United States v. Russell was a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1871. The case involved a criminal prosecution for the illegal sale of liquor in violation of the Internal Revenue Act of 1864. The defendant, Russell, argued that the act was unconstitutional because it violated the Fifth Amendment's prohibition against double jeopardy. The Supreme Court disagreed and held that the act was constitutional. The Court reasoned that the act did not violate the Fifth Amendment because it did not impose a second punishment for the same offense. Instead, the act imposed a tax on the sale of liquor, which was a separate and distinct offense from the sale of liquor itself. The Court also held that the act did not violate the Tenth Amendment because it was a valid exercise of Congress' power to tax. The Court concluded that the act was a valid exercise of Congress' power to tax and that the defendant was properly convicted of violating the act.

In United States v. Russell, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a statute criminalizing the manufacture of an adulterated drug with intent to defraud or mislead constituted a crime against the United States. The majority opinion held that it did not, as Congress had no authority under its enumerated powers in Article I of the Constitution to pass such legislation. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Field argued that Congress had ample power under both its commerce and police powers granted by Article I to enact this law. He further noted that if Congress could not regulate matters like these which were so closely related to public health and safety then it would be unable to protect citizens from frauds perpetrated through interstate commerce. As such, he believed that this law should be upheld as constitutional because it fell within Congressional authority over interstate commerce and was necessary for protecting public welfare.