Virginia v. West Virginia

Virginia v. West Virginia
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided March 6, 1871
Full case name	State of Virginia v. State of West Virginia
Citations	78 U.S. 39 (more) 11 Wall. 39; 20 L. Ed. 67
Holding
Where a governor has discretion in the conduct of the election, the legislature is bound by his action and cannot undo the results based on fraud.
Court membership
Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase Associate Justices Samuel Nelson · Nathan Clifford Noah H. Swayne · Samuel F. Miller David Davis · Stephen J. Field William Strong · Joseph P. Bradley
Case opinions
Majority	Miller, joined by Chase, Nelson, Swayne, Strong, Bradley
Dissent	Davis, joined by Clifford, Field

Virginia v. West Virginia, 78 U.S. (11 Wall.) 39 (1871), is a 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that if a governor has discretion in the conduct of the election, the legislature is bound by his action and cannot undo the results based on fraud. The Court implicitly affirmed that the breakaway Virginia counties had received the necessary consent of both the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States Congress to become a separate U.S. state. The Court also explicitly held that Berkeley County and Jefferson County were part of the new State of West Virginia.