Goldwater v. Carter

444 U.S. 996 (1979)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

President Carter dissolved a treaty between Taiwan and the United States. Members of Congress maintained that the President's action infringed its constitutional authority. The Senate had a debate over a resolution that would have stated that Senate approval was required for the termination of such a treaty. This contention, however, is not grounded in any constitutional provision or statutory regulation. The resolution never comes to a vote. Barry Goldwater (P), a Senator, along with other members of the Senate sued claiming that the President’s actions were unconstitutional under Article II, Section 2 which requires the Senate to ratify treaties. The Court declared that the appropriate protocol would be to have the executive and legislative branches reconcile this matter before presenting it to the judiciary. The Court deemed that the judiciary is an inappropriate vehicle to resolve disputes between these two groups when the branches have not first exhausted its constitutional rights. Accordingly, the matter is not ripe and therefore, non-justiciable. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.