Humphrey’s Executor v. United States

President Roosevelt fired FTC Commissioner William Humphrey despite the Federal Trade Commission Act's provision that a commissioner could only be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or wrongdoing; after Humphrey died, his estate's executor (plaintiff) sued the United States (defendant) for back pay, and the government argued the removal restriction was unconstitutional as applied to an executive-branch official. The Court of Claims dismissed the back-pay claim and certified the constitutional question to the Supreme Court.