Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/250

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224 OCTOBER TERM, 1907. Opinion of tl? C?urt. 209 U.S. the review of a final judgment or decree, actually or construe- tively deciding such question, when rendered by the highest court of a State in which a decision in the suit could be had, and, as for want of an appropriate appeal, no final j?dgment or de? eree in such court has been rendered, it results that the statu- tory prerequisite for the excrcisc in this case. of the reviewing. power of this court is wanting." Chambers v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Cornpon?l, 207 U.S. 142, involved a statute of Ohio giving an action for death caused by .the wrongful act in another State only when the death was that of a citizen of Ohio. The statute was attacked on the ground that it violated that. clause of the Constitution of the United States which entitles the citizens of each State to an the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. The statute was sustained by this court. Mr. Justice Moody, speaking for the court, said, p. 148: "But, subject to the restrictions of the Federal Constitution, the State may determine the limits of the jurisdiction of its court, and the character of the controversies which ah,dl be heard in them. The state policy decides whether and to what extent the State will entertain in its courts transitory actions, where the causes of action have arisen in other jurisdictions. Different States may have different policies and the same State may have different policies at different times. But any policy the State may chose to adopt must operate in the same way on its own citizens and those of other States. The privi- leges which it affords to one class it must afford to the other. Any law by which privileges to begin actions in the courts are given to its own citizens and wit.hheld from the citizens of other States is void, because in conflict with the supreme law of the land." But in none of these cases was the same question presented. that is presented'here, nor were all oi ? the cases cited by plain- tiff in'error to sustain the jurisdiction of this court cases in the Federal courts. Po/ndexter v. Greenhow, 114 U.S. 270, and Chain v. Ta?lor, 114 U.S. 309, were brought in the state courts