Zschernig v. Miller

Zschernig v. Miller
Zschernig v. Miller
	P.2d 781; 415 P.2d 15 (1966); probable jurisdiction noted, 386 U.S. 1030 (1967).
Holding
	A state statute allowing an alien to inherit only if his domestic law satisfies one of the specified conditions is unconstitutional because it intrudes into the federal realm of foreign affairs.
Court membership
	Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.; Potter Stewart · Byron White; Abe Fortas · Thurgood Marshall
Case opinions
Majority	Douglas, joined by Warren, Black, Brennan, Stewart, Fortas
Concurrence	Stewart, joined by Brennan
Concurrence	Harlan (in judgment)
Dissent	White
	Marshall took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Zschernig v. Miller, 389 U.S. 429 (1968), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated an Oregon statute for unconstitutionally intruding into the federal realm of foreign affairs even though the statute did not conflict with any federal treaty or statute.^[1]^[2]

Introduction

An Oregon resident died and their only heirs were residents of East Germany. When the heirs tried to claim their inheritance, the Stand Land Board attempted to escheat the funds because East Germany would not allow the inheritance if the countries involved were reversed.

Facts of the case

The Oregon law at issue in the case provided that a nonresident alien could not inherit property from an Oregon decedent unless: 1) the alien's government granted Americans the right to inherit on the same terms as its own citizens, 2) the alien's government gave Americans the right to receive payment in the U.S. from foreign funds, and 3) the alien was able to receive "the benefit, use or control" of the Oregon bequest "without confiscation" by the alien's government.

Decision

The court found the law unconstitutional because of "intrusion by the State into the field of foreign affairs which the Constitution entrusts to the President and the Congress."

American Insurance Association v. Garamendi, a 2003 case, although they relied more on Justice Harlan's

concurring opinion in Zschernig than on the majority's reasoning.

References

^ Zschernig v. Miller, 389 U.S. 429 (1968). This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
^ 10 U.S. Op. Off. Legal Counsel 49, 61-62 (1986)
^ Zschernig, 389 U.S. at 432.