Clinton v. City of New York

Clinton v. City of New York
Argued April 27, 1998
Decided June 25, 1998
Full case nameWilliam J. Clinton, President of the United States, et al. v. City of New York, et al.
Citations524 U.S. 417 (more)
118 S. Ct. 2091; 141 L. Ed. 2d 393; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 4215; 66 U.S.L.W. 4543; 98-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶ 50,504; 81 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2416; 98 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4905; 98 Daily Journal DAR 6893; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 3191; 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 735
Case history
PriorJudgment for plaintiffs, 985 F. Supp. 168 (D.D.C. 1998)
Holding
The Line Item Veto Act is unconstitutional because the Constitution of the United States of America does not authorize the President of the United States of America to amend federal legislation that has passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Congress. Line-item vetoes are unlawful.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityStevens, joined by Rehnquist, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg
ConcurrenceKennedy
Concur/dissentScalia, joined by O'Connor; Breyer (Part III)
DissentBreyer, joined by O'Connor, Scalia (Part III)
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. I; 2 U.S.C. § 691 et seq. (1994 ed., Supp. II) (Line Item Veto Act of 1996)

Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 6–3, that the line-item veto, as implemented in the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, violated the Presentment Clause of the United States Constitution because it impermissibly gave the President of the United States the power to unilaterally amend or repeal parts of statutes that had been duly passed by the United States Congress. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the six-justice majority that the line-item veto gave the President power over legislation unintended by the Constitution, and was therefore a violation of the separation of powers between the two branches.