Johannessen v. United States

Background

Johannessen, a native of Norway, applied for and received a certificate of citizenship from a Washington state court in 1892 after arriving in the United States in December 1888. The certificate rested on two witnesses’ perjured testimony that he had lived in the United States five years. In 1908 Johannessen admitted by affidavit that he had not met the residency requirement. The United States district attorney then sued under section 15 of the 1906 naturalization act to cancel the certificate; the district court overruled a demurrer, entered a decree canceling the certificate, and Johannessen appealed.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether Congress may authorize courts to set aside naturalization certificates obtained by fraud, including those issued before the 1906 act. It explained that naturalization applications are commonly ex parte, not adversary, so certificates issued on an applicant’s unopposed proof are not conclusively binding against the public. The Court likened certificates to other public grants that may be revoked for fraud or mistake, held that section 15 validly provides for judicial review and cancellation with fair notice to the holder, and rejected the claim that the statute is an unconstitutional ex post facto law.

Real world impact

The decision allows the Government to bring court actions to cancel citizenship certificates fraudulently obtained, including older certificates issued before the 1906 law, and requires notice and a hearing before cancellation. Individuals whose naturalizations rest on perjury may lose citizenship privileges after judicial review.