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RG 95
Arizona vs California
Records Pertaining to the Supreme Court Case
SG 8
U. S. Case Material
(1890-1967)
Accn. # Unknown
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Historical Note
During the first half of the twentieth century, water rights disputes pertaining
to interstate streams were settled in two ways: interstate treaties
or Supreme Court ruling. Allocation of Colorado River waters have long
been disputed by the western states dependent on the waterway. In the
1920s, the rapidly growing Colorado River basin states attempted to allocate
the river's flow. Displeased with the outcome of the interstate treaty
(known as the Colorado River Compact of 1922) and following several attempts
to come to an agreement, Arizona went to the Supreme Court seeking redress.
Arizona's first appeal to the Court in October 1930, requested that the
Court find the Boulder Canyon Act unconstitutional. In an eight to
one ruling in May 1931 the Justices ruled that the Boulder Canyon Act was
indeed constitutional and did not infringe upon Arizona's rights.
In February 1934, Arizona requested that the Court perpetuate (certify for
future use) testimony from members of the Colorado River Commission. This
testimony pertained to the allocation of some one million acre feet of water
left in question by Article III(b) of the Colorado River Compact. Arizona
attorneys believed they could eventually show, through the perpetuated testimony,
that the million acre feet was originally intended for their state by the
Colorado River Commission.
Arizona again appealed to the Court in November 1935 and asked for a determination
of the state's "equitable share" of the Colorado's water. Denying
the litigants an interpretation on the case, the case was thrown out in May
1936.
In February 1944, the United States signed a treaty guaranteeing Mexico
one and a half million acre feet. Three weeks later, in an attempt
to legally claim some of the Colorado's water, Arizona ratified the Colorado
River Compact. However, until Bureau of Reclamation dams controlled
and distributed the river's flow, allocations outlined by the compact could
not guarantee Arizona its share of the water. The upper Colorado basin
states met, in conjunction with other western states in yet another attempt
to resolve the allocation problems. Eventually, Congress approved an
upper basin pact that Arizonans realized, when combined with California's
needs, could leave their state without sufficient water. Again, Arizona
turned to the Supreme Court.
The suit filed by Arizona in 1952 would turn out to be one of the longest
and most debated cases in the High Court's history. All total, it lasted
eleven years, required the testimony of approximately 340 witnesses, employed
the services of nearly fifty attorneys, and cost roughly $5 million. The
list of original litigants, Arizona and California, grew to include New Mexico,
Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and the United States of America representing some
twenty-five Indian tribes. The Court assigned a Special Master to "take
evidence, find facts, state conclusions of law, and recommend a decree." George
Haight, the case's first Special Master was succeeded by Simon H. Rifkind
upon Haight's death (speculated by some to have been brought on by the rigors
of the case).
The Supreme Court Justices announced their decision on June 3, 1963. The
ruling, in favor of Arizona, was based on the Boulder Canyon Act, not the
compact of 1922. By referencing the Boulder Canyon Act, the Court stated
that Arizona was entitled to its tributaries, and therefore authorized to
use the one million acre feet disputed by California. The decision
also implied there was a third method of determining allocation of interstate
streams, Congressional designation through legislation. With its tributaries
and the 2.8 million acre feet from the Colorado, Arizona had, through the
Court's ruling, acquired nearly all it had set out to gain in the 1920s.
For additional information on the Arizona v. California cases, see Norris
Hundley's Water and the West: The Colorado River Compact and the
Politics of Water in the American West (University of California Press,
1975) and US Supreme Court rulings on the case (Arizona v. California
et. al, 373 US 546 (1963)).
Scope and Content
Summary
Record Group 95, Arizona v. California: Records Pertaining to the
Supreme Court Case, documents the litigation pertaining to water allocation
of the Colorado River from the 1952-1963 case. Material from earlier
Supreme Court cases involving Arizona, California, and Colorado Basin States
is almost entirely absent from this record group.
Comprising of forty-eight cubic feet and two oversize boxes of material,
the majority of the records are legal exhibits, briefs, memoranda, and reports. The
collection does contain a small number of files, photographs, and print material. Documents
in RG 95 range from 1890 to 1967, with most of the earliest items being photostat
reproductions and the bulk of materials dating from the 1950s through the
early 1960s.
