Kendall v. United States - Significance, A Carriage And A Pair Of Horses, The President Fails To Intervene, The Separation Of Powers
court appellant john supreme
Appellant
Amos Kendall, U.S. Postmaster General
Appellee
United States
Appellant's Claim
That Kendall should not have to order the Post Office Department to pay certain funds to a firm that did business with them, even though a federal court had ordered him to, if he himself, in his official capacity, did not believe the funds should be awarded.
Chief Lawyers for Appellant
Francis Scott Key; Benjamin F. Butler, U.S. Attorney General
Chief Lawyers for Appellee
Richard S. Coxe, Reverdy Johnson
Justices for the Court
Henry Baldwin, Philip Pendleton Barbour, John Catron, John McKinley, John McLean, Joseph Story, Roger Brooke Taney, Smith Thompson (writing for the Court), James Moore Wayne
Justices Dissenting
None
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
12 March 1838
Decision
That the act Kendall objected to was merely "ministerial" and did not require judgment or discretion on his part; therefore, he was obligated to follow the directive of the federal court.
Related Cases
- Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
- Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, 1 Wheat. 304 (1816).
Further Readings
- Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt, eds. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3rd ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996.
- Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
- Swisher, Carl B. The History of the Supreme Court of the United States: The Taney Period, 1836-64, Vol. V. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
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