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THE CENSUS: Interstate Commerce Commission vs. Brimson
believe the ignorant arrogance of this temporary gubment employee? They breed. Stan.
Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brimson, 154 U.S. 447, 479 (May 26, 1894)
"Neither branch of the legislative department [House of Representatives or Senate], still less any merely administrative body [such as the Census Bureau], established by congress, possesses, or can be invested with, a general power of making inquiry into the private affairs of the citizen. Kilbourn v. Thompson, 103 U.S. 168, 190. We said in Boyd v. U.S., 116 U. S. 616, 630, 6 Sup. Ct. 524,―and it cannot be too often repeated,―that the principles that embody the essence of constitutional liberty and security forbid all invasions on the part of government and it's employees of the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of his life. As said by Mr. Justice Field in Re Pacific Ry. Commission, 32 Fed. 241, 250, 'of all the rights of the citizen, few are of greater importance or more essential to his peace and happiness than the right of personal security, and that involves, not merely protection of his person from assault, but exemption of his private affairs, books, and papers from inspection and scrutiny of others. Without the enjoyment of this right, all others would lose half their value.'"
Note: This United States Supreme Court case has never been overturned.
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." ~Ronald Reagan
March 13, 2010