City Of Ingleside Case Summary

Territorial dispute between the City of Ingleside and the City of Corpus Christi in Texas resulted in a lawsuit to establish the adjacent bay waters’ “shoreline” as the common border. Ingleside sought clarification by filing a declaratory-judgment. Ingleside believed that several piers, bulkheads, wharves, and artificial structures affixed to Ingleside’s shore and therefore The City of Ingleside believed part of the land was within their jurisdiction. However, due to the balance of power between the state government and the judicial branch, the court of appeals dismissed the case because they felt they lacked jurisdiction declaring the issue as a political question. In this dispute, The City of Ingleside appealed and the case was granted a petition …show more content…
To begin, this conflict in court occurred mainly because the courts cannot declare a boundary, if they do that would amount to the judicial branch interfering with the legislative branch of Texas. This would be against the Texas constitution directing under article II sections 1 where, it provides that “one governmental branch may not exercise those powers committed to a coordinate branch”. In Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd. if a determination is constitutionally committed to the legislative branch’s discretion, the judiciary is not free to substitute its judgment for that of the legislative branch. It is clear why the lower court dismissed this case as a political question since it did not want to breach the balance of the institutions. However, the constitution also mentions in vague language, “except in the instances herein expressly permitted”. The Supreme Court of Texas agreed, but in this specific dispute, it pertains to the jurisdictional boundaries of home-rule municipalities like Ingleside and Corpus Christi, not a decision to annex