ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Totten v. United States

Alright kiddo, so let me try to explain Totten v. United States to you in a way that you can understand.

In the late 1800s, there was a man named William A. Totten. He was a spy who worked for the U.S. government during the Civil War. Totten received a bunch of money from the government for his spy work.

Years later, Totten was accused of being a spy for another country, and the government tried to take back the money they had given him.

But Totten argued that he did not owe the government the money back because his spy work for the government was a secret agreement, and he could not be held accountable for breaking a contract that was supposed to be kept secret.

The case went to the Supreme Court, and they ultimately decided that Totten was right. The Court said that the government could not hold Totten accountable for his secret spy work because it would go against the principles of confidentiality in secret agreements.

So basically, Totten v. United States is a case about whether or not the government can take back money given to a spy if they were accused of being a spy for another country. The Supreme Court decided that the government could not take back the money because of the secret agreement, which was meant to be confidential.