Vermont v. New Hampshire

Vermont v. New Hampshire
Argued April 20–21, 1933
Decided May 29, 1933
Full case nameThe State of Vermont v. The State of New Hampshire
Citations289 U.S. 593 (more)
53 S. Ct. 708; 77 L. Ed. 1392
Case history
PriorHearing upon exceptions to report of the Special Master
Holding
The boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire is neither the thread of the channel of the Connecticut River nor the top of the west bank of the river, but rather the west bank of the river at the mean low-water mark.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Charles E. Hughes
Associate Justices
Willis Van Devanter · James C. McReynolds
Louis Brandeis · George Sutherland
Pierce Butler · Harlan F. Stone
Owen Roberts · Benjamin N. Cardozo
Case opinion
MajorityStone, joined by Van Devanter, McReynolds, Brandeis, Sutherland, Butler, Roberts, Cardozo
Hughes took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Vermont v. New Hampshire, 289 U.S. 593 (1933), was a United States Supreme Court case holding that the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire is neither the thread of the channel of the Connecticut River nor the top of the west bank of the river, but rather the west bank of the river at the mean low-water mark.

The petition adjudicate the dispute was submitted to the Supreme Court by the State of Vermont in 1915 and not finally decided until 18 years later. In the mean time, a special master appointed by the Court studied the 17th- and 18th-century history of laws and politics affecting the status of the territory that ultimately became the state of Vermont and wrote a lengthy report to the Court.