Nixon v. United States
E903974
Nixon v. United States is a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case that held challenges to the Senate’s procedures for conducting impeachment trials are nonjusticiable political questions beyond judicial review.
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
U.S. Supreme Court case
ⓘ
United States constitutional law case ⓘ impeachment case ⓘ legal case ⓘ |
| arguedDate | 1992-10-14 ⓘ |
| background | Walter L. Nixon, Jr. was impeached and removed from office after a criminal conviction for making false statements to a grand jury NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| category |
United States Supreme Court cases decided in 1993
ⓘ
United States impeachment case law ⓘ United States separation of powers case law ⓘ |
| citation | 506 U.S. 224 ⓘ |
| concurrenceBy |
Justice Byron R. White
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Justice David H. Souter NERFINISHED ⓘ Justice Harry A. Blackmun NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ Article III of the U.S. Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1993-01-13 ⓘ |
| defendantArgument | The Constitution commits impeachment trials solely to the Senate and bars judicial review ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 91-740 ⓘ |
| fullName | Nixon v. United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
Challenges to the Senate’s procedures for conducting impeachment trials present nonjusticiable political questions
ⓘ
The federal courts lack authority to review the Senate’s impeachment trial procedures ⓘ The word "try" in the Impeachment Trial Clause does not impose judicially enforceable limits on the Senate’s conduct of impeachment trials ⓘ |
| impact |
Confirmed that federal courts will not review the Senate’s conduct of impeachment trials
ⓘ
Frequently cited in cases and scholarship on the political question doctrine and impeachment ⓘ |
| issue | Whether the judiciary may review the Senate’s procedures in impeachment trials ⓘ |
| legalPrinciple |
Senate has sole power to try impeachments
ⓘ
political question doctrine limits judicial review of impeachment proceedings ⓘ |
| lowerCourt | United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| lowerCourtDisposition | Dismissal of Nixon’s claim affirmed ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| opinionType | unanimous in judgment ⓘ |
| page | 224 ⓘ |
| petitioner | Walter L. Nixon, Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plaintiffArgument | The Senate’s use of a committee to receive evidence violated the constitutional requirement that the Senate "try" impeachments ⓘ |
| proceduralHistory |
Nixon filed suit in federal court challenging the Senate’s impeachment trial procedures
ⓘ
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal NERFINISHED ⓘ The district court dismissed the case as a nonjusticiable political question ⓘ |
| relatedPerson | Walter L. Nixon, Jr., former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reporter | United States Reports ⓘ |
| respondent | United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result | Judgment of the lower court affirmed ⓘ |
| shortName | Nixon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
impeachment
ⓘ
judicial review ⓘ political question doctrine ⓘ separation of powers ⓘ |
| