Legislative and Adjudicative Jurisdiction

Kudos to the First Circuit for getting it right in a case involving a federal prosecution for drug trafficking in international waters. The defendants argued, and the court agreed, that extending the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act to international waters infringed on international law and thus exceeded congressional authority. The defendants had moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, but the First Circuit rightly recognized the issue as one of legislative jurisdiction--Congress' power to enact substantive legislation--rather than the subject-matter jurisdiction of the federal courts. Thus the prosecution fails on the merits because the law being enforced was unconstitutional; the prosecution does not fail for lack of judicial jurisdiction.