Fletcher v. Peck

What happened

In 1795 James Gunn and others bought a large tract of western land from the state of Georgia. The sale took the form of a bill passed by the Georgia legislature. The pleadings alleged corrupt practices in passing it. A later legislature passed an act "annulling and rescinding" the law, declaring the conveyance void and asserting the state's title.

The suit itself was a dispute between private buyers. John Peck had sold part of the land to Robert Fletcher, and Fletcher sued Peck on the covenants in the deed. The first covenant said Georgia "was legally seised in fee of the soil thereof subject only to the extinguishment of part of the Indian title thereon." Fletcher argued that the title was not Georgia's to convey.

Chief Justice Marshall held that the repeal could not undo the grant. He wrote that a grant is a contract, and the Constitution bars a state from passing a law impairing the obligation of contracts. As to the corruption claim, he wrote that "the grossest corruption will not authorize a judicial tribunal in disregarding the law."

On Indian title, "the majority of the court is of opinion that the nature of the Indian title, which is certainly to be respected by all courts, until it be legitimately extinguished, is not such as to be absolutely repugnant to seisin in fee on the part of the state." Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) cites Fletcher v. Peck.

Good to know. No Native nation was a party to this case, and the Court's discussion of Indian title is brief.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error