Humphrey's Executor v. United States

Humphrey's Executor v. United States

Decided  May 27, 1935

Facts of the case

President Hoover appointed, and the Senate confirmed, Humphrey as a
commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 1933, President
Roosevelt asked for Humphrey's resignation since the latter was a
conservative and had jurisdiction over many of Roosevelt's New Deal
policies. When Humphrey refused to resign, Roosevelt fired him because
of his policy positions. However, the FTC Act only allowed a president
to remove a commissioner for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or
malfeasance in office." Since Humphrey died shortly after being
dismissed, his executor sued to recover Humphrey's lost salary.

Question
Did section 1 of the Federal Trade Commission Act unconstitutionally
interfere with the executive power of the President?

Conclusion
The unanimous Court found that the FTC Act was constitutional and that
Humphrey's dismissal on policy grounds was unjustified. The Court
reasoned that the Constitution had never given "illimitable power of
removal" to the president. Justice Sutherland dismissed the
government's main line of defense in this case which relied heavily on
the Court's decision in Myers v. United States (1926). In that case
the Court upheld the president's right to remove officers who were
"units of the executive department." The FTC was different, argued
Sutherland, because it was a body created by Congress to perform
quasi-legislative and judicial functions. The Myers precedent,
therefore, did not apply in this situation.

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/295us602