Source: http://www.chanrobles.com/usa/us_supremecourt/253/350/case.php
Timestamp: 2019-11-20 19:14:54
Document Index: 511352418

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 451', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 1838', '§ 2', '§ 2']

We here are concerned with seven cases involving the validity of that amendment and of certain general features of the National Prohibition Law, known as the Volstead Act, c. 85, which was adopted to enforce the amendment. The relief sought in each case is an injunction against the execution of that act. Two of the cases -- Nos. 29 and 30, original -- were brought in this Court, and the others in district courts. Nos. 696, 752, 788, and 837 are here on appeals from decrees refusing injunctions, and No. 794 from a decree granting an injunction. The cases have been elaborately argued at the bar and in chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
6. The first section of the amendment -- the one embodying the prohibition -- is operative throughout the entire territorial limits of the United States, binds all legislative bodies, courts, public officers and individuals within those limits, and of its own force invalidates every chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
11. While recognizing that there are limits beyond which Congress cannot go in treating beverages as within its power of enforcement, we think those limits are not transcended by the provision of the Volstead Act (Title II, § 1) wherein liquors containing as much as one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume and fit for use for beverage chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
3. The proposition is that the concurrent powers conferred chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In the first place, it is indisputable, as I have stated, chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
I take it that, if the second section of the article did not exist, no one would gainsay that the first section, in and of itself, granted the power and imposed the duty upon Congress to legislate to the end that, by definition and sanction, the amendment would become fully operative. This being chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This case is concerned with the Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, its validity and construction. In order to have it and its scope in attention, I quote it: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Conclusion 7 seems an unnecessary declaration. It may, however, be considered as supplementary to some other declaration. My only comment is that I know of no chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
I cannot confidently measure the force of the declarations or the deductions that are or can be made from them. They seem to be regarded as sufficient to impel the conclusion that the Volstead Act is legal legislation, and operative throughout the United States. But are there no opposing considerations, no conditions upon its operation? And what of conflicts, and there are conflicts, and more there may be, between it and state legislation? The conclusions of the court do not answer the questions, and yet they are submitted for decision, and their importance appeals for judgment upon them. It is to be remembered states are litigants, as well as private citizens, the former presenting the rights of the states, the latter seeking protection against the asserted aggression of the act in controversy. And there is opposing state legislation, why not a decision chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Recurring to the first section of the amendment, it will be seen to be a restriction upon state and congressional power, and the deduction from it is that neither the states nor Congress can enact legislation that contravenes its prohibition. And there is no room for controversy as to its requirements. Its prohibition of "intoxicating liquors" "for beverage purposes" is absolute. And, as accessory to that prohibition, is the further prohibition of their manufacture, sale, or transportation within or their importation into or exportation "from the United States." Its prohibition therefore is national, and, considered alone, the means of its enforcement might be such as Congress, the agency of national power, might chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The government answers that the words mean separate and independent action, and, in case of conflict, that of Congress is supreme, and asserts besides that the answer is sustained by historical and legal precedents. [Footnote 1] I contest the assertions, and oppose to them the common usage of our language, and the definitions of our lexicons, chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
general and legal. [Footnote 2] Some of the definitions assign to the words "concurrent power" action in conjunction, contribution of effort, certainly harmony of action, not antagonism. Opposing laws are not concurring laws, and to assert the supremacy of one over the other is to assert the exclusiveness of one over the other, not their concomitance. Such is the result of the government's contention. It does not satisfy the definitions, or the requirement of § 2 -- "a concurrent power excludes the idea of a dependent power." Mr. Justice McLean, in the @ 48 U. S. 399.
Other definitions assign to the words "existing or happening at the same time," "concurring together," "coexistent." These definitions are, as the others are, inconsistent with the government's contention. If coexistence of the power of legislation is given to Congress and the states by § 2, it is given to be coexistently exercised. It is to be remembered that the Eighteenth Amendment was intended to deal with a condition, not a theory, and one demanding something more than exhortation and precept. The habits of a people were to be changed, large business interests were to be disturbed, and it was considered that the change and disturbance could only be effected by punitive and repressive legislation, and it was naturally thought that legislation enacted by "the Congress and the several states," by its concurrence would better enforce prohibition and avail for its enforcement the two great divisions of our governmental system, chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Those cases are examples of the elemental rule of construction that, in the exposition of statutes and constitutions, every word "is to be expounded in its plain, obvious, and common sense, unless the context furnishes some ground to control, qualify or enlarge it," and there cannot be imposed upon the words "any recondite meaning or any extraordinary gloss." 1 Story, Const. § 451; Lake County v. Rollins, 130 U. S. 662. And it is the rule of reason as well as of technicality that, if the words so expounded be "plain and clear, and the sense distinct and perfect arising on them," interpretation has nothing to do. This can be asserted of § 2. Its words express no "double sense," and should be accepted in their single sense. It has not yet been erected into a legal maxim of constitutional construction that words were made to conceal thoughts. Besides, when we depart from the words, ambiguity comes. There are as many solutions chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
If it be conceded, however, that to the words "concurrent power" may be ascribed the meaning for which the government contends, it certainly cannot be asserted that such is their ordinary meaning, and I might leave § 2, and the presumptions that support it, to resist the precedents adduced by the government. I go farther, however, and deny the precedents. The Federalist and certain cases are cited as such. There is ready explanation of both, and neither supports the government's contention. The dual system of government contemplated by the Union encountered controversies, fears, and jealousies that had to be settled or appeased to achieve union, and the Federalist, in good and timely sense, explained to what extent the "alienation of state sovereignty" would be necessary to "national sovereignty," constituted by the "consolidation of the states," and the powers that would be surrendered, and those that would be retained. And the explanation composed the controversies and allayed the fears of the states that their local powers of government would not be displaced by the dominance of a centralized control. And this Court, after union had been achieved, fulfilled the assurances of the explanation and adopted its distribution of powers, designating them as follows: (1) powers that were exclusive in the states, reserved to them; (2) powers that were exclusive in Congress, conferred upon it; (3) powers that were not exclusive in either, and hence said to be "concurrent." And it was decided that, when exercised by Congress, they were supreme -- "the authority of the states then retires" to inaction. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The government nevertheless contends that the decisions (they need not be cited) constitute precedents for its construction of § 2 of the Eighteenth Amendment. In other words, the government contends (or must so contend for its reasoning must bear the test of the generalization) that it was decided that, in all cases where the powers of Congress are concurrent with those of the states, they are supreme as incident to concurrence. The contention is not tenable; it overlooks the determining consideration. The powers of Congress were not decided to be supreme because they were concurrent with powers in the states, but because of their source, their source being the Constitution of the United States and the laws made in pursuance of the Constitution, as against the source of the powers of the states, their source being the Constitution and laws of the states, the Constitution and laws of the United States being made by Article VI the supreme law of the land, "any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding." @ 17 U. S. 426.
This has example in other powers of sovereignty that the states and Congress possess. In McCulloch v. Maryland at pages 17 U. S. 425, 17 U. S. 430, Chief Justice Marshall said that the power of taxation retained by the states was not abridged by the granting of a similar power to the government of the Union, and that it was to be concurrently exercised, and these truths, it was added, had never been denied, and that there was no "clashing sovereignty" from incompatibility of right. And, necessarily, a concurrence chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
It is, however, suggested (not by the government) that, if Congress is not supreme upon the considerations urged by the government, it is made supreme by Article VI of the Constitution. The article is not applicable. It is not a declaration of the supremacy of one provision of the Constitution or laws of the United States over another, but of the supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States over the constitutions and laws of the states. 22 U. S. 209, 22 U. S. 211; 2 Story, Const., 5th ed., § 1838 et [email protected]
The Eighteenth Amendment is part of the Constitution of the United States, therefore of as high sanction as Article VI. There seems to be a denial of this based on Article V. That article provides that the amendments proposed by either of the ways there expressed "shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution." Some undefinable power is attributed to this in connection with Article VI, as if Article V limits in some way, or defeats, an amendment to the Constitution inconsistent with a previously existing provision. Of course, the immediate answer is that an amendment is made to change a previously existing provision. What other purpose could an amendment have, and it would be nullified by the mythical power attributed to Article V, either alone or in conjunction with Article VI? A contention that ascribes such power to those articles is untenable. The Eighteenth Amendment is part of the Constitution, and as potent as any other part of it. Section 2 therefore is a new provision of Power, power to the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 2 was amended in the House upon recommendation of the Judiciary Committee and the provision giving concurrent power to Congress and to the states was necessarily estimated and intended to be additive of something. The government's contention makes it practically an addition of nothing but words, in fact denuding it of function, making it a gift of impotence, not one of power to be exercised independently of Congress or concurrently with Congress or, indeed, at all. Of this there can be no contradiction, for what power is assigned to the states to legislate if the legislation be immediately chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The government, with some consciousness that its contention requires indulgence or excuse, but at any rate in recognition of the insufficiency of its contention to satisfy the words of § 2, makes some concessions to the states. They are, however, not very tangible to measurement. They seem to yield a power of legislation to the states chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The government, seeking relief from the perturbation of mind and opinions produced by departure from the words of § 2, suggests a modification of its contention that, in case of conflict between state legislation and congressional chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
From these premises, the deduction seems inevitable that there must be united action between the states and Congress or, at any rate, concordant and harmonious action, and will not such action promote better the purpose of the amendment -- will it not bring to the enforcement of prohibition the power of the states and the power of chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
I am, I think, therefore justified in my dissent. I am alone in the grounds of it, but in the relief of the solitude of my position I invoke the coincidence of my views with chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This rule was first announced in 1824 in 22 U. S. 570, and in the recent case of Knowlton v. Moore,@ 178 U. S. 41. it is referred to as an elementary canon of constitutional construction.
The authoritative dictionaries, general and law, and the decided cases agree that "concurrent" means "joint and equal authority," "running together, having the same authority," and therefore the grant of concurrent power to the Congress and the states should give to each equal, the same, chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Such a construction should not be given the Amendment if it can reasonably be avoided, as it very clearly may be, I think, with a resultant giving of a large and beneficent effect to the grant, as it is written. Giving to the word "concurrent" its usual and authoritative meaning would result in congressional legislation under this grant of power being effective within the boundaries of any state only when concurred in by action of Congress and of such state, which, however, could readily be accomplished by the approval by either of the legislation of the other or by the adoption of identical legislation by both. Such legislation would be concurrent in fact and in law, and could be enforced by the courts and officers of either the nation or the state, thereby insuring a more general and satisfactory observance of it than could possibly be obtained by the federal authorities alone. It would, to a great extent, relieve Congress of the burden, and the general government of the odium, to be derived from the antagonism which would certainly spring from enforcing within states federal laws which must touch the daily life of the people very intimately and often very irritatingly. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Under this construction, which I think should be given the Amendment, there would be large scope also for its operation even in states which might refuse to concur in congressional legislation for its enforcement. In my judgment, the law in such a state would be as if no special grant of concurrent power for the enforcement of the first section had been made in the second section, but, nevertheless, the first section, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, or exportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes would be the supreme law of the land within the nonconcurring states, and they would be powerless to license, tax, or otherwise recognize as lawful anything violating that section, so that any state law in form attempting such recognition would be unconstitutional and void. Congress would have full power under the interstate commerce clause, chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
With respect to the eleventh conclusion of the Court, it is enough to say that it approves as valid a definition of liquor as intoxicating which is expressly admitted not to be intoxicating in each of the cases in which it is considered. This is deemed warranted, I suppose, as legislation appropriate to the enforcement of the first section, and precedent is found for it in prohibition legislation by states. But I cannot agree that the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, etc., of intoxicating liquors in the first section of the Eighteenth Amendment gives that plenary power over the subject which the legislatures of the states derive from the people or which may be derived from the war powers chanroblesvirtualawlibrary