DeLima v. Bidwell

DeLima v. Bidwell

Argued January 8–11, 1901
Decided May 27, 1901
Full case name Elias S.A. DeLima, et al., plaintiffs in error, v. George R. Bidwell
Citations

182 U.S. 1 (more)

Holding
Upon ratification of the Treaty of Paris, Puerto Rico was not a foreign country for purposes of the tariff laws of the United States, which required payment of duties on goods moving into the United States from a foreign country.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Melville Fuller
Case opinions
Majority Brown, joined by Fuller, Harlan, Peckham, Brewer
Dissent McKenna, joined by Shiras, White
Dissent Gray

DeLima v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 1 (1901), was one of a group of the first Insular Cases decided by the United States Supreme Court.

The case was argued on January 8-11, 1901 and was decided on May 27, 1901.

The DeLima Sugar Importing Company sued the New York City collector of customs to recover duties on sugar imported from Puerto Rico after 1899, when Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States. DeLima argued that The Port of New York City had no jurisdiction to collect duties because Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States.

Lower Appellate Court

The lower appellate court had held:

  1. although the collector had the right to challenge the factual sufficiency, he was barred from challenging federal jurisdiction on the basis of wrongful removal where the case was removed upon his own petition;
  2. the Customs Administrative Act did not decide whether the sugar was imported from a foreign country, therefore the court case was a proper legal action; and
  3. Puerto Rico was not a foreign country for tariff purposes but was a United States territory because, by treaty, the district was ceded to and in the possession of the United States. It was not necessary for an act of Congress to embrace the territory for the purpose of tariff laws. Therefore the duties on sugar were illegal, and DeLima Sugar Importing Company was entitled to get its duties on sugar back.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that Puerto Rico after its cession to the United States in 1898 following the Treaty of Paris was not a foreign country for purposes of the tariff laws of the United States, which required payment of duties on goods moving into the United States from a foreign country. In the absence of congressional legislation, the United States Government could not collect customs duties on sugar from Puerto Rico shipped to other parts of the United States by classifying Puerto Rico as a foreign country.[1]

The majority opinion was authored by Henry Billings Brown, joined by Melville Fuller, John Marshall Harlan, Rufus Wheeler Peckham and David Josiah Brewer. Justice Joseph McKenna authored a dissent, which was joined by George Shiras, Jr., and Edward Douglass White. Justice Horace Gray authored a separate dissenting opinion. The decision is similar to Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901) decided on the same date.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Torruella, Juan. The Supreme Court and Puerto Rico: The Doctrine of Separate and Unequal. Editorial UPR, 1985 ISBN 0-8477-3019-0. P.47

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