29
The U.S. Constitution merely requires that you be a U.S. citizen, that you be at least 30 years of age, that you have resided nine years in the United States, and that you currently reside in the state from which you are elected, to be a U.S. Senator.
The courts have held that extra-constitutional qualifications for the office may not be imposed.
The ...
27
Yes the Senate could adopt a secret ballot rule, but other constitutional provisions combined with high partisanship make it practically impossible that the final results will be done through secret ballot.
As other answers have mentioned, Article 1, Section 3, provides for the Senate to have sole power of trying impeachments. Similarly by Article 1, ...
17
Generally not. Federal court uses a principle known as the enrolled bill rule -- in deference to the coequal status of the three branches of government, the "enrolled bill" (the thing printed on fancy paper that actually went to the President for signature) is irrebuttable evidence that the law was properly passed. The courts cannot deal with inquiries into ...
13
The only relevant case heard by SCOTUS is Nixon v. US, 506 U.S. 224, where a federal judge was tried and convicted for actual crimes, but would not resign his position so continued to draw his salary. The key legal question was whether the matter is "justiciable" (meaning, not a political matter but a legal matter). Nixon's argument was that Senate Rule XI ...
8
For Mr. Petersen, the questions in general should have been elementary. The fact he did not know them is actually quite deplorable. To your questions specifically:
Should Mr. Petersen, as a Juris Doctor, know of those things in his sleep?
This is the wrong question. The question is: should an individual who has accepted a nomination to serve as a ...
8
No
Section 2, Clause 1 says:
... and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
Impeachment is explicitly carved our from the President's power to pardon.
8
The only way that a member of the House of Representatives, or a U.S. Senator can be removed from office (other than by resignation, death, or expiration of a term of office without being re-elected) is by a two-thirds vote of the chamber removing that member. The relevant provision of the United States Constitution is Article I, Section 5, Clause 2 which ...
8
The US Constitution states the qualifications for being a Senator (Article I, section 3, clause 3)
No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of
thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which
he shall be chosen
Congress is not empowered to ...
5
To consider obstruction of justice, it's not necessary to consider the impact of a delayed nomination on the work of the Supreme Court. 18 USC 1505 provides that a felony has been committed by
Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or ...
5
The leaders can't do it unilaterally, but the members collectively can expel other members. It requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
US Constitution, Article I, Section 5:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Normally this would ...
5
No a senator does not have that power under their elected position. However politics does not work like that. A senator could know the governor of their state very well. Governors could issue pardons which will release people from jail. Governors can also command a certain person to do something, like release a prisoner.
4
From my reading of the bill, and the manner in which it would amend the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the changes do not prevent educational research, but rather, ensures that constraints are in place to prevent the identification of individual students as a result of that research. It also requires a student's parents to consent to such ...
4
Article II, Section 4 of The Constitution says
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United
States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors.
Removal therefore follows automatically from conviction.
4
There is no such thing as transactional immunity to the attorney-client privilege. This is strictly a 5th Amendment concept. You can't immunize a witness to force a witness who is a client to testify about attorney-client privileged matters.
A client can voluntarily waive the attorney-client privilege, but cannot be compelled to do so, unless the client is ...
3
Yes. US Constitution, at Article two, Section two, provides that the President has the power to nominate the justices and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. There is nothing restricting the President from doing this on any particular day from beginning to end of his term, and also no restriction on when the Senate may give their ...
3
The most relevant federal Obstruction of Justice type is from 18 USC 1505:
Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any ...
3
Impeachment is unique in that it is a question of politics, not a question of law, that is being discussed at trial. The other exception is that the Senate, not the Supreme Court, is the High Court of Impeachment (that is, legal precedence is based on what the Senate says, not what the Supreme Court or any other appellant court says). There are a few minor ...
3
Senators, and anyone else for that matter, can ask any questions they want.
The witness is required to answer the questions only if under subpoena, and only if the answer of the question would neither require disclosure of privileged information nor violate a 5th Amendment right (which is a form of privilege).
Many things that are the subject of an NDA ...
3
Daubert is a milestone rule related to allowing scientific evidence, based upon a case and appeal in the 1990s. Anyone taking an Evidence course in law school since 1995 has studied it. It also became part of the Federal Rules of Evidence in 2000, which are also used in about half the states.
A motion in limine is a basic part of criminal procedure in which ...
2
The only legal requirement for bill origination is that tax bills must originate in the House of Representatives.
Otherwise, simultaneous origination is quite common. Differences are resolved through a process called "reconciliation" prior to passage.
2
Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution specifies that
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under ...
2
I conclude (contrary to an earlier expression) that there is no such list, nor can there be, because the term "officer" is not well enough defined.
The inferior officers are those officers who are not principal officers (as specified in the Constitution, e.g. ambassadors, cabinet members, judges), since there are only two kinds of officers. There is no ...
2
He appeared at a joint meeting of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees, so he was only questioned by the members of those committees, and even then, only the ones who showed up and chose to ask questions. You can follow the links to see who's on those committees.
Tomorrow he'll be appearing in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Those ...
2
There is no definitive answer to any of these questions because nobody has ever attempted to do this or anything similar resulting in judicial review of this portion of the U.S. Constitution or of other authoritative interpretation of it outside the courts applied to a real life case as opposed to a mere advisory opinion.
It has been suggested elsewhere ...
1
The Example Caucus would need 50 members - the 50 of them, plus Bob, would be needed for a quorum. (They can compel Bob to attend, so he can't simply leave to deny the quorum.) That's a rather large caucus.
Beyond that, I see no procedural reason why it wouldn't work. They'd likely be going against the Senate rules by bringing up votes that were not ...
1
W.r.t. the House of Representatives, the matter is disposed of in 2 USC Ch 12, on contested elections. §283 allows the contestant to serve notice of contest on the putative winner, and he must "within thirty days after the result of such election shall have been declared by the officer or Board of Canvassers authorized by law to declare such result, ...
1
Due Process is for defendants:
The "fairness" provisions in Amendments 4-8 do not "typically" apply to defendants. They explicitly apply only to defendants. For instance, the 5th Amendment says:
No person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...
The basic idea is that the public is best served by having a fair,...
1
There's been a fair amount written recently on the constitutionality of using a secret ballot for the Senate vote on whether to convict or acquit the President. For those who want to dig deeper, here are some places to start:
In September, former Republican Senator Jeff Flake claimed that if the Senate used a secret ballot, an overwhelming majorty of ...
1
Yes
Article 1 Section 5 Clause 2 of the Constitution says:
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.
Your proposed rule change (secret ballot) does not contradict any other part of the Constitution in particular Article 1 Section 3 Clause 6:
...
1
Yes. There is no constitutional provision prohibiting secret votes, and the House purportedly exercised its electoral powers in electing Thomas Jefferson in 1800 and John Quincy Adams in 1824, by secret ballot. The basic framework is already present in the Senate rules, in rule XXIX ("all remarks, votes, and proceedings thereon shall also be kept ...
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