Savorgnan v. United States et al. (338 U.S. 491)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 9, 1950 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 338 U.S. 491 · 70 S. Ct. 292
- Docket
- No. 48
- Argued
- November 7, 1949
- Decided
- January 9, 1950
- Term
- October Term 1949
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Burton
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Minton, Justice Clark, Justice Burton (wrote), Justice R. H. Jackson, Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Frankfurter (wrote), Justice Black
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Burton delivered the opinion of the Court. The question is whether, under the special circumstances of this case, a native-born American citizen who became an Italian citizen in 1940, and lived in Italy with her Italian husband from 1941 to 1945, nevertheless retained her American citizenship. For the reasons hereinafter stated, we hold that she did not. The controlling statutes are § 2 of the Citizenship Act of 1907, and §§ 401, 403 and 104 of its successor, the Nationality Act of 1940. The petitioner, Rosette Sorge Savorgnan, brought this action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, under § 503 of the Nationality Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 1171, 8 U. S. C. § 903, for a judgment declaring her to be an American citizen. That court decided in her favor. 73 F. Supp. 109. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the judgment and remanded the case with directions to dismiss the petition against the United States because it had not consented to be sued, and to enter judgment in favor of the other defendants in conformity with its opinion. 171 F. 2d 155. Because of the importance of this decision in determining American citizenship, we granted certiorari. 337 U. S. 914. Insofar as material, the undisputed facts and those found by the District Court are as follows: The petitioner was born in Wisconsin in 1915 of…
Excerpt of a 29,896-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.