Trump v. Barbara · ¶330

In fact, the Court does not even identify anyone who expressed the feudal principle in the relevant language—“not subject to any foreign power” or “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. The closest that it comes is Lynch v. Clarke’s use of the phrase “within the jurisdiction,” see ante, at 6, 10, language that denotes “territorial jurisdiction,” Schooner Exchange v. McFaddon, 7 Cranch 116, 137 (1812). But, Congress conspicuously chose not to use that broader territorial phrase in the Citizenship Clause. Notably, the Fourteenth Amendment elsewhere says that no State may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” §1 (emphasis added). The Citizenship Clause does not use that territorial phrase. See Brief for Professor Richard A. Epstein as Amicus Curiae 6– 7 (explaining that the Equal Protection Clause refers to all persons “within its…

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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