Collection Act of 1789

The First Congress adopted the Collection Act of 1789 on July 31, 1789. The law outlined the ports of entry and delivery of the United States; established the jurisdictions, duties, and responsibilities of collections agents; and outlined the process by which merchant vessels would deliver cargo to and from the United States. The Collection Act provided a detailed procedure for how items intended for sale within the United States would be accounted for and allowed to enter and pass into the country. The act also established guidelines and procedures for detaining, accounting for, and processing cargo that was identified as undocumented and intended for sale outside of U.S. taxation policies and duties as well as cargo that was transported in a manner that attempted to defraud the nation of revenue.

Section 24 of the Collection Act empowered inspectors by giving them the authority to execute a warrantless search of any maritime vessel for any undeclared cargo or merchandise that was not on the vessel's shipping manifest if they believed that the ship was concealing taxable items intended for sale. The Collection Act did not specify criteria for suspicion, apparently leaving this up to the individual customs agents to determine on a case-by-case basis. It allowed for appointed agents of the United States to detain and board any vessel in U.S. waters in an effort to discover undocumented cargo. Furthermore, if a search proved fruitful, agents could appropriate a warrant and perform a daytime search of any dwelling, house, storage facility, or other place if they believed operations defrauding the nation of revenue were occurring there.

By allowing a search of a maritime vessel or a related storage facility without requiring a guideline for cause, the Collection Act separated itself from the normal requirements as outlined by the text of the Fourth Amendment. This has led to speculation that the Framers of the Constitution intended for there to be limitations on the Fourth Amendment or, at a minimum, a distinction between the application of search and seizure to a private home and to a maritime vessel. Congress may have been unsure whether the Fourth Amendment permitted the search and seizure of maritime vessels and thus intended the passage of the Collections Act of 1789 to solidify the power to do so.