1935 in American law

1935 in American law
Year	1935
Country	United States
Notable legislation	Social Security Act; National Labor Relations Act; Banking Act of 1935
Supreme court	Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States; A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp.; Humphrey's Executor v. United States
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt

Contents

1935 in American law 1935 witnessed transformative Franklin D. Roosevelt administration legislation, pivotal Supreme Court of the United States rulings, and major developments in labor law and social welfare that reshaped New Deal jurisprudence. Landmark acts such as the Social Security Act and the National Labor Relations Act intersected with decisions like Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States and administrative reforms affecting institutions including the Federal Reserve System, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board.

Major Federal Legislation

Congress enacted the Social Security Act creating federal retirement insurance, unemployment insurance, and welfare programs, intersecting with debates involving John Maynard Keynes, Harry Hopkins, Frances Perkins, Committee on Economic Security, and the House Ways and Means Committee. The National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) established collective bargaining protections, empowering the National Labor Relations Board and engaging stakeholders such as the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, Samuel Gompers (posthumous influence), and labor leaders like John L. Lewis. The Banking Act of 1935 restructured the Federal Reserve System, increasing central banking authority and involving figures such as Marriner S. Eccles, Paul Warburg (earlier influence), Benjamin Strong (earlier influence), and the House Committee on Banking and Currency. Other statutes influenced by New Deal policymaking included amendments to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, regulatory action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and fiscal measures debated in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.

The Supreme Court of the United States issued decisions challenging aspects of the New Deal, including Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, which invalidated aspects of the National Industrial Recovery Act and implicated the roles of the Commerce Clause and the separation of powers doctrine as articulated by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and Justices such as Owen Roberts and Harlan F. Stone. In administrative law, Humphrey's Executor v. United States (decision rendered slightly later but rooted in 1935 disputes) addressed presidential removal powers concerning independent agencies, implicating the Federal Trade Commission, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and counsel such as Robert Jackson. The Court's rulings in cases like NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation debates and other opinions engaged litigants including American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Standard Oil, and unions represented by attorneys connected to National Labor Relations Board litigation.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued executive actions directing New Deal administration, including reorganizations affecting the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Works Progress Administration, and appointments to regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. Roosevelt's use of executive power prompted responses from Congressional leaders such as Cordell Hull, Joseph T. Robinson, and critics including Al Smith and Huey Long. Executive orders and presidential directives influenced enforcement of the Social Security Act, banking reforms under Marriner S. Eccles at the Federal Reserve System, and labor policy overseen by figures like Frances Perkins and Homer S. Cummings.

States enacted complementary measures to federal legislation, with state legislatures in New York (state), California, Massachusetts, and Illinois adopting statutes implementing Social Security Act provisions and unemployment programs; governors such as Herbert H. Lehman, Frank Merriam, James Michael Curley, and Henry Horner played administrative roles. Municipalities saw legal disputes over public works led by municipal officials in New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco involving public contracts, labor disputes with local affiliates of the American Federation of Labor, and litigation in state supreme courts including the New York Court of Appeals and the Illinois Supreme Court. State constitutional challenges arose over taxes and regulatory authority, with litigants referencing precedents from the Supreme Court of the United States and advice from state attorneys general like Munger-era counsels.

High-profile prosecutions and trials included securities and banking cases involving defendants tied to the Wall Street crash era, litigated before federal judges in the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit with prosecutors connected to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. Labor-related prosecutions, strike-related injunctions, and antitrust suits targeted corporations such as Standard Oil Company, United States Steel Corporation, and regional firms, while criminal cases concerning public corruption drew attention to local figures in Tammany Hall, political machines led by figures like Jimmy Walker, and investigations by state prosecutors. Cases addressing civil liberties, including free speech and assembly disputes involving organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and advocacy groups, proceeded in federal and state courts.

Academic and professional discourse in 1935 featured scholarship from faculties at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, University of Chicago Law School, and commentators such as Roscoe Pound, Jerome Frank, Karl Llewellyn, and Felix Frankfurter debating administrative law, statutory interpretation, and constitutional limits on economic regulation. Bar associations, including the American Bar Association and state bar groups, issued opinions on New Deal legislation, while law reviews like the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and Columbia Law Review published symposia on Social Security Act implementation, labor law under the Wagner Act, and reforms to the Federal Reserve System.

Category:1935 in United States law