Little v. Barreme
Encyclopedia
Little v. Barreme, 6 U.S. 170
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...

 (1804) was an 1804 decision of 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...

 which found that the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 does not have "inherent authority" or "inherent powers" which allow him to ignore a law passed by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

.

Summary

Pro DN, Pres order overstepped a congressional act, such action by president was not constitutional.

Facts

The case arose out of "an interesting and revealing incident" that occurred during the "Quasi War" with France at the end of the eighteenth century. The frigate USS Boston
USS Boston (1799)
The third USS Boston was a 32-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate of the United States Navy. Boston was built by public subscription in Boston under the Act of 30 June 1798. Boston was active during the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. On 12 October 1800, Boston...

 commanded by captain George Little
George Little (naval officer)
George Little was a United States Navy officer. He served in the Massachusetts State Navy during the Revolutionary War and in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France.At age 25, Little was appointed first lieutenant of Massachusetts ship Protector in 1779, and was aboard in 1781 when...

 captured a Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 vessel, the Flying Fish, under orders of the Secretary of the Navy on behalf of President John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

 "to intercept any suspected American ship sailing to or from a French port." The Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, however, had passed a law authorizing the navy to seize "vessels or cargoes [that] are apparently, as well as really, American" and "bound or sailing to any [French] port" in an attempt to prevent American vessels transporting goods to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The Flying Fish was sailing from and not to a French port. Captain Little was declared to be liable for executing a command that was illegal in nature. Little appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Procedural history

  1. District Court, found for Petitioner
  2. Circuit Court
    United States circuit court
    The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate...

     of Massachusetts, reversed, found for Respondent
  3. United States Supreme Court, affirmed, found for Respondent

Issues

  1. Whether an order of the President, which in effect attempts to make law, can override an act of Congress.
  2. Officers are responsible for execution of illegal commands, despite nature of military chain of command.

Holding

No, an order of the President which is in contradiction with an act of Congress is illegally put forth.

Reasoning

The legislative branch makes laws and the executive branch enforces the laws. The Act of Congress only provided for the capture of vessels traveling to France. "The Flying Fish was on a voyage from, not to, a French port, and was therefore, had she even been an American vessel, not liable to capture on the high seas." The Act limited the president’s authority by only allowing the capture of certain vessels. The President acted contrary to these limitations.

External links

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