Directors of Insane Asylum v. Wolfly

It will be conceded that the governor, the head of the executive department of the government, is not amenable to the judicial department by mandamus, to direct him in the exercise of any of the powers intrusted to him as such, whatever the degree or character of the discretion imposed upon him. The executive and judicial departments have separate and distinct functions, clearly marked out, and each *133is independent of the other. The authority to direct the governor by mandamus is denied by very high authority, and the difficulty of the enforcement of the writ has been suggested with great…