Also known as: citizens · national
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who by birth or naturalization in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction owes allegiance to the nation and is entitled to its protection and privileges.
Craig Caldwell was born in a hospital in State A to parents who were visiting on temporary visas. When State A enacted a statute denying him in-state tuition benefits available to other residents, Craig asserted that the statute abridged privileges of United States citizens. The court held that his birth in the United States made him a citizen entitled to equal protection.
Cecilia Cabrera, a naturalized citizen from abroad, appeared before Judge Ramirez in a contract dispute. The judge repeatedly referred to her foreign birth during hearings and assigned her case to a junior clerk. Cecilia moved to recuse the judge for manifesting bias based on national origin in the performance of judicial duties.
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Charlotte Chung retained counsel to pursue an employment claim. During a meeting the lawyer made repeated remarks about her recent naturalization and suggested she should return to her country of origin. Charlotte filed a grievance alleging the conduct constituted harassment on the basis of national origin in the practice of law.
Cobalt Energy is incorporated in State B and maintains its headquarters and executive offices in State C. When sued by a citizen of State A in federal court, Cobalt moved to dismiss for lack of diversity. The court determined that Cobalt is a citizen of both its state of incorporation and the state of its principal place of business.
Cody Callahan, a resident of the county, filed suit on behalf of the general public to abate a factory's ongoing discharge of pollutants into a local river. The defendant moved to dismiss for lack of standing. The court permitted the action to proceed because state law authorizes a citizen to sue as a representative of the public.
Carmen Choi, a United States national domiciled in State A, executed a will in State B that failed to meet State A's formal requirements. After her death a beneficiary sought probate. The court upheld the will because its execution complied with the law of the place where the testator was a national at the time of execution.
The amendment provides that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside. This definition supplies the foundation for privileges and immunities, due process, and equal protection claims.
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A corporation is a citizen of every state and foreign country in which it is incorporated and of the single state or foreign country where its high-level officers direct, control, and coordinate its activities, known as its nerve center.
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A citizen may sue as a representative of the general public when the governing law authorizes a citizen's action or class action to abate conduct affecting the public at large.
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…officer of the United States and as agent of the President. In the first capacity his duty is to the United States or its citizens; in the other his duty is to the President. In the former capacity he is compellable by mandamus to do his duty; in the latter he is not. This distinction is pointed out by two acts of…