Record

Court opinion

1995-12-28

CourtListener (Free Law Project), text of the opinion

Carson v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, 73 F.3d 24 (3d Cir. 1995)

The Third Circuit rejects a convicted International Longshoremen's Association officer's Supremacy Clause challenge to section 8 of the Waterfront Commission Act, holding the claim barred by De Veau v. Braisted.

Date
1995-12-28
Kind
court-opinion
Retrieved
2026-10-12
Docket
No. 95-5309
Rights
Opinion of a United States court. Works of the federal judiciary are in the public domain in the United States. The text was read on CourtListener.

Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 95-5309, argued November 28, 1995, decided December 28, 1995, opinion by Judge Cowen with Judges Mansmann and Seitz. “This case presents a Supremacy Clause challenge to New Jersey’s implementation of the Waterfront Commission Act of 1953, an interstate compact between New York and New Jersey aimed at eliminating racketeering and other pernicious activities in the Port of New York District.”

Donald Carson, an officer of the International Longshoremen’s Association, had been convicted in the District of New Jersey of racketeering conspiracy and extortion conspiracy; the Commission’s counsel then advised the ILA that his continued employment would violate section 8. Carson argued that a 1984 amendment to 29 U.S.C. § 504(d) displaced section 8. “Finding that the 1984 amendment effected no change in Carson’s rights whatsoever, we hold that his preemption claim is barred by the Supreme Court’s decision in De Veau v. Braisted,” and the dismissal was affirmed.

Carson may be living; this page states only what the opinion says. The 1960 decision is De Veau v. Braisted.

itemWaterfront Commission Compact: 67 Stat. 541 (Public Law 252, Chapter 407), 12 August 1953The 1953 Act of Congress consenting to the New York-New Jersey Waterfront Commission Compact. In the compact's findings the two states declare that hiring on the Port of New York waterfront was marked by "corrupt hiring practices" by persons who "are frequently criminals."itemLinehan v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, 347 U.S. 439 (1954)The Supreme Court summarily affirms judgments upholding the Waterfront Commission Compact. Justices Douglas and Black dissent from the summary treatment and describe the compact's registration of longshoremen.itemDe Veau v. Braisted, 363 U.S. 144 (1960)The Supreme Court upheld § 8 of the New York Waterfront Commission Act of 1953, which barred a waterfront union from collecting dues while an officer convicted of a felony remained in office.itemMurphy v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, 378 U.S. 52 (1964)Witnesses at a Waterfront Commission hearing on a work stoppage at the Hoboken piers, granted state immunity, refuse to answer for fear of federal prosecution. The Supreme Court holds that the privilege against self-incrimination protects a state witness against incrimination under federal law.itemWaterfront Commission of New York Harbor v. Construction and Marine Equipment Co., 928 F. Supp. 1388 (D.N.J. 1996)The district court grants the Waterfront Commission a preliminary injunction against a company working as an unlicensed stevedore, and recounts the 1953 compact's purpose and Congress's consent in Public Law 83-252.