Coleman v. Miller
Encyclopedia
Coleman v. Miller, is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which clarified that if the Congress of the United States—when proposing for ratification an amendment to the United States Constitution
pursuant to Article V
thereof—chooses not to specify a deadline within which the state legislatures (or conventions held in the states
) must act upon the proposed amendment, then the amendment remains pending business before the state legislatures (or conventions). The case centered around the Child Labor Amendment
, which was proposed for ratification by Congress in 1924.
According to Coleman, it is none other than the Congress itself—if and when the Congress should later be presented with valid ratifications from the required number of states—which has the discretion to arbitrate the question of whether too much time has elapsed between Congress' initial proposal of the amendment and the most recent state ratification thereof assuming that, as a consequence of that most recent action, the legislatures of (or conventions conducted within) at least three-fourths of the states have approved the amendment at one time or another.
The Coleman ruling—which modified the 1921 finding in Dillon v. Gloss
—formed the basis of the belated and unusual ratification of the 27th Amendment
.
As of 2009, only the Child labor amendment
, Article the First
, the Corwin Amendment
and the Titles of Nobility Amendment
remain technically pending.
The Coleman decision has been described as the genesis of the political question doctrine
which is sometimes espoused by federal courts in cases wherein the court deems the matter at hand to be properly assigned to the discretion of the legislative branch of the federal government.
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
pursuant to Article V
Article Five of the United States Constitution
Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the Constitution may be altered. Altering the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment and subsequent ratification....
thereof—chooses not to specify a deadline within which the state legislatures (or conventions held in the states
Conventions within the states to ratify an amendment to U.S. Constitution
State ratifying conventions are one of the two methods established by Article V of the United States Constitution for ratifying constitutional amendments. Ratifying conventions have only been used for the ratification of the 21st Amendment...
) must act upon the proposed amendment, then the amendment remains pending business before the state legislatures (or conventions). The case centered around the Child Labor Amendment
Child Labor Amendment
The Child Labor Amendment is a proposed and still-pending amendment to the United States Constitution offered by Republican Ohio Congressman Israel Moore Foster on April 26, 1924, during the 68th Congress, in the form of House Joint Resolution No. 184....
, which was proposed for ratification by Congress in 1924.
According to Coleman, it is none other than the Congress itself—if and when the Congress should later be presented with valid ratifications from the required number of states—which has the discretion to arbitrate the question of whether too much time has elapsed between Congress' initial proposal of the amendment and the most recent state ratification thereof assuming that, as a consequence of that most recent action, the legislatures of (or conventions conducted within) at least three-fourths of the states have approved the amendment at one time or another.
The Coleman ruling—which modified the 1921 finding in Dillon v. Gloss
Dillon v. Gloss
Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that if the United States Congress—when proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States—desires to place a deadline on that particular constitutional amendment's ratification, that...
—formed the basis of the belated and unusual ratification of the 27th Amendment
Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-seventh Amendment prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of the Congress from taking effect until the start of the next set of terms of office for Representatives...
.
As of 2009, only the Child labor amendment
Child Labor Amendment
The Child Labor Amendment is a proposed and still-pending amendment to the United States Constitution offered by Republican Ohio Congressman Israel Moore Foster on April 26, 1924, during the 68th Congress, in the form of House Joint Resolution No. 184....
, Article the First
Article The First
Article the First is the first proposed amendment to the United States Constitution though it has not yet been ratified...
, the Corwin Amendment
Corwin amendment
The Corwin Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the 36th Congress, 2nd Session, on March 2, 1861, in the form of House Resolution No. 80...
and the Titles of Nobility Amendment
Titles of Nobility amendment
The Titles of Nobility Amendment was proposed as an amendment to the United States Constitution in 1810. Upon approval of a resolution offered by U.S. Senator Philip Reed of Maryland, during the 2nd Session of the 11th Congress, TONA was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification...
remain technically pending.
The Coleman decision has been described as the genesis of the political question doctrine
Political question
In American Constitutional law, the political question doctrine is closely linked to the concept of justiciability, as it comes down to a question of whether or not the court system is an appropriate forum in which to hear the case. This is because the court system only has authority to hear and...
which is sometimes espoused by federal courts in cases wherein the court deems the matter at hand to be properly assigned to the discretion of the legislative branch of the federal government.