Also known as:national emergencies · state of national emergency
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A state of national crisis or a situation requiring immediate and extraordinary national action.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Guard Training Deployment Without Emergency
President Hayes directed the Dakota National Guard to participate in an overseas humanitarian-relief training exercise under a federal statute authorizing such calls. Governor Linda Ortiz objected because of severe in-state flooding and the lack of any declared national emergency. The state sued to enjoin the order. The court upheld the deployment because Congress may authorize federal training of Guard units abroad even absent a national emergency and without gubernatorial consent.
Industrial Codes During Declared Crisis
Congress responded to widespread unemployment and industrial disorganization by enacting a statute that authorized the President to approve codes of fair competition for industries. Schechter Poultry refused to comply with the live-poultry code and was prosecuted. The company argued the statute exceeded congressional power. The Court struck down the delegation because it lacked an intelligible principle even though the statute recited a national emergency.
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Cases
Restatements
Dictionaries
A. L. A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States295 U.S. 495 (1935)
Unemployment Benefits and Religious Objection
Nalini Narula refused Saturday work on religious grounds and was denied unemployment benefits under South Carolina law. The state statute contained an exception for Sunday workers during a declared national emergency but offered no parallel protection for Sabbatarians. Narula sued, claiming the denial penalized her free exercise of religion. The Court held that conditioning benefits on violation of religious tenets was unconstitutional.
Sherbert v. Verner374 U.S. 398 (1963)
Legislative Veto Over Emergency Powers
Congress enacted a statute allowing the President to suspend deportation of aliens during a national emergency but reserved a legislative veto over individual suspensions. The INS ordered Jagdish Rai Chadha deported after the House vetoed his suspension. Chadha challenged the veto as unconstitutional. The Court held that the one-house veto violated the bicameralism and presentment requirements even in the context of emergency powers.
Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Jagdish Rai Chadha462 U.S. 919, 954 n. 16, 103 S.Ct. 2764, 2785 n. 16, 77 L.Ed.2d 317
Prior Restraint During Security Crisis
The New York Times obtained and prepared to publish classified documents detailing government decision-making during an ongoing military conflict. The United States sought an injunction claiming publication would harm national security during the declared national emergency. The Court refused the injunction, holding that the government had not met the heavy burden required to justify prior restraint.
New York Times Co. v. United States403 U.S. 713 (1971)
Travel Ban Upheld Under Emergency Authority
President Trump issued a proclamation restricting entry from several countries after determining that their vetting procedures posed a threat to national security. Challengers argued the proclamation exceeded statutory authority and violated the Establishment Clause. The Court upheld the proclamation, finding that the President had statutory authority to suspend entry during a period of national emergency and that the action was within constitutional bounds.
Trump v. Hawaii138 S. Ct. 2392 (2018)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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May courts review the constitutionality of a presidential emergency declaration?+
Yes. The federal judiciary has the authority and responsibility to interpret the Constitution and assess whether actions of the political branches conform to it. A party with a concrete stake that alleges an emergency declaration exceeds constitutional limits presents a justiciable case or controversy.
Supporting sources
Does Congress need a formally declared national emergency to authorize federal training of National Guard units abroad?+
No. Congress may authorize the President to order National Guard units into federal service for training outside the United States even in the absence of a declared national emergency and without the consent of the governor of the home state.
Supporting sources
Does the Take Care Clause permit the President to suspend statutory requirements during a national emergency?+
No. The Take Care Clause requires the President to execute the laws as written. A directive ordering non-enforcement of a clear statutory command during an emergency substitutes executive judgment for congressional policy and violates the clause.
Supporting sources
May Congress extend economic regulations justified by war powers after active hostilities end but while a national emergency persists?+
Yes. Congress may enact temporary economic measures such as rent or price caps that extend into the postwar period when the measures bear a reasonable relationship to remedying wartime disruptions and addressing continuing national defense exigencies.
Supporting sources
462 U.S. 919, 954 n. 16, 103 S.Ct. 2764, 2785 n. 16, 77 L.Ed.2d 317Legislation and Regulation
…Control Act was enacted with the President's approval. These statutes were followed by others resolving similar problems: the National Emergencies Act, § 202, 90 Stat. 1255, 50 U. S. C. § 1622, resolving the longstanding problems with unchecked Executive emergency power; the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control…