''Dellums v. Bush'', 752

F. Supp. The ''Federal Supplement'' ( is a case law reporter published by West Publishing in the United States that includes select opinions of the United States district courts since 1932, and is part of the National Reporter System. Although the ''Fed ...

1141 (D.D.C. 1990), was a D.C. Federal District Court decision by United States District Judge Harold H. Greene, denying the plaintiffs, members of Congress, a preliminary injunction against President George H.W. Bush to stop implementation of his orders directing the United States military to fight in Iraq without first obtaining a declaration of war from Congress, the only branch Constitutionally mandated to declare war.Article I, Section 8, clause 11, U.S. Constitution. Fifty four members of Congress, including U.S. Representative Ron Dellums, sued George H.W. Bush in 1990 attempting to halt a preemptive military buildup in the Middle East in response to Iraq's invasion of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. The plaintiff members of Congress asserted that military action without a declaration of war would be unlawful under U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 11 of the United States Constitution. The District Court held that, although the plaintiff's claims were plausible, because the President had not yet initiated war-like actions and only 54 members of Congress (53 members of the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and one member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

) were involved in the suit, and not a majority, the dispute was not

ripe Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE, French for "European IP Networks") is a forum open to all parties with an interest in the technical development of the Internet. The RIPE community's objective is to ensure that the administrative and technical coo ...

for adjudication at that time. Accordingly, the motion for

preliminary injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...

was denied. ''Dellums'' is notable in that it is one of only a few cases in which the Federal Courts have considered whether the

War Powers Clause Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution, sometimes referred to as the War Powers Clause, vests in the Congress the power to declare war, in the following wording: :'' he Congress shall have Power ...To declare War, grant Lett ...

of the U.S. Constitution is justiciable in the courts. The Court in ''Dellums'' indicated that, in that instance, it was, but because Congress had not yet acted as a majority, the lawsuit was premature. The reasoning used in ''Dellums'' has not escaped criticism by some authors as an intrusion on executive power.

References

External links

* 1990 in United States case law United States District Court for the District of Columbia cases {{US-case-law-stub