Cite as: 523 U. S. 767 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
The Special Master first concluded that Article First of the Compact, which establishes "[t]he boundary line between the two states of New York and New Jersey" at the midpoint of the Hudson River and New York Harbor, marks the line of sovereignty between the two States. Next, he concluded that although Article Second accords New York some sovereign jurisdiction over the Island as it existed in 1834,2 the Compact does not address the issue of sovereign authority over the filled portions of the Island. The Special Master concluded that the filled portions of the Island are subject to the sovereign authority of New Jersey under the common-law doctrine of avulsion, and he rejected New York's affirmatively defensive claim to have obtained sovereign authority over the filled portions of the Island by prescription and acquiescence. He also rejected New York's defense that laches barred New Jersey's complaint, finding the doctrine inapposite to interstate boundary actions.
After concluding that New York's sovereign authority was limited to the original area of the Island, the Special Master went on to determine its exact dimensions, which he pegged to the mean low-water mark of the original Island, although he recommended that the area covered by a pier extending from the shore at the time of the Compact be treated as part of the original Island. Finally, the Special Master recommended, "[i]n the interest of practicality, convenience, and
2 The Special Master did not determine the scope of such jurisdiction and in particular did not determine the present effect of New York's cession of "jurisdiction" to the United States in 1800. Because New Jersey's complaint pleaded only its sovereignty over the filled land, because this is not an action between the United States and the State of New York, and because the United States is only an amicus curiae in this proceeding, we have no occasion to declare the extent of New York's sovereign jurisdiction over the original Island. As the United States noted in its amicus brief, "the extent to which the federal government exercises legislative jurisdiction over Ellis Island under the Enclave Clause" of the United States Constitution, Art. I, § 8, cl. 17, "is not at issue in this case." Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 4, n. 1.
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