| Mississippi v. Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 12, 1867 Decided April 15, 1867 | |
| Full case name | The State of Mississippi v. Andrew Johnson, President of the United States |
| Citations | 71 U.S. 475 (more) |
| Holding | |
| In the course of his enforcement of the Reconstruction Acts, President Johnson was necessarily exercising discretion and so could not be sued. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Chase, joined by unanimous |
Mississippi v. Johnson, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 475 (1867), was the first suit to be brought against a President of the United States in the United States Supreme Court. The state of Mississippi attempted to sue President Andrew Johnson for enforcing Reconstruction. The court decided, based on a previous decision of Marbury v. Madison that the President has two kinds of tasks: ministerial and discretionary. Discretionary tasks are ones the president can choose to do or not to do, while ministerial tasks are ones required by his office: those whose failure to perform could leave him in violation of the Constitution. The court ruled that by enforcing Reconstruction, Johnson was acting in an "executive and political" capacity—a discretionary rather than a ministerial one—and so he could not be sued.
See also
Further reading
- Bell, Lauren Cohen (2004). "Following the Leaders or Leading the Followers? The US President's Relations with Congress". Journal of Legislative Studies. 10 (2/3): 193–205. doi:10.1080/1357233042000322300. S2CID 145085372.
- Kauper, Paul G. (1952). "The Steel Seizure Case: Congress, the President and the Supreme Court". Michigan Law Review. Michigan Law Review, Vol. 51, No. 2. 51 (2): 141–182. doi:10.2307/1285714. JSTOR 1285714.
- Kutler, Stanley I. (1968). Judicial Power and Reconstruction Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
External links
Works related to Mississippi v. Johnson at Wikisource- Text of Mississippi v. Johnson, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 475 (1867) is available from: Findlaw Justia Library of Congress OpenJurist