Powell v. McCormack
- Decided
- October 13, 1969
- Docket
- 138
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,053 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that the obviation of the petitioner's claim for injunctive relief did not render the whole case moot, when a damages claim for backpay remained — Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner (1996)
- holding that although injunctive relief was moot, a case or controversy still existed since the plaintiff requested declaratory relief and damages — Jenny Wernsing, Charles Bingaman and Troy Cannon v. Odell Thompson, Jr. (2005)
- holding that, although injunctive relief was moot, a case or controversy still existed because the plaintiff requested declaratory relief and damages — Robert Brown v. Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (2006)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Mr. Chief Justice Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.
In November 1966, petitioner Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was duly elected from the 18th Congressional District of New York to serve in the United States House of Representatives for the 90th Congress. However, pursuant to a House resolution, he was not permitted to take his seat. Powell (and some of the voters of his district) then filed suit in Federal District Court, claiming that the House could exclude him only if it found he failed to meet the standing requirements of age, citizenship, and residence contained in Art. I, § 2, of the Constitution — requirements the House specifically found Powell met — and thus had excluded him unconstitutionally. The District Court dismissed petitioners' complaint “for want of jurisdiction of the subject matter.” A panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal, although on somewhat different grounds, each judge filing a separate opinion. We have determined that it was error to dismiss the complaint and that petitioner Powell is entitled to a declaratory judgment that he was unlawfully excluded from the 90th Congress.
I.
Statutes cited
- 28 U.S.C. § 2202
- 28 U.S.C. § 1331
- 28 U.S.C. § 1344
- 28 U.S.C. § 12201
Cite this
Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969)Read the full opinion
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