UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
GOLDBERG V. DANIELS, 231 U. S. 218 (1913)
231 U. S. 218U.S. Supreme Court
Goldberg v. Daniels, 231 U.S. 218 (1913)
Goldberg v. Daniels
No. 79
Argued November 14, 1913
Decided December 1, 1913
231 U.S. 218
Syllabus
The United States, as the owner in possession of property, cannot be interfered with behind its back; nor can the courts compel the officer having the custody of such property to surrender it in a proceeding to which the United States is not, and cannot be made, a party.
Mandamus will not lie at the instance of one who in response to advertisement has made the highest bid for a vessel to compel the Secretary of the Navy to deliver the vessel.
The discretion of the Secretary of the Navy is not ended by receipt and opening of bids for a condemned naval vessel even though they clubjuris
satisfy the condition prescribed. Mandamus will not lie to compel him to accept the highest bid.
37 App.D.C. 282, affirmed.
The facts, which involve the jurisdiction of the court to issue a writ of mandamus directing the Secretary of the Navy to carry out the terms of a bid in response to advertisements for sale of a naval vessel, are stated in the opinion. clubjuris