Kramer v. Deer Lodge Farms Co.

Mr. Chief Justice Johnson:

I dissent. We are not concerned with what might have been adjudicated in 1892, but with what was adjudicated, namely, the water of Dempsey Creek. If Quinlan Slough was then a tributary its water rights held by parties to the suit were adjudicated, whether or not it later ceased to be a tributary. If, on the other hand, Quinlan Slough was not then a tributary its waters were not adjudicated, whether or not it later became one.

Every man’s right to his day in court before being deprived of his property is such a fundamental element of any real justice that an…