Powers of the President during crisesSmith, J. Malcolm (John Malcolm)
History
Powers of the President during crises
Smith, J. Malcolm (John Malcolm)
Constitutional history -- United States; Executive power -- United States
The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the District Court.
Chief Judge Biggs, writing for the majority, analyzed and rejected the
union’s contention that there was no “case or controversy” before the
federal court which it could adjudicate in the sense required by the
Constitution. Turning to the critical findings of the District Court
dealing with the impact of the steel strike, the majority concluded,
after a detailed review of the entire record, that the findings of the
lower court were not clearly erroneous. Significantly, the majority
noted that:
“We cannot accept the Union’s argument in this respect. If our
conclusion is correct that there is sufficient evidence in the record
of the present or future danger to national health or safety, we
conclude that the danger is great enough and calls for a remedy as
sweeping as the law will permit. Whether the remedy provided by the
Labor-Management Relations Act is sufficient to accomplish a cessation
of labor strife is a question not for this court but for Congress. We
conclude, therefore, that the court below did not abuse its discretion
in granting the relief which the United States prayed for.”[810]
The Supreme Court acted with unusual speed. The Court set Tuesday,
November 3, 1959 at 11 a.m. as the time for oral argument. All briefs
had to be on file by noon, Monday, November 2, 1959. The injunction
issued by the U. S. District Court for the Western District of
Pennsylvania on October 21, 1959 as modified by the United States
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on October 22, 1959, was stayed
pending the issuance of the judgment of Supreme Court. The petition for
_certiorari_, was filed by the union counsel at 1 p.m. The Government’s
response, asking the court to deny review and thus let the injunction
stand, arrived about 4 p.m.
Half an hour later the nine Justices met in conference, the session
lasting 40 minutes. Reporters learned of the unscheduled meeting from
the ringing of gongs that call the Justices to all formal conferences.
Out of the session came an order in the case entitled _United Steel
Workers of America_, Petitioner v. _United States_, _et al._[811]
The Supreme Court’s opinion was brief. In the _Per Curiam_ Opinion, the
Court stated its acceptance of, and concurrence in, the findings of the
lower Federal Courts which had adjudicated the case:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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