Barron v. Baltimore

US Supreme Court decision of 1833 dealing with the responsibilities of state courts under the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiff, a wharf owner who lost money through the municipally engineered reorganization of Baltimore's harbor, sued the city for damages. Although the Fifth Amendment protects citizens from expropriation without proper compensation, the Maryland courts found against Barron. He appealed to the US Supreme Court, which upheld the Maryland decision, ruling that the intent of the Bill of Rights is protection from the federal government, not from state governments.