What was the issue of Fletcher vs Peck?

Answer 1

The court case Fletcher vs Peck was significant because it was the first court decision ruling a state law unconstitutional. The case related to the selling of lands purchased from natives without land titles.

Answer 2

Fletcher versus Peck was the first time the Supreme Court declared a state law invalid because it was contrary to the Constitution.

It involved the sale of land. In 1795 the state of Georgia sold 35 million acres to four land companies for a low price They in turn resold the land at an enormous profit.

The next elected Georgia legislature declared that the original sale was invalid because of the wholesale corruption and bribery involved.

By this time the parcels of land had been sold and resold, and nobody knew if they really owned the land they had bought.

The Supreme Court said the original sale was valid no matter how corrupt the process had been. A new law cannot take away a citizen's property which he legally purchased under the old law.