''DeLima v. Bidwell'', 182 U.S. 1 (1901), was one of a group of the first

Insular Cases The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1901 about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Some scholars also include cases regarding territorial status decided up unt ...

decided by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

. The case was argued on January 8–11, 1901 and was decided on May 27, 1901. The case is widely considered racist.

Background

The DeLima Sugar Importing Company sued the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

collector of customs to recover duties on sugar imported from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

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 since Puerto Rico had been annexed by the United States. The lower appellate court held the following: # 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. # The Customs Administrative Act did not decide whether the sugar was imported from a foreign country and so the court case was a proper legal action. # Puerto Rico was not a foreign country for tariff purposes but was a United States territory because by the Treaty of Paris, 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 a refund of its duties on sugar.

Decision

The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that Puerto Rico, since its cession to the United States by the

Treaty of Paris (1898) The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ( fil, Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; es, Tratado de París de 1898), was a treaty signed by Spain and the United St ...

, was not a foreign country for the purposes of US tariff laws, which required payment of duties on goods moving into the United States from a foreign country. In the absence of congressional legislation, the US 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.Torruella, Juan. ''The Supreme Court and Puerto Rico: The Doctrine of Separate and Unequal''. Editorial UPR, 1985 . P.47 The majority opinion was authored by Justice Henry Billings Brown and joined by Justices

Melville Fuller Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was an American politician, attorney, and jurist who served as the eighth chief justice of the United States from 1888 until his death in 1910. Staunch conservatism marked his ...

John Marshall Harlan John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. He is often called "The Great Dissenter" due to his ...

, Rufus Wheeler Peckham and

David Josiah Brewer David Josiah Brewer (June 20, 1837 – March 28, 1910) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1890 to 1910. An appointee of President Benjamin Harrison, he supported states' righ ...

. Justice Joseph McKenna authored a

dissenting opinion A dissenting opinion (or dissent) is an opinion in a legal case in certain legal systems written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment. Dissenting opinions are norm ...

, which was joined by Justices George Shiras, Jr., and

Edward Douglass White Edward Douglass White Jr. (November 3, 1844 – May 19, 1921) was an American politician and jurist from Louisiana. White was a U.S. Supreme Court justice for 27 years, first as an associate justice from 1894 to 1910, then as the ninth chief ...

. Justice

Horace Gray Horace Gray (March 24, 1828 – September 15, 1902) was an American jurist who served on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and then on the United States Supreme Court, where he frequently interpreted the Constitution in ways that increa ...

authored a separate dissenting opinion. The decision is similar to ''

Downes v. Bidwell ''Downes v. Bidwell'', 182 U.S. 244 (1901), was a case in which the US Supreme Court decided whether US territories were subject to the provisions and protections of the US Constitution. The issue is sometimes stated as whether the Constitution fo ...

'', 182 U.S. 244 (1901), which was decided on the same date.

References

External links

* * {{caselaw source , case = ''DeLima v. Bidwell'', {{ussc, 182, 1, 1901, el=no , findlaw =https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/182/1.html , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/182/1/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep182/usrep182001/usrep182001.pdf Sugar industry in Puerto Rico History of sugar Law of insular areas of the United States Legal history of Puerto Rico United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Fuller Court 1901 in United States case law 1901 in Puerto Rico

Background

Decision

See also

References

External links