The Lake Front Case
This chapter discusses the most important decisions about property rights in American law: the Lake Front Case of 1892. It argues that the decision stands for the proposition that certain critical resources, most notably those associated with navigable waterways, must remain under the control of public authorities. The chapter examines how the central device of the Lake Front Case — the public trust doctrine — became a product of the exigencies of litigation. It also introduces Justice Stephen Field and his doctrinal basis to defeat the Illinois Central's powerful vested rights argument. The chapter then highlights the significance and consequences of the enactment and repeal of the Lake Front Act. It analyses how the public trust doctrine was not deployed in the litigation to freeze the submerged land in its original condition. Ultimately, the chapter reviews the longstanding controversy generated by the Illinois Central's presence on the lakefront.