Armour Packing Co. v. United States, 209 U.S. 56 (1908) (No. 467-470)

Case name: Armour Packing Co. v. United States Opinion filed: 1908-03-16 Docket No.: 467-470 Citations: • 209 U.S. 56 • 28 S. Ct. 428 • 52 L. Ed. 681 • 1908 U.S. LEXIS 1738 Case holding summaries: • "The fact that regulation, within the acknowledged power of Congress to enact, may affect the ports of one State more than those of another, cannot be construed as a violation of [the Port Preference Clause]." • rejecting the defen dant’s attempt to read a mistake-of-law defense into a criminal statute forbidding shippers to “obtain or dispose of property at less than the regular rate established” • implying that a corporation is an "accused" for purposes of the sixth amendment clause governing the place of jury selection • elimination of filing requirement "opens the door to the possibility of the very abuses of unequal rates which it was the design of the statute to prohibit and punish" • "But it is to be observed that the Constitution provides for a burden only by the way of taxation or duty, and, unless the alleged interference amounts to such taxation or duty, it does not come within the constitutional prohibition." • rules changing rail rates and diverting traffic from some ports do not violate the Clause • "It is the province of the judiciary to enforce the laws constitutionally enacted, not to make them to suit their own views of propriety or justice." • doctrine is "applicable to every method of dealing by a carrier by which the forbidden result could be brought about" • shipper is required to pay carrier filed rate even though it had contracted with carrier to pay lower rate • quoted in American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. v. Federal Communications Comm'n, 643 F.2d 818, 825-26 (D.C.Cir.1980) • "This feature of the law ... puts the shipper in many kinds of trade at the mercy of the carrier, who may arbitrarily change a rate upon the faith of which contracts have been entered into." • filed tariff doctrine trumps contract defenses