Town of Warrenton v. Warren County

Article Y, section 5, of the Constitution declares briefly, plainly, and pointedly: “Property belonging to the State or to municipal corporations shall be exempt from taxation.” The effect of the majority opinion in the case at bar is to insert after the words “municipal corporations” the words “and held for a governmental or public purpose.” The question of real importance raised here is whether this is judicial interpretation or judicial amendment. The only argument advanced in the majority opinion to support the theory of legitimate interpretation is the naked authority of supposed…