United States Ex Rel. Riverside Oil Co. v. Hitchcock

Citations

• 190 U.S. 316
• 23 S. Ct. 698
• 47 L. Ed. 1074
• 1903 U.S. LEXIS 1575

Syllabus

<p>Congress has constituted the Land Department, under the supervision and control of the Secretary of the Interior, a special tribunal with judicial functions to which is confided the execution of the laws which regulate the purchase, selling and care and disposition of the public lands; and neither an injunction nor mandamus will lie against an officer of the Land Department to control him in discharging an official duty which requires the exercise of his judgment and discretion..</p> <p>The Secretary having jurisdiction to decide at all, has .necessarily jurisdiction to decide as he thinks the law is, and it is his duty so to do, and the' courts have no power under those circumstances to review his determination by mandamus or injunction. The courts have no general supervisory power over the officers of the Land Department by which they can • control the decisions of such officers upon questions within their jurisdiction.</p>