Vermont v. New Hampshire

Background

Samuel S. Gannett was appointed by this Court on January 8, 1934, to locate and mark the boundary on the ground between the State of Vermont and the State of New Hampshire. He filed a report dated November 16, 1936, and a supplemental report dated January 14, 1937, prepared and filed under the Court’s December 21, 1936 order. The two States, through their lawyers, told the Court they had no exceptions or objections to those reports and asked the Court to end the time for filing any objections.

Reasoning

The Court considered the commissioner's reports and the parties' stipulation that there were no objections. Because both States had waived exceptions, the Court terminated the period for filing objections and confirmed the reports in all respects. The Court declared that the boundary line marked and located on the ground and shown on the accompanying maps is the true boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire as determined by the earlier decree. Finding the commissioner had completed his work under the prior orders, the Court discharged him.

Real world impact

The decree makes the surveyed and mapped line the official state boundary and requires copies of the decree, reports, and maps to be sent to each State’s chief magistrate. The Court ordered that the costs of the proceeding be divided equally between Vermont and New Hampshire. These actions finalize the field location and documentation of the boundary as described in the reports. It finalizes the physical markers placed on the ground.