Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224 

Supreme Court of the United States

1993

Chapter

1

Title

The Role of the Supreme Court in the Constitutional Order

Page

129

Topic

Case or Controversy Requirement and the Passive Virtues

Quick Notes

o         The US Supreme Court found that the courts may not review the impeachment of a Federal officer because the Constitution gives sole authority for impeachments to the Senate.

Book Name

Constitutional Law : Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, Tushnet.  ISBN:  978-0-7355-7719-0

Issue

o         Whether impeachment is a political question?  Yes.  The US Supreme Court found that the courts may not review the impeachment of a Federal officer because the Constitution gives sole authority for impeachments to the Senate.

Procedure

Appellant

o         United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed, that petitioner's request for a declaration that his impeachment conviction was void, was a nonjusticiable political question

Supreme

o         Affirmed.

Facts

Discussion

Key Phrases

Rules

Pl Nixon

Df United States

Party Description

o          Nixon, a former district court judge, who was convicted at a criminal trial of making false statements before a federal grand jury, sought judicial review of his subsequent removal from office.

o         Claimed that the Senate failed to try him within the meaning of the impeachment clause of Article 1, Section 3, which provides that the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.

o         Upon receiving articles of impeachment from the House, the Senate referred the matter to a committee, which reported to the full body.

o         Nixon wanted a full trial in front of the Senate.

The US Supreme Court dismissed the case.

o         The US Supreme Court found that the courts may not review the impeachment of a Federal officer because the Constitution gives sole authority for impeachments to the Senate.

Checks and Balances

o         The Court felt that the 'checks and balances' to impeachment was that the Senate could only take up impeachment referred to them by the House.

Senate was providing appellate review

o         There was no need for the courts to provide appellate review, because the Senate was providing appellate review of the House's decision to impeach.

Impeachment is a political question

o         The Court found that the issue was not judiciable because impeachment is a political question.

Affirmed

DISSENT

o         It was argued that if Congress had significantly deviated from justice, then maybe the Court should intervene.

o         There might be justification for judicial review, if the Senate were to act in a manner seriously threatening the integrity of it results.

o         Examples

o    Convicting upon a coin-toss.

o    Simply making the determination that he was a bad guy.

Rules

Political Questions

o         A controversy is nonjusticiable -- i. e., involves a political question -- where there is a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; or a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it. But the courts must, in the first instance, interpret the text in question and determine whether and to what extent the issue is textually committed. The concept of a textual commitment to a coordinate political department is not completely separate from the concept of a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; the lack of judicially manageable standards may strengthen the conclusion that there is a textually demonstrable commitment to a coordinate branch.

Class Notes