The records are arranged in seventeen subgroups. Many of the subgroups
are further divided into series.
Subgroup List
- Court Transcripts
- Newspaper Clippings
- Applications for Water Permit
- Arizona Case Material
- California Case Material
- Defendant’s (Non-California) Case Material
- Special Master’s Exhibits
- U. S. Case Material
- Arizona v. California Briefs and Memoranda
- Supporting Court Cases
- Hearing Proceedings
- Reports
- Colorado River Organization Minutes
- Photographs
- Charles Carson Files
- Arizona Colorado River Commission
- Studies
Subgroup Descriptions
This subgroup contains three series: transcripts from the Supreme Court
Transcript Corrections and Index of Trial Transcripts. The seven cubic
feet of material in this series date from 1954 to 1962, with the bulk of
it dated 1957 and 1958.
Series 1: Transcripts
For the most part each volume contains a day's worth of proceedings, with
some days being broken up into a.m. and p.m. volumes. The cover
of each volume lists the volume number, session, date, and inclusive page
numbers. The transcripts are arranged in numerical order by volume
number, therefore chronologically. Dates for these items are from1954-1962,
with the bulk dating from 1957 and 1958.
Series 2: Transcript Corrections
This small series of eight folders contains proposed transcript corrections. These
pages were originally housed in three, 3-ring binders. Individual pages
are in numerical order with some pages missing. Presumably the missing
pages were free of corrections.
Series 3: Index of Trial Transcripts
There are also five folders in this series. Apparently part of a larger,
alphabetical index, only "S" through "Z" are present. A
note on one of the folders reads: "Index of Trial Transcript,
Gove Allen's Work." Similar material is located in RG 141 (AISC
Records), box 82 and contains "L" through "R." RG
141 also contains an index of the AZ v. CA case and appears to correspond
with the transcripts in this collection (RG 95), see RG 141, Box 16.
This subgroup consists of approximately eight cubic feet and dates from
1918 to 1967. The series has been dived into Colorado River Clippings,
Central Arizona Project Clippings, and Miscellaneous Clippings. Most
of the articles are dated and arranged in reverse chronological order within
folders; following the method used by the documents' compilers.
Articles dealing with the Central Arizona Project (CAP) are from the early
1950s to the mid-1960s. The Miscellaneous newsclippings deal with the
Sierra Club, dating from 1965 to 1967, and clippings from the Congressional
Record.
The clippings should be useful to researchers by providing a wide scope
of opinions since the clippings seem to come from across Arizona. Material
relating to early Arizona and California water disputes, Boulder Dam, Fred
Colter, Arizona Government is present. Many of the articles contain
photographs that could be helpful to researchers.
There are approximately four cubic feet of material in this subgroup. Nearly
three cubic feet is arranged alphabetically by Arizona county. Within
each county grouping, records were in no apparent order. Items were
kept in the order in which they were found. There is about half a
cubic foot of material labeled "Certificates of Water Rights" and
about one cubic foot of unlabeled, loose applications of various types ("Application
for Water Rights," "Application to Build a Reservoir," etc.) Some
of the loose materials have notes attached making reference to application
numbers on the forms. These remain attached to their respective documents.
This subgroup contains three series with material dating from 1903 to 1966.
Series 1: Black Binders
The contents of nearly eighty, three-ring binders comprise this series. The
material likely came from the AISC's Legal Office and served as reference
material for Arizona's legal contingent for the Supreme Court case. Contents
of the sub-series includes indexes of Arizona's, California's, and the other
state's cases, testimony, exhibits from the litigants, items relating to
the Special Master, memoranda, and Indian case material. Arrangement
of items follows the original order of the binders. References in the various
indices seem to correspond with the Court Transcripts in this collection.
Series 2: Arizona Exhibits
Items in this series total four cubic feet and are arranged, when possible
in numerical order according to the exhibit number assigned by the Court
or legal team. Miscellaneous and un-numbered items fall towards the
end of the sub-series. Many of the exhibits (items) are reports
pertaining to past disputes, legal actions, hearings, scientific data,
minutes, etc. dealing with the Colorado River dispute.
The first few items in the series consist of bound, gray volumes of Arizona's
exhibits, organized in numerical order. Researchers will likely find
these volumes easier to use than the individual items from which the exhibits
were taken. The seventh volume contains an Index for all the Plaintiff's
(Arizona) exhibits. However, in many instances, the gray volumes reflect
only a portion of a report, used as evidence. For a contextual placement
of the exhibits, researchers may want to consult the full reports contained
in folders within this sub-series. A preface to the Index of the seven
volumes reads:
"This bound set of the exhibits offered during the course of the trial
by Complainant, State of Arizona, has been prepared for the convenience of
the Court and counsel. Pursuant to the suggestion of the Special Master,
certain exhibits have been omitted where they were bulky or the cost of reproduction
does not warrant their inclusion. Such omissions are indicated in
the body of this set.
Certain numbers were omitted and not assigned to exhibits. Such unassigned
numbers are indicated in the index contained herein.
The date on which each exhibit was marked for identification and the page
of the transcript where marked are indicated in the index and on the face
of each exhibit. The same is true of the date and transcript page where
an exhibit was admitted in evidence. In those cases where an exhibit
was marked for identification but not received in evidence no date or transcript
page appears indicating admission in evidence.
The numbers appearing under the columns headed "Iden." and "Evid." in
the index, refer to the pages of the transcript where the various exhibits
were marked for identification or received in evidence. The same is
true of the page numbers following "Iden." or "Adm." appearing
on the face of each exhibit."
Series 3: Originals for Reproduction
This material consists of one cubic foot and are the original items used
to print the gray exhibit volumes listed earlier in this series. Items
were kept grouped together and roughly each folder contains the contents
of the original shipping envelopes. Material within each folder is
in the order it was in in the envelope, which is numerical order of the
exhibits.
This subgroup contains approximately five cubic feet of material, with items
dating from the early 1950s to 1960. California Case Material is arranged
in three series: California Exhibits, California Findings, Conclusions,
and Bound Briefs, as well as California Case Notebooks and Indexes.
Series 1: California Exhibits
Similar to the bound, gray volumes among the Arizona exhibits, California's
bound, green volumes include the exhibits used by that state's legal team
during the Supreme Court case. There are 25 volumes and an Index
in this series. Exhibits within each volume are tabbed and clearly
marked.
Series 2: California Findings, Conclusions, and Bound Briefs
There are ten volumes in this series. Each volume contains conclusions
of law as related to several aspects of the Arizona v. California case. Of
particular interest is the volume Interstate Water Cases in the Original
Jurisdiction, which provides information on other water rights disputes
and litigation between states.
Series 3: California Case Notebooks and Indexes
This material was originally housed in three-ring binders, but has been removed. Binder
contents were broken up for preservation purposes. Most of the items
are indices, presumably to the court transcript. Material within each
binder was organized alphabetically. The alphabetical arrangement has
been maintained. Researchers will find this material useful as it
provides summary information in many instances.
Material in this subgroup contains material (mostly exhibits) submitted
by Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. There is approximately one cubic foot
of documents.
There are two bound volumes in this subgroup. Both items are studies
dealing with Hoover Dam and water contracts.
This subgroup consists of three cubic feet of exhibits used by the United
States legal team representing Colorado River Basing Indian tribes. Items
are arranged chronologically by exhibit number. Exhibits dealing with
reclamation, Fish and Game Department, National Forest Service, National
Parks, and the Bureau of Land Management are also present. Some items
are cross-marked as Special Master's Exhibits.
Accompanying these exhibits is an index (originally contained in a black
binder, and a duplicate of the Index to US Exhibits in the Arizona Case Material
series, Black Binder sub-series). Original order has been maintained,
with items being transferred to folders. Along with the numbered and
submitted exhibits are exhibits not submitted. Exhibits withheld were
located at the end of the binder and were assigned temporary exhibit numbers. These
exhibits follow the numbered, submitted exhibits in the new arrangement.
This subgroup contains two cubic feet of legal briefs and memoranda written
by litigants of the Arizona v. California Supreme Court Case. Documents
are arranged in chronological order, based on Court session, which is usually
by year. Items date from 1930 through 1964, with the bulk of material
dating from the 1955 to 1958. Due to their length, the title of each
document is not on the file folder. Researchers should reference the
Box Inventory, taking note of which folder [both box and folder number] contains
the desired brief or memoranda.
This subgroup contains slightly over two cubic feet of legal briefs and
memoranda from court cases (other than Arizona v. California) dealing with
water issues. It appears the cases were used to support the Arizona
v. California case. Most of the cases were heard in the US Supreme
Court, and date from 1906 to 1965. Other cases were heard in US District
Courts as well as Arizona Territory and State Courts. Material is arranged
into two series, Supreme Court cases and Other Courts. Within series,
items are arranged in chronological order (based on the date of a case's
first hearing in court).
This subgroup contains bound proceedings from congressional hearings with
documents dating from 1890 to 1965. The majority of documents date
from the 1940s to 1965. Present are reports dealing with the Central
Arizona Project, the Colorado River, as well as proceedings from hearings
concerning water rights from other parts of the country. Items are
arranged in chronological order and make up just over one cubic foot of material.
This subgroup contains two cubic feet of reports, brochures, and other similar
publications. Subject matter ranges from official government reports
to articles in Fortune magazine. Items date from 1904 to 1965
and are arranged in chronological order.
The approximately one cubic foot of material in this subgroup consists of
bound meeting proceedings. Organizations represented include the National
Colorado River Commission and the Committees of 14 and 16 of the Colorado
River Basin States. Material has been separated into minutes of the
CRC and the Committee of 14 and 16. Arranged chronologically, documents date
from 1922 to 1949.
There is approximately half a cubic foot of material in this subgroup. The
photographs appear to date from the late 1950s and early 1960s. Most
of the labeled photos are of canals and rivers. The unlabeled photos
contained in developer's albums appear to be of a tour of Parker Dam and
other irrigation works and canals. The majority of photos in this series
consist of aerial photos taken in 1962 of an un-named river. These
items are not labeled. Material is arranged chronologically.
Items in this subgroup consist of material contained in file folders and
material that appeared to have, at one time, been in an office file. The
five cubic feet of material consists largely of legal office files, although
some reports, transcripts, tables, and correspondence are also present. The
subgroup is arranged into three series: Labeled Files, Unlabeled Files,
and Carson Files.
Items in the Labeled Files series date from 1922 to 1963 and are arranged
in chronological order, with non-dated items at the end.
A considerable amount of the documents in this subgroup, dating from 1904
to 1965, were loose and unlabeled in boxes. These items form the Unlabeled
Files series and have been given labels when possible. Items are in
chronological order, with non-dated items at the end. This series contains
material pertaining to congressional hearings for HR 4671, various photostat
copies of government reports, and water contracts.
A small number of files, dating from 1947 to 1951, were labeled as "Old
Carson Files." These items were kept in their original order,
as a series, and follow an arrangement given by Carson. The files are
likely from the office of Charles Carson, lead counsel for the Arizona Interstate
Stream Commission. (Additional Carson files can be found in RG 141,
Arizona Interstate Stream Commission Records.)
There are four folders in this subgroup. Items are receipt books and
a ledger for the Arizona Colorado River Commission. Material dates
from the late 1930s to 1945. The ledger book is oversized.
There are two boxes in this subgroup with reports and studies dating from
1946-1958.
Note on Arrangement and Description
Material in the Arizona v. California Supreme Court Records have been rehoused
for preservation purposes. Many of the documents were originally in
three-ring binders. Such items were removed from the binders and placed
in file folders. Folder titles are those given by the documents' creators. In
cases when a folder, binder, or box was not labeled, a general title has
been assigned based on the folder or box contents. Partially full boxes
were combined with other boxes for preservation and space conservation purposes;
however, document order was maintained.
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Updated: 05/08/2009
