Kurt M. Freiberg v. Hon. Edmund S. Muskie Hon. B. R. Civiletti and Hon. Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States

Eighth Circuit

Kurt M. Freiberg v. Hon. Edmund S. Muskie Hon. B. R. Civiletti and Hon. Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States

651 F.2d 608, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 12077

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

DecidedJune 23, 1981

Docket81-1142

StatusPublished

Cited by1 cases

This text of 651 F.2d 608 (Kurt M. Freiberg v. Hon. Edmund S. Muskie Hon. B. R. Civiletti and Hon. Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Kurt M. Freiberg v. Hon. Edmund S. Muskie Hon. B. R. Civiletti and Hon. Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States, 651 F.2d 608, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 12077 (8th Cir. 1981).

Pincite

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Kurt M. Freiberg appeals the district court’s January 8,1981 dismissal of his lawsuit which sought to compel the United States Department of State to intervene on his behalf with officials of the West German Government. The district court concluded it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the case solely presented nonjusticiable political questions and accordingly dismissed the suit pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). We affirm.

The district court correctly dismissed the case on the basis of the political question doctrine. “The conduct of the foreign relations of our Government is committed by the Constitution to the Executive and Legislative — ‘the political’ — Departments of the Government, and the propriety of what may be done in the exercise of this political power is not subject to judicial inquiry or decision.” Oetjen v. Central Leather Co., 246 U.S. 297, 302, 38 S.Ct. 309, 310, 62 L.Ed. 726 (1918). See also Logan v. Secretary of State, 553 F.2d 107, 108 (D.C.Cir.1976) (per curiam); Wright, Miller & Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure: Jurisdiction, § 3534, pp. 310-13 (1975) (matters dealing with foreign affairs constitute one of the areas in which courts regularly recognize a very broad latitude in the political branches; many questions dealing with treaties likewise are left to executive and legislative disposition).

The district court’s dismissal is affirmed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

PER CURIAM.

Kurt M. Freiberg appeals the district court’s January 8,1981 dismissal of his lawsuit which sought to compel the United States Department of State to intervene on his behalf with officials of the West German Government. The district court concluded it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the case solely presented nonjusticiable political questions and accordingly dismissed the suit pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). We affirm.

The district court correctly dismissed the case on the basis of the political question doctrine. “The conduct of the foreign relations of our Government is committed by the Constitution to the Executive and Legislative — ‘the political’ — Departments of the Government, and the propriety of what may be done in the exercise of this political power is not subject to judicial inquiry or decision.” Oetjen v. Central Leather Co., 246 U.S. 297, 302, 38 S.Ct. 309, 310, 62 L.Ed. 726 (1918). See also Logan v. Secretary of State, 553 F.2d 107, 108 (D.C.Cir.1976) (per curiam); Wright, Miller & Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure: Jurisdiction, § 3534, pp. 310-13 (1975) (matters dealing with foreign affairs constitute one of the areas in which courts regularly recognize a very broad latitude in the political branches; many questions dealing with treaties likewise are left to executive and legislative disposition).

The district court’s dismissal is affirmed.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

651 F.2d 608, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 12077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kurt-m-freiberg-v-hon-edmund-s-muskie-hon-b-r-civiletti-and-hon-ca8-1981.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack