NCJ Number
125875
Journal
William and Mary Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1990) Pages: 445-489
Date Published
1990
Length
45 pages
Annotation
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 is the principal basis for contemporary legal challenge to the U.S. Navy's civilian law enforcement authority. This note considers the propriety of applying the act's limitations to naval enforcement of civilian laws at sea.
Abstract
The law enforcement challenge at sea has heightened due to international narcotics smuggling and illegal waterborne immigration. Traditionally, the U.S. Coast Guard has performed the nation's law enforcement functions on the high seas. Expanded law enforcement duties in the future, however, will likely be more than the Coast Guard can handle. One solution to the need for an expanded law enforcement presence at sea is the U.S. Navy. Even so, courts have raised questions regarding the legality of using the Navy to enforce Federal civilian law. Although the need for naval participation in law enforcement activity at sea will be increasingly necessary, the Navy's legal authority to enforce civilian law is not clear. At the present time, no constitutional, statutory, or public policy limitation prevents the Navy from engaging in law enforcement operations at sea. The Navy ultimately exists to serve and protect the interests of the American people. Discharging that duty requires that nothing unreasonably hinder the Navy in its ability to enforce U.S. laws at sea. The Posse Comitatus Act has never represented and should not now represent a constraint on naval authority. However vital the statute's proscriptive effect may be on land, it simply does not translate to the unique law environment on the high seas. 236 footnotes