Briscoe v. Bank of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
BRISCOE V. BANK OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
BRISCOE V. BANK OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, 11 Peters 257 (1837). Article 1, section 10, of the Constitution of the United States forbids states from emitting coin money or bills of credit. Repudiating Craig v. State of Missouri, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bank of Kentucky, although entirely owned by the state and managed by state-appointed officers, could legally issue bank notes. The Supreme Court found the notes to be backed by the resources of the bank, not the credit of the state, and the bank to be a separate entity capable of suing and being sued. Therefore, such notes were not bills of credit in the prohibited sense.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
White, G. Edward, with Gerald Gunther. The Marshall Court and Cultural Change, 1815–35. New York: Macmillan, 1988.
HarveyPinney/a. r.