Andrew Jackson. Here's Ed Hartnett's summary of the debate over this claim:
"President Andrew Jackson is often quoted as saying, in response to the Supreme Court's decision in Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832), "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it," but there "is some disagreement as to whether Jackson in fact made the statement at all." Larry Alexander & Frederick Schauer, On Extrajudicial Constitutional Interpretation, 110 Harv. L. Rev. 1359, 1364, n.19 (1997). Moreover, and in contrast to the order in Merryman, the Supreme Court's judgment in Worcester, which reversed a state court conviction of two missionaries, did not "involve[] a direct judicial order to an executive official" of the national government. Geoffrey P. Miller, The President's Power of Interpretation: Implications of a Unified Theory of Constitutional Law, 56 Law & Contemp. Probs. 35, 56 (1993). Indeed, the Supreme Court was legally prohibited from awarding execution in a case coming from a state court unless the case "shall have been once remanded before." Judiciary Act of 1789, § 25. The missionaries were planning to return to the Supreme Court upon the convening of its next term on January 15, 1833, complaining that the Georgia courts had ignored its judgment, but in the meantime the South Carolina nullification crisis intervened, leading Jackson to insist on the enforcement of federal law despite state opposition. In this political environment, the two missionaries decided, shortly before the convening of the new term, to abandon their plan to return to the Supreme Court and instead accept a pardon from the Governor of Georgia. G. Edward White, The Oliver Wendall Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States: The Marshall Court and Cultural Change: 1815-35 at 737-38, 959-60 (1988)." Edward A. Hartnett, The Supreme Court and the American Character, 11 Seton Hall Const. L.J. 759, 763 n.19 (2001). Best, Cathie Struve "Eastman, John" wrote: > > I seem to recall a colorful claim by some president or other, opposed to a > particular court ruling, along the lines of: "The Court has issued its ruling, now > let it enforce it." > > Can anyone point me to the specific President, case, and citation for this? Perhaps > Truman, in response to the Steel Seizure decision? > > Many thanks, > John Eastman
