 1990

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most