Martin v. Hunter's Lessee

US Supreme Court decision of 1816 that established the right of the Supreme Court to overrule certain state court rulings. The Virginia state court refused to return Martin certain property confiscated by state law during the American Revolution, ignoring the treaty with the British that guaranteed that Loyalists would not be deprived of their properties. When, on appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the decision, the Virginia courts protested that land matters in states were outside of Supreme Court jurisdiction. The Court ruled that, by the Judiciary Act, such matters were within its jurisdiction.