outline and notes prepared by
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse,
5/20/2004 (revised, 9/11/2006)

Note:  Please Cite as:   Papenfuse, Edward C. Outline, Notes and Documents Concerning Barron v Baltimore, 32 U.S. 243, http://mdhistory.net/msaref06/barron/index.html (last accessed on: ...), [followed by ebook page number, where appropriate]
 
 

Constitutional Issues:

Declaration of Rights, Maryland State Constitution, 1776

21. That no freeman ought to be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land.
Source: http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000078/html/am78--298.html (accessed 2003/01/28)
 

Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution- Rights of Persons

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Source: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/ (accessed 2003/01/28)
 

Primary Sources:

Text of Barron v Baltimore from Lexis (1833 U.S. Lexis 346)

    Shepardized

Text of Mayor and City Council of Cumberland v Asabel Willison (1878 Md. Lexis 148)

    Shepardized
 
 

• Poppleton Map of Baltimore, 1822
• Judge B. Abbott Goldberg inquiry, 1981/03/12; reply
• Baltimore County Court (City Civil Docket) March Term 1828 (cite as: Maryland State Archives, MSA C301-14).
• excerpt of plat filed; full color plat, from Baltimore County Court (Plats) from John Craig et al., v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, William Kenworthy, Surveyor of Baltimore County, March 1826, cite as:  BALTIMORE COUNTY COURT (Plats) 1822-1833 Plat of Fells Point from Barron v. Baltimore, MSA C2042-168, MdHR 19,957-244, B5/9/2
• Jury list for the original lower court proceedings in Barron v. Baltimore.  For full citation of the jury list see: Baltimore County Court (City Civil Docket) March Term 1828 (cite as above)
• Transcript of Proceedings, Barron v Baltimore found in Court of Appeals (Judgments, Western Shore) # 130,  1822-1828.  See printed version below, prepared for the Supreme Court of the U. S.
• Opinion of Baltimore County Court Judge Stephenson Archer (Chief Judge of the  Sixth Judicial Circuit), 2 The American Jurist 203 (October, 1829) "Rights of Municipal Corporation,"  pp. 203-214
• Court of Appeals (Docket, Western Shore) December Term 1830
• Court of Appeals (Notes on Arguments, Western Shore)  December 1830
• Court of Appeals (Opinions, Western Shore)
• Supreme Court of the U.S. (Transcripts of Records), 1833, Jan. Term, which includes a printed transcript of all the lower court proceedings except  the published opinion of Judge Archer.    Note from Christine Jordan
• Richard Peters, Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Supreme Court of the United States. January Term 1833, vol. VII (Philadelphia: Desliver, Jun., and Thomas, 1833), 243-251
• Bouldin Atlas, 1833, Baltimore City Archives, plate showing Craig and Barron's wharf as it existed in 1833


• Barron v Baltimore transcripts prepared for the Supreme Court of the U. S., from National Archives, RG 267, supplied by Christine Jordan, 1990/01/10
• Court of Appeals (Misc) Documents forwarding the Appeal to the Supreme Court and the Decision of the Supreme Court as returned to the Court of Appeals (with appropriate signatures and seals), 1831-1833
• Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Water Resources Administration, Wetlands Report and Recommendations, 87-WL-0163 concerning area in and around Barron's wharf

Secondary Sources:

Rhodes, Irwin S.  The Papers of John Marshall, A Descriptive Calendar (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969), excerpts re: Barron v Baltimore

White, G. Edward.  The Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States, Volumes III-IV, The Marshall Court and Cultural Change, 1815-1835 (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988), excerpts re: Barron v Baltimore

Friendly, Fred W. and Martha J. H. Elliott.  The Constitution That Delicate Balance (New York: Random House, 1984), "Barron's Wharf: the First Test of the Bill of Rights," pp. 3-16

Curtis, Christopher M., unpublished paper on Barron v Baltimore, 1999

Biographies:

For the wharf owners:

David Hoffman, lead lawyer for Craig and Barron, biographical sketch by Bill Sleeman, University of Maryland School of Law (last accessed, 9/11/2006):  Local Link
 

For the City of Baltimore:

Roger Brooke Taney (who Marshall refused the opportunity to address the Supreme Court and instead dismissed the Appeal).  Taney would replaced Marshall as Chief Justice of the United States.