MSC 313 - Exam 1 Questions with Correct Answers Already Passed
Equal Footing Doctrine - Answers new states get the same rights as the original 13 once they become a
state (they gain all submerged lands under the MHWL)
Equal Footing Doctrine EXCEPTIONS - Answers 1. land given by fed gov to the territory before the
territory became a state
2. land grants given by foreign country
Public Trust Doctrine - Answers government holds in trust some lands for public use
the right to
1. commerce
2. navigation
3. fishing
4. bathing-
5. swimming-
6. other recreation-
-Florida-specific
Martin v. Lessee of Waddell - Answers Equal Footing Doctrine (and Alabama's rights granted by it)
Shively v. Bowlby - Answers Oregon
-Illustration on how exceptions to equal footing doctrine play out
-Ruling: Fed grants do not include adjacent submerged lands
Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois - Answers State sells railroad company land along and large portion of
submerged lands within the Chicago River. State comes back to revoke deed because the amount of
submerged lands sold intrudes on public trust rights
State can step in when public trust is impacted, state shall not hand over rights and responsibilities to
uphold public trust
, Mean High Waterline (MHWL) - Answers line that separates land from water; the boundary between
private and state owned lands
legal boundary between public and private in the state of FL
MHWL in California - Answers the average of the mean high water lines over the course of 18.6 years
determines California's private upland and public tideland boundaries (determined by The Court of
Appeals)
Tideland and submerged land powers? - Answers States
When can the state abdicate its trust over property? - Answers 1. if parcels are sold to improve the
navigation and use of the water.
2. when parcels can be disposed of without impairment of the public interest in what remains
Borax v. City of Los Angeles - Answers California
dispute over where the boundary between tidelands and uplands lies
In the state of California, whose determinations, including the correctness of the survey of the MHWL
taken, were final and binding? - Answers The General Land Office (of California)
Coastal zone - Answers the area encompassing the uplands, tidelands, and submerged lands
Uplands - Answers lands lying landward (above) the MHWL; private
Tidelands - Answers lands lying below the MHWL and the ML waters
Submerged lands - Answers lands lying seaward (below) the ML waterline; state/Fed
Two types of law in the US - Answers 1. civil
2. common law (what we practice)
Where can the Public Trust Doctrine be traced back to? - Answers the Romans (they claimed the
seashores were common to all)
The English common law becoming more widespread is the joint result of? - Answers 1. English
government wanting to unify the colonies
2. the colonist desire to gain freedom
Equal Footing Doctrine - Answers new states get the same rights as the original 13 once they become a
state (they gain all submerged lands under the MHWL)
Equal Footing Doctrine EXCEPTIONS - Answers 1. land given by fed gov to the territory before the
territory became a state
2. land grants given by foreign country
Public Trust Doctrine - Answers government holds in trust some lands for public use
the right to
1. commerce
2. navigation
3. fishing
4. bathing-
5. swimming-
6. other recreation-
-Florida-specific
Martin v. Lessee of Waddell - Answers Equal Footing Doctrine (and Alabama's rights granted by it)
Shively v. Bowlby - Answers Oregon
-Illustration on how exceptions to equal footing doctrine play out
-Ruling: Fed grants do not include adjacent submerged lands
Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois - Answers State sells railroad company land along and large portion of
submerged lands within the Chicago River. State comes back to revoke deed because the amount of
submerged lands sold intrudes on public trust rights
State can step in when public trust is impacted, state shall not hand over rights and responsibilities to
uphold public trust
, Mean High Waterline (MHWL) - Answers line that separates land from water; the boundary between
private and state owned lands
legal boundary between public and private in the state of FL
MHWL in California - Answers the average of the mean high water lines over the course of 18.6 years
determines California's private upland and public tideland boundaries (determined by The Court of
Appeals)
Tideland and submerged land powers? - Answers States
When can the state abdicate its trust over property? - Answers 1. if parcels are sold to improve the
navigation and use of the water.
2. when parcels can be disposed of without impairment of the public interest in what remains
Borax v. City of Los Angeles - Answers California
dispute over where the boundary between tidelands and uplands lies
In the state of California, whose determinations, including the correctness of the survey of the MHWL
taken, were final and binding? - Answers The General Land Office (of California)
Coastal zone - Answers the area encompassing the uplands, tidelands, and submerged lands
Uplands - Answers lands lying landward (above) the MHWL; private
Tidelands - Answers lands lying below the MHWL and the ML waters
Submerged lands - Answers lands lying seaward (below) the ML waterline; state/Fed
Two types of law in the US - Answers 1. civil
2. common law (what we practice)
Where can the Public Trust Doctrine be traced back to? - Answers the Romans (they claimed the
seashores were common to all)
The English common law becoming more widespread is the joint result of? - Answers 1. English
government wanting to unify the colonies
2. the colonist desire to gain freedom
