The Unusual Story of the Pocket Veto Case, 1926-1929

“This is an extremely interesting book explaining how problematic/controversial the history of the pocket veto has been. Jonathan Lurie expertly addresses several separate issues. He begins by discussing the creation of the federal Court of Claims, allowing for suits to be filed by most parties against the United States but specifically denying jurisdiction to suits filed by foreign nations and Indian tribes. He then notes that for tribes to be compensated for the loss of their vast tracts of land to white settlers, Congress had to pass special legislation giving them specific access to the Court of Claims in which they could make their cases. One special bill giving access to six Pacific Northwest tribes was pocket vetoed by President Coolidge. The tribes believed Coolidge’s use of the pocket veto was invalid, as Congress had not adjourned for the session, and, asserting that the special bill had become law without the president’s signature, they entered the Court of Claims, arguing that the judges had jurisdiction to hear their case for compensation. The Court of Claims found their case to be without legal foundation, and the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed. He concludes by addressing more recent efforts by various presidents to employ the pocket veto.”—Ralph A. Rossum, author of The Supreme Court and Tribal Gaming: California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians

“Jonathan Lurie’s The Unusual Story of the Pocket Veto Case, 1926–1929 is a clear and well-written study of an underappreciated case. The only complete work on the history of the pocket veto and the cases that examined it, Lurie’s book is a valuable work, and legal scholars will appreciate a study that considers this rarely examined but important topic.”—Tim Alan Garrison, author of The Legal Ideology of Removal: The Southern Judiciary and the Sovereignty of Native American Nations

“Lurie compellingly demonstrates the complexities of our constitutional procedures. His analysis pieces together how all three branches of government responded to the Indian tribes’ claims, smoothly transitioning between congressional debates, the Coolidge administration’s defense of the pocket veto, and the ultimate Supreme Court decision. In this fine study, Lurie has managed to make even the ostensibly dry and technical elements of his history—for instance, the creation and development of the US Court of Claims—both lucid and interesting. Lurie tells a good tale.”—Kevin J. Burns, author of William Howard Taft’s Constitutional Progressivism