Clinton v. Jones

E15619

United States Supreme Court case legal case

Clinton v. Jones is a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court case that held a sitting president is not immune from civil litigation for unofficial acts committed before taking office.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
Paula Jones lawsuit	1
William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, petitioner v. Paula Corbin Jones	1

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court case ⓘ legal case ⓘ
allegedConductTimePeriod	before Bill Clinton became President of the United States ⓘ
areaOfLaw	civil procedure ⓘ constitutional law ⓘ separation of powers ⓘ
citation	520 U.S. 681 ⓘ
constitutionalProvisionDiscussed	Article II of the United States Constitution ⓘ separation of powers doctrine ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate	1997-05-27 ⓘ
decisionType	unanimous decision ⓘ
docketNumber	95-1853 ⓘ
effect	Allowed Paula Jones's civil lawsuit against President Clinton to proceed while he was in office. ⓘ
fullCaseName	Clinton v. Jones self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, petitioner v. Paula Corbin Jones
holding	A sitting President of the United States has no immunity from civil litigation in federal court for unofficial acts alleged to have occurred before taking office. ⓘ The Constitution does not require federal courts to stay all private civil lawsuits against the President until he leaves office. ⓘ
impact	Clarified limits of presidential immunity from civil litigation. ⓘ
issue	Scope of presidential immunity from civil suits for unofficial conduct ⓘ
jurisdiction	federal question jurisdiction ⓘ
justiceInMajority	Anthony M. Kennedy ⓘ Antonin Scalia ⓘ Clarence Thomas ⓘ David H. Souter ⓘ John Paul Stevens ⓘ Ruth Bader Ginsburg ⓘ Sandra Day O’Connor ⓘ surface form: Sandra Day O'Connor Stephen G. Breyer ⓘ William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
legalPrinciple	Presidential immunity is limited to official acts within the outer perimeter of presidential duties. ⓘ Separation of powers does not require federal courts to stay private civil actions against a sitting President for unofficial conduct. ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy	John Paul Stevens ⓘ
oralArgumentDate	1997-01-13 ⓘ
originatingCourt	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ⓘ
petitioner	Bill Clinton ⓘ surface form: William Jefferson Clinton
presidentInvolved	Bill Clinton ⓘ
priorCaseReferenced	Nixon v. Fitzgerald ⓘ
proceduralHistory	District court denied motion to dismiss but ordered stay; Eighth Circuit reversed stay; Supreme Court affirmed Eighth Circuit. ⓘ
respondent	Paula Corbin Jones ⓘ
result	Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed. ⓘ
subjectMatter	civil liability of a sitting President ⓘ presidential immunity ⓘ
vote	9-0 ⓘ
yearDecided	1997 ⓘ

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

United States v. Nixon → citedBy → Clinton v. Jones ⓘ

Clinton v. Jones → fullCaseName → Clinton v. Jones self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States, petitioner v. Paula Corbin Jones

Monica Lewinsky scandal → relatedTo → Clinton v. Jones ⓘ

this entity surface form: Paula Jones lawsuit