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Show I VV The rf?S- SUPREME r'lljaifiiL COURT I'lfJUl'lL"" AND HOW J ' -tSv- it works Few Laws Invulitlatcd lly ItOKKKT MIKKIIX DURING the century and a half of its existence, authorities estimate, congress con-gress has enacted approximately approxi-mately 25,000 public laws. Of those 25,000, they compute, fewer than 75 have been declared unconstitutional at this writing. That means less than three out of a thousand thou-sand approximately three-tenths ol 1 per cent. On the score of constitutionality a baseball writer, with these statistics, statis-tics, would give congress a batting average of .907. 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 a law until a person, or group of persons, per-sons, feel that the law violates a constitutional right, and ask the Supreme Su-preme court to act as umpire in the case. And, as history shows, the Supreme court has been reluctant 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 interpretation interpreta-tion would render it Invalid, the former Interpretation will rule to assure as-sure the will of congress Its fullest possible effect within constitutional limits. Here are the actual words of the court In one case: "It Is elementary when the constitutionality consti-tutionality of a statute Is assailed, if the statute be reasonably susceptible 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 infirmity." 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, a construction con-struction which does so will not be ' adopted where some otHer is open to us." 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 its 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 Cherokee Cher-okee Indians solely to determine the validity of any act affecting their lands, passed after a certain date. Proceedings were begun under this act but the Supreme court decided 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 "case" or "controversy" "controver-sy" is brought before it, by contending contend-ing parties. Source of Court's Right. "The right to declare a law un--constitutional," 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 fundamental funda-mental law. The exercise of this, the most important and delicate duty of this court, is not given to it as a body with revisory power over the action of congress, but because the rights of the litigants in justiciable justi-ciable controversies require the court to choose between the fundamental 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 1793 the secretary of state asked the Supreme court to advise the executive execu-tive department as to the construction construc-tion of treaties, laws of nations, and the laws of the land, which, he said, were often presented under circumstances circum-stances that "do not give a cognizance cog-nizance of them to the tribunals of the country." Chief Justice Jay replied re-plied that the Constitution did not confer such power upon the court On at least one occasion the Supreme Su-preme court decided that an act was constitutional after a President had expressed his conviction that it was unconstitutional. President Taft vetoed ve-toed a measure on the grounds that the Constitution did not give congress con-gress the authority assumed in the measure. Congress, however, passed the bill over the presidential veto. Eventually the act came before be-fore the Supreme court in a lawsuit, and the court decided that congress was right. Western Newspaper Union. |