The Federal Impeachment Process

by Gerhardt, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780226289571
• ISBN10: 0226289575
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Throughout President Clinton's impeachment proceedings, the contending sides agreed on very little. One exception was The Federal Impeachment Process--the most complete analysis of the constitutional and legal issues raised in every impeachment proceeding in American history. In this edition, Michael Gerhardt draws on his experience as a commentator and expert witness to examine the likely political and constitutional consequences of President Clinton's impeachment and trial. Placing the President's acquittal in historical perspective, he argues that it fits easily within the impeachment process as it has evolved over the past two centuries. Impeachment, he shows, is an inherently political process designed to expose and remedy political crimes. Subject neither to judicial review nor to presidential veto, it is a unique congressional power that involves both political and constitutional considerations, including the gravity of the offense charged, the harm to the constitutional order, and the link between an official's misconduct and duties. Significantly updated, this book will be the standard work on the federal impeachment process for years to come. On the first edition: "The most comprehensive, analytic study of the federal impeachment process to date."--Choice "This book is by some margin the most successful . . . analysis of impeachment issues to have been written, and it will be the standard work for years to come."--Constitutional Commentary

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
PART I: THE HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF THE FEDERAL IMPEACHMENT PROCESS	1	(22)
The Impeachment Debates in the Constitutional Convention	3	(9)
The Impeachment Debates in the Ratifying Conventions	12	(11)
PART II: TRENDS AND PROBLEMS IN IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS	23	(50)
Impeachment Proceedings in the House of Representatives	25	(8)
The Senate's Role in the Federal Impeachment Process	33	(14)
Impeachment Issues Involving Congress and the Other Branches	47	(17)
Making Sense of the Federal Impeachment Process	64	(9)
PART III: CLARIFYING THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF THE FEDERAL IMPEACHMENT PROCESS	73	(74)
The Scope of Impeachable Officials and Applicable Punishments	75	(7)
Impeachment As the Sole Means of Disciplining and Removing Impeachable Officials	82	(21)
The Scope of Impeachable Offenses	103	(9)
The Proper Procedure for Impeachment Proceedings	112	(6)
Judicial Review of Impeachments	118	(29)
PART IV: IMPEACHMENT REFORMS	147	(26)
Proposed Procedural Reforms for Judicial Impeachments	149	(10)
Proposed Statutory Changes and Constitutional Amendments to the Impeachment Process	159	(14)
PART V: THE HISTORICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE IMPEACHMENT AND ACQUITTAL OF PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON	173	(22)
Possible Explanations for and Lessons to be Drawn from President Clinton's Impeachment and Acquittal	175	(17)
Conclusion: The Future of the Impeachment Process	192	(3)
Notes	195	(44)
Bibliography	239	(12)
Bibliography Addendum	251	(4)
Index	255