Washington Law Review Volume 14 Number 1 1-1-1939 Jurisdiction Over Lands Ownedy by the United States Within the State of Washington: Part I, The Subject in General John N. Rupp Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr Part of the Property Law and Real Estate Commons Recommended Citation John N. Rupp, Jurisdiction Over Lands Ownedy by the United States Within the State of Washington: Part I, The Subject in General, 14 Wash. L. Rev. & St. B.J. 1 (1939). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol14/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at UW Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington Law Review by an authorized editor of UW Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. WASHINGTON LAW REVIEW and STATE BAR JOURNAL VOLUME XIV. JANUARY, 1939 NUMBER 1 JURISDICTION OVER LANDS OWNED BY THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON JOHN N. RUPP* PART I THE SUBJECT IN GENERAL Among the unique characteristics of our federal system of gov- ernment is the concept of the dual sovereignty of the national and state governments over land, things, and persons located within the boundaries of the states. In addition to its position and rights as ultimate sovereign over all territory within its borders, the United States is also a corporate body politic and as such can make con- tracts, and can hold property, both real and personal.1 Under this power to own property in its own right the United States has be- come a great landed proprietor, owning many tracts of land within the exterior boundaries of the states, and it is this fact which gives rise to the problems of jurisdiction and control with which this paper is concerned.