|
The Prize Cases
67 U. S. 635 [1863]
Author: Sam Biers
War and National Defense
Relevant Facts: President
Lincoln declared a blockade of southern ports in 1861. Pursuant
to this blockade Union ships seized merchant vessels and their
cargoes of foreign neutrals and residents of the southern
states. The ships were condemned by federal ct. order.
Legal Issue(s): Whether the
President had authority to institute a blockade of southern
ports?
Court’s Holding: Yes
Procedure: The owners of
the scuttled ships and seized cargo appealed the federal ct.
order directly to the S. Ct. Affirmed except as to certain cargo
which was bought before the outbreak of War.
Law or Rule(s): A1S8C11 -
Congress shall have the power to declare war.
Court Rationale: By Acts of
Congress the President is authorized to call out the militia and
use the military and naval forces to suppress insurrection
against the government of a state or the U.S. The proclamation of
the blockade is official and conclusive evidence to the court
that a state of war existed which demanded and authorized a
recourse to such a measure. The President was bound to meet
the war in the shape it presented itself, w/o waiting for
Congress. Congress passed an Act “approving,
legalizing, and making valid all the acts, proclamations, and
orders of the President as if they had been issued and done under
the previous express authority and direction of the Congress.
Plaintiff’s Argument:
(Ship Owners) The President has no Constitutional power to
initiate or declare war.
Defendant’s Argument:
(Govt) Acts of Congress conferred the authority to the President
to act pursuant to wartime. President was already the
Commander in Chief and mandated to faithfully carry out and
execute the laws of the U.S. which said Acts were.
Inter gentes - Among or
between People
Ex Majore cautela - by a
greater person’s care or caution
Unilateral - mutual
panoply - full
effect, display or spectacle.
|
