The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-06-24
~ The
|Z SUPREME
|ll|Itl[IllE : c sss aeT
e716- IT WORKS
FesU La,os Inpalidated
By ROBERT MERRILL

By ROBERT MERRILL
nURING the century and a
- half of it's existence, au-
thorities estimate, congress
has enacted approximately 25,-
900 public laws.
OF those $4,000, they compute,
fewer than rs have been declared
unconstitutional at this writing. That
means less than three out of thou
sand-approximately three-tenths OF
/ per cent.
On the score of constitutionality a
baseball writer, with these Stats
tics, would give congress batting
average of .997.
There are several reasons for this
scoring.
First: Congress, throughout its
long history, has sought to keep its
acts within the Constitution.
Question Must Be Raised.
Second: No final decision is ever
made on the constitutionality OF
law until a person, or group OF per-
sons, feel that the law violates
constitutional right, and ask the Su-
preme court to act as umpire in
the case. And, as history shows, the
Supreme court has been reluc-
tant to outlaw congressional acts.
Consistently the court has decided
that every presumption is in favor
of the validity of an act of congress.
It has explained that if an act can
possibly be interpreted in such a
way as to render it valid, even
though another possible interpreta-
ton would render it invalid, the
former Interpretation will rule to as
sure the will of congress its fullest
possible effect within constitutional
limits.
Here are the actual words of the
court in one case:
cit is elementary when the consti-
tutionality of statute is assailed,
if the statute be reasonably suscep-
tible of two interpretations by one
of which it would be unconstitutional
and by the other valid, it is our
plain duty to adopt that construction
which will save the statute from
constitutional infrmity."
Can't Act on Own VolitiOn.
And in another:
"The section, if so construed,
would, at least, raise a grave and
doubtful constitutional question.
Under the settled practice, con-
struction which does so will not be
adopted where some other is open
to U.S."
That the court cannot act on the
constitutionality of a law on its own
volition or on the mere request OF
authorities has been established
by it's own decisions.
A notable instance occurred when
an act of congress attempted to give
the Supreme court power on appeal
to decide suits which might be
brought against the United States in
the court of claims by certain Cher
okee Indians solely to determine the
validity of any act affecting their
lands, passed after certain date.
Proceedings were begun under
this act, but the Supreme court de-
cided that it had no constitutional
authority to render an opinion.
Under the Constitution, it held, the
court has power to determine the
validity of congressional legislation
only when a lease" or "controver-
sy" is brought before it, by contend
ing parties.
Source of Courts Right.
"The right to declare a law un-
explained the court,
"arises because an act of congress
relied upon by one or the other of
such parties in determining their
rights is in conflict with the funda-
law. The exercise of this,
the most important and delicate
duty of this court, is not given to it
as body with revisory power over
the action of congress, but because
the rights of the Gtigants in justi-
ciable controversies require the
court to choose between the funda-
mental law and a law purporting
to be enacted within constitutional
authority, but in fact beyond the
power delegated to the legislative
branch of the government"
On an earlier occasion-in 1893
the secretary of state asked the
Supreme court to advise the execu-
tive department as to the construc-
ton of treaties, laws of nations, and
the laws of the land, which, he said,
were often presented under circum-
stances that "do not give a cog
nizance of them to the tribunals OF
the country" Chief Justice Jay re-
piled that the Constitution did not
confer such power upon the court.
On at least one occasion the SUI
preme court decided that an act was
constitutional after a President had
expressed his conviction that it was
unconstitutional. President Taft We
toed measure on the grounds that
the Constitution did not give con.
gress the authority assumed in the
measure. Congress, however,
passed the bill over the presidential
veto. Eventually the act came be-
fore the Supreme court in lawsuit,
and the court decided that congress
was right.
g Western Newspaper Union.
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