2011 United States Supreme Court case
| Bond v. United States | |
|---|---|
 Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued February 22, 2011 Decided June 16, 2011 | |
| Full case name | Carol Anne Bond, Petitioner v. United States |
| Docket no. | 09-1227 |
| Citations | 564 U.S. 211 (more)131 S. Ct. 2355; 180 L. Ed. 2d 269; 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4558 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant convicted, 2:07-cr-00528-001 (E.D. Pa.); affirmed, 581 F.3d 128 (3d Cir. 2009); cert. granted, 562 U.S. 960 (2010). |
| Subsequent | On remand, 681 F.3d 149 (3d Cir. 2012); cert. granted, 568 U.S. 1140 (2013); reversed, 572 U.S. 844 (2014). |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by unanimous |
| Concurrence | Ginsburg, joined by Breyer |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. X | |
Bond v. United States, 564 U.S. 211 (2011), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that individuals, just like states, may have standing to raise Tenth Amendment challenges to a federal law.
The issue arose in the prosecution of an individual under the federal Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act for a local assault that used a chemical irritant. The defendant argued, in part, that the application of the law violated the Constitution's federalism limitations on the statutory implementation of treaties by Congress.
Having decided the defendant could bring the constitutional challenge, the Court remanded the case without deciding the merits of the claims.
Background
After the husband of Carol A. Bond of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, impregnated Myrlinda Haynes, Bond told Haynes, "I am going to make your life a living hell." Carol Bond stole the poisonous chemical: 10-chlorophenox arsine from her employer (Rohm and Haas) and purchased potassium dichromate from the internet. Bond smeared the chemicals on doorknobs, car doors, and the mailbox. Haynes suffered a chemical burn on her thumb. Bond was indicted for stealing mail and for violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998.
Her appeal argued that applying the chemical weapons treaty to her violated the Tenth Amendment. The Court of Appeals found Bond lacked standing to make a Tenth Amendment claim.
Decision
The Supreme Court concluded unanimously that Bond had standing to argue that a federal statute enforcing the Chemical Weapons Convention in that instance intruded on areas of police power reserved to the states. Justice Kennedy reasoned that actions exceeding the federal government's enumerated powers undermine the sovereign interests of the states. Individuals seeking to challenge such actions are subject to Article III and prudential standing rules, but if the litigant is a party to an otherwise-justiciable case or controversy, the litigant is not forbidden to object that the injury results from disregard of the federal structure of American government.
The Court expressed no view on the merits of Bond's challenge to the federal statute and remanded the case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Subsequent history
The Third Circuit, on remand, found that the Supreme Court's decision gave Bond standing to raise federalism questions about the federal government's power to enforce legislation that implements a treaty. However, the circuit court found the 1920 Supreme Court precedent Missouri v. Holland made the legislation indisputably valid since the treaty is valid.
The case then returned to the Supreme Court in Bond v. United States, 572 U.S. 844 (2014), in which it ruled that since the Implementation Act did not reach her conduct, the Court declined to address the constitutional issue.
See also
- Reid v. Covert, a 1957 decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an executive agreement cannot override the Constitutional right to trial by jury.
References
- Epps, Garrett (June 2, 2014). "Woman Not Guilty of Chemical Warfare; Constitution Saved". The Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- Lithwick, Dahlia (February 22, 2011). "The Case of the Poisoned Lover". Slate. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- Adam Liptak (October 18, 2010). "A 10th Amendment Drama Fit for Daytime TV". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
- Adam Liptak (February 22, 2011). "Court Weighs the Power of Congress". The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
- Adam Liptak (June 28, 2011). "A Significant Term, With Bigger Cases Ahead". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
- United States v. Bond, 681 F.3d 149 (3d Cir. 2012).
- Bond v. United States, No. 12-158, 572 U.S. ___ (2014)
- "Bond v. United States". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
External links
- Text of Bond v. United States, 564 U.S. 211 (2011) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Justia Oyez (oral argument audio)
- Question Presented
- Epps, Garrett (February 18, 2011). "U.S. v. Bond: Reexamining the Mysterious 10th Amendment". The Atlantic.
- "The Supremes Take On the Toxic Avenger". Newsweek. October 4, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20140801104500/http://www.justice.gov/usao/pae/News/Pr/2007/sep/bondrelease.pdf
| United States 10th Amendment case law | |
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| Forced participation or commandeering |
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| Commerce clause |
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| Others |
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