Hayburn’s Case
United States Supreme Court
2 U.S. 409 (1792)
The Invalid Pensions Act of 1792 directed federal circuit courts to evaluate disabled Revolutionary War veterans' pension applications by hearing evidence of their service and injuries and calculating a benefit amount, then to forward qualifying names and recommended amounts to the Secretary of War. The Secretary would place approved names on the pension list, unless he suspected an award was made in error, in which case he would report it to Congress for review. Attorney General Randolph petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel the Circuit Court for the District of Pennsylvania to carry out these duties, first filing on his own authority and then, after the Court questioned that, on behalf of a specific applicant, William Hayburn. The Supreme Court never actually decided the case, because Congress provided another means of relief for veterans before the Court's next term. But several circuit courts had already written opinions or letters explaining why they viewed the Act's directives to the courts as improper.
Whether Congress has the authority to order federal courts to perform duties that are non-judicial in nature, particularly where the resulting court determinations are subject to review by the executive branch or Congress.