| Webb v. O'Brien | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 23-24, 1923 Decided November 19, 1923 | |
| Full case name | Webb v. O'Brien |
| Citations | 263 U.S. 313 ( more ) |
| Case history | |
| Prior | O'Brien v. Webb, 279 F. 117 (N.D. Cal. 1921) |
| Holding | |
| It is not a violation of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation or the Constitution for a State to forbid a contract which would allow an alien ineligible for citizenship the ability to use land for agricultural purposes. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Butler, joined by Taft, McKenna, Holmes Jr., Devanter, Sanford |
| Dissent | McReynolds, joined by Brandeis |
| Sutherland took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and the USA, U.S. Const., California Alien Land Law of 1913 | |
Webb v. O'Brien, 263 U.S. 313 (1923), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a ban on cropping contracts, which technically dealt with labor rather than land and were used by many Issei to avoid the restrictions of California's alien land act. [1] It overturned a lower court decision.