Head Money Cases

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Head Money Cases

Argued November 19 – 20, 1884
Decided December 8, 1884

Full case name:	Edye and Another v. Robertson, Collector; Cunard Steamship Company v. Robertson; Same v. Same

Citations:	112 U.S. 580; 5 S. Ct. 247; 28 L. Ed. 798; 1884 U.S. LEXIS 1909; 3 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 2473

Prior history:	On writs of error from the Circuit Courts of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York

Holding

The Court established the precedent that treaties, which are described in the United States Constitution as "the supreme law of the land," nonetheless do not hold a privileged position above other acts of Congress, and other laws affecting "its enforcement, modification, or repeal" are legitimate.

Court membership

Chief Justice: Morrison Waite
Associate Justices: Samuel Freeman Miller, Stephen Johnson Field, Joseph Philo Bradley, John Marshall Harlan, William Burnham Woods, Thomas Stanley Matthews, Horace Gray, Samuel Blatchford

Case opinions

Majority by: Miller
Joined by: unanimous

Laws applied

U.S. Const.

The Head Money Cases, 112 U.S. 580 (1884)^[1], were the subject of an important United States Supreme Court decision. They were decided on December 8, 1884.

The case established the precedent that treaties, which are described in the United States Constitution as "the supreme law of the land," nonetheless do not hold a privileged position above other acts of Congress, and other laws affecting "its enforcement, modification, or repeal" are legitimate.