Davis v. Massachusetts (1850)
- Docket
- 229
- Decided
- 1850-1900-
Summary
Question: Did Davis' arrest for violating the city ordinance banning addresses on public property violate his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of property? Conclusion: No. In a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Edward D. White, the Court found the law did not contain "any proof whatever as to the nature of the ownership in the common from which it can be deduced that the plaintiff…had any particular right to use the common apart from the general enjoyment." The Court agreed with the lower court's conclusion that the legislature and the state had the power to exercise authority over public property, the Fourteenth Amendment notwithstanding. "The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States does not destroy the power of the states to enact police regulations as to the subjects within their control."