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25 Am. U. L. Rev. 595 (1975-1976)
Congressional Reference Cases in the United States Court of Claims: A Historical and Current Perspective

handle is hein.journals/aulr25 and id is 605 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL REFERENCE CASES IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF CLAIMS: A HISTORICAL AND CURRENT PERSPECTIVE* JEFFREY M. GLOSSER** INTRODUCTION It is as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same be- tween private individuals. The investigation and adjudication of claims, in their nature belong to the judicial department . . . These words are from President Abraham Lincoln's first State of the Union message to Congress, delivered December 3, 1861. Putting aside for purposes of this article those cases which may be filed in the United States Court of Claims under its general jurisdictional statutes,2 we are concerned here with claimants who seek other than a purely legal remedy. In the latter situation, . . . Congress . . . is the last resort to which the individual can turn for redress.3 The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, while considering the present congressional reference statute,4 made the following observa- tions: * Copyright 1976 by Jeffrey M. Glosser. ** B.S., 1958, University of Pennsylvania; LL.B., 1961, Harvard University; Chairman, Congressional Reference Subcommittee and Rules Subcommittee, Court of Claims Committee, The Bar Association of the District of Columbia; Chairman, Congressional Reference Subcommittee, Court of Claims Committee, Federal Bar Association. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Renee S. Ross, Esquire, former law clerk to the author's law firm. 1. State of the Union Message by President Lincoln, Dec. 3, 1861, quoted in Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., 2d Sess., pt. IV, App. at 2 (1862). 2. See Jones & Davis, Profile of a Congressional Reference Case, 28 J. MO. BAR 69 (1972) [hereinafter cited as Jones & Davis]. 3. Hearings on Evaluation of the Effects of Laws Enacted to Reorganize the Legisla- tive Branch of the Government Before the Senate Comm. on Expenditures in the Execu- tive Departments, 82d Cong., 1st Sess. 248 (1951) (remarks of Representative Emanuel Celler, Chairman, House Judiciary Comm.) 4. Pub. L. No. 89-681, 80 Stat. 958 (1966) (codified at 28 U.S.C. §§ 1492, 2509 (1970)).

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