Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority

E615012

United States Supreme Court case constitutional law case landmark case

Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority is a landmark 1936 U.S. Supreme Court decision best known for Justice Brandeis’s articulation of the “Ashwander rules,” which limit the Court’s exercise of judicial review and emphasize constitutional avoidance.

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Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court case ⓘ constitutional law case ⓘ landmark case ⓘ
areaOfLaw	administrative law ⓘ federal courts ⓘ separation of powers ⓘ
articulatedBy	Justice Louis D. Brandeis NERFINISHED ⓘ
AshwanderRule	The Court will not anticipate a question of constitutional law in advance of the necessity of deciding it. ⓘ The Court will not formulate a rule of constitutional law broader than is required by the precise facts to which it is to be applied. ⓘ The Court will not pass upon a constitutional question although properly presented by the record if there is also present some other ground upon which the case may be disposed of. ⓘ The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of a statute at the instance of one who has availed himself of its benefits. ⓘ The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of legislation in a friendly, non-adversary proceeding. ⓘ The Court will not pass upon the validity of a statute upon complaint of one who fails to show that he is injured by its operation. ⓘ When the validity of an act of Congress is drawn in question, and even if a serious doubt of constitutionality is raised, the Court will first ascertain whether a construction of the statute is fairly possible by which the question may be avoided. ⓘ
AshwanderRulesCount	seven ⓘ
associatedDoctrine	avoidance of advisory opinions ⓘ avoidance of unnecessary constitutional rulings ⓘ constitutional avoidance ⓘ judicial restraint ⓘ standing doctrine ⓘ
citation	297 U.S. 288 ⓘ
concurrenceBy	Justice Louis D. Brandeis NERFINISHED ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate	1936 ⓘ
defendant	Tennessee Valley Authority NERFINISHED ⓘ
famousFor	articulation of the Ashwander rules ⓘ development of the doctrine of constitutional avoidance ⓘ limitations on the exercise of judicial review ⓘ
fullCaseName	Ashwander et al. v. Tennessee Valley Authority et al. NERFINISHED ⓘ
historicalContext	New Deal legislation and programs of the 1930s ⓘ
holding	The Court concluded that the government’s generation and sale of electric power as an incident to a valid regulatory program was constitutional. ⓘ The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s activities challenged in the case. NERFINISHED ⓘ
impact	became a leading precedent on judicial restraint in constitutional cases ⓘ influenced later Supreme Court jurisprudence on standing and justiciability ⓘ reinforced the practice of avoiding unnecessary constitutional decisions ⓘ
jurisdiction	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
legalIssue	constitutionality of the Tennessee Valley Authority ⓘ federal power over navigation and flood control ⓘ federal power to generate and sell electric power ⓘ scope of federal power under the Commerce Clause ⓘ standing to challenge federal action ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy	Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes NERFINISHED ⓘ
plaintiff	Ashwander NERFINISHED ⓘ
relatedEntity	Tennessee Valley Authority NERFINISHED ⓘ
separateOpinionType	concurring opinion ⓘ

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court → includesCase → Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority ⓘ