Quebec v. United States

Quebec v. United States was a landmark United States Supreme Court case, decided on January 17, 1996. In 1995, Quebec held a referendum to secede from the United States and become sovereign under a renegotiated political and economic agreement. The referendum drew high levels of voter participation and narrowly succeeded. However, Congress largely dismissed the result, claiming that Quebec could not secede from the United States. Because of this, the Attorney-General and Premier of Quebec sued the federal government in District Court. The court dismissed the case as a political question. Quebec then appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Xth Circuit. The Court of Appeals ruled that Quebec did not have the right to succeed. Quebec subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court. Justice O'Connor wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by the rest of the court. The court upheld the Court of Appeals ruling, saying that no state could leave the union. Justices Thomas, Scalia, and Rehnquist wrote a concurring opinion, agreeing with the courts ruling, but contending that it was a political question that should have been left to the federal and state government to work out.