Touby v. United States (1990)
- Docket
- 90-6282
- Decided
- 1990-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the Controlled Substances Act unconstitutionally delegate legislative power to the Attorney General? (1)Does the Act allow the Attorney General to delegate authority to the Drug Enforcement Agency? Conclusion: No, yes. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor delivered the opinion of the 9-0 majority. The Court held that the nondelegation doctrine allows Congress to seek the assistance of other branches of government by leaving a certain degree of discretion up to other actors. By providing sufficient guidance to, and placing specific restrictions on, the Attorney General in the Controlled Substances Act, Congress did not unconstitutionally delegate legislative power. The Court also held that the Act permits the Attorney General to delegate authority to other officers and employees of the Department of Justice, so the delegation to the Drug Enforcement Agency was appropriate. In his concurring opinion, Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote that the Controlled Substances Act allows judicial review as a method of ensuring the constitutionality of the temporary scheduling and delegation. He also argued that the issue of delegation of powers within a branch of government is addressed by the Due Process Clause, and the majority’s decision does not examine the case within that framework.