DeLima v. Bidwell, , was one of a group of the first Insular Cases

Insular Cases

The Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S. in the Spanish-American War . The name "insular" derives from the fact that these territories are islands and were administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs...

 decided by the United States Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

.

The case was argued on January 8-11, 1901 and was decided on May 27, 1901.

The DeLima Sugar Importing Company sued the New York City collector of customs to recover duties on sugar imported from Puerto Rico after 1899, when Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States. DeLima argued that The Port of New York City had no jurisdiction to collect duties because Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States.

Lower Appellate Court

The lower appellate court had held:

1. although the collector had the right to challenge the factual sufficiency, he was barred from challenging federal jurisdiction on the basis of wrongful removal where the case was removed upon his own petition;
2. the Customs Administrative Act did not decide whether the sugar was imported from a foreign country, therefore the court case was a proper legal action; and
3. Puerto Rico was not a foreign country for tariff purposes but was a United States territory because, by treaty, the district was ceded to and in the possession of the United States. It was not necessary for an act of Congress to embrace the territory for the purpose of tariff laws. Therefore the duties on sugar were illegal, and DeLima Sugar Importing Company was entitled to get its duties on sugar back.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that Puerto Rico after its cession to the United States in 1898 following the Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Paris (1898)

The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....

 was not a foreign country for purposes of the tariff laws of the United States, which required payment of duties on goods moving into the United States from a foreign country. In the absence of congressional legislation, the United States Government could not collect customs duties on sugar from Puerto Rico shipped to other parts of the United States by classifying Puerto Rico as a foreign country.

The majority opinion was authored by Henry Billings Brown

Henry Billings Brown

Henry Billings Brown was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from January 5, 1891, to May 28, 1906. He was the author of the opinion for the Court in Plessy v...

, joined by Melville Fuller

Melville Fuller

Melville Weston Fuller was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:...

, John Marshall Harlan

John Marshall Harlan

John Marshall Harlan was a Kentucky lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. He is most notable as the lone dissenter in the Civil Rights Cases , and Plessy v...

, Rufus Wheeler Peckham

Rufus Wheeler Peckham

Rufus Wheeler Peckham was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1895 until 1909. He was known for his strong use of substantive due process to invalidate regulations of business and property. Peckham's namesake father was also a lawyer and judge, and a congressman...

 and David Josiah Brewer

David Josiah Brewer

David Josiah Brewer was an American jurist and an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 20 years.-Early life:...

. Justice Joseph McKenna

Joseph McKenna

Joseph McKenna was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court...

 authored a dissent, which was joined by George Shiras, Jr.

George Shiras, Jr.

George Shiras, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was nominated to the Court by Republican President Benjamin Harrison. At that time, he had 37 years of private legal practice, but had never judged a case...

, and Edward Douglass White

Edward Douglass White

Edward Douglass White, Jr. , American politician and jurist, was a United States senator, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States. He was best known for formulating the Rule of Reason standard of antitrust law. He also sided with the...

. Justice Horace Gray

Horace Gray

Horace Gray was an American jurist who ultimately served on the United States Supreme Court. He was active in public service and a great philanthropist to the City of Boston.-Early life:...

 authored a separate dissenting opinion. The decision is similar to Downes v. Bidwell

Downes v. Bidwell

Downes v. Bidwell, , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided whether United States territories were subject to the provisions and protections of the United States Constitution. This question is sometimes stated as "does the Constitution follow the flag?". The resulting decision...

, 182 U.S. 244 (1901) decided on the same date.

External link and primary source

• DeLima v. Bidwell (complete text)