Injunctions

Judicial orders directing someone to halt a course of action. A judge orders an injunction when he or she decides that an action will cause irreparable injury to another person, and that a subsequent lawsuit will not provide adequate compensation for the injury. Injunctions are issued under the federal courts' equity power—their general responsibility to ensure fairness and justice—rather than under their more specific jurisdiction, or official authority, over matters arising from the Constitution and laws.

Injunctions may be temporary, simply preserving the status quo until the parties involved resolve the dispute, or they may be permanent bans on certain courses of action. A federal judge may issue a preliminary or temporary injunction even before deciding whether he or she has jurisdiction over a case. The order must be obeyed until it is reversed or lifted.

Some people consider the power to issue injunctions to be inherent in the nature of the federal courts. The Court, however, traditionally has held that Congress must authorize the federal courts to issue such orders. Congress issued such statutory authority in 1789 and has steadily exercised its power to limit the circumstances in which federal courts may issue injunctions.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 made clear that equity suits were to be brought only when no legal remedy existed to resolve a dispute. More specific [Page 155]limitations followed quickly. In 1793, Congress forbade the courts to use injunctions to temporarily halt state court proceedings. The Anti-Injunction Act, which set out the fundamental policy of federal noninterference with state judicial proceedings, remains in effect today.

In 1867, Congress forbade federal courts to use injunctions to interfere with the assessment or collection of federal taxes. One result of this ban is the landmark case Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. (1895), which challenged the constitutionality of the peacetime income tax. Pollock was a suit seeking an injunction directing a bank not to pay its federal income taxes.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, federal courts used injunctions widely to protect property owners and employers, and to curtail the activities of organized labor. In response, Congress passed laws in 1914 and 1932 limiting such “government by injunction.” Similarly, Congress also passed legislation requiring that a panel of three judges—not just a single judge—grant injunctions halting enforcement of state laws or acts of Congress. Appeals from the decisions of these panels could be taken directly to the Court. These provisions were repealed in 1976.