Mayor of New York v. Miln

An 1824 New York statute required a ship's master arriving from another state or country to file a detailed report on every passenger brought to the Port of New York, to post security for any passengers who might become public wards, and to remove any noncitizen the mayor deemed likely to become one. When George Miln (defendant), the ship's master, was assessed a $15,000 penalty for violating the law, New York City's mayor and other officials (plaintiffs) sued to recover it, and Miln argued the law unconstitutionally intruded on Congress's exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce. The circuit court could not resolve the constitutional question and certified it to the U.S. Supreme Court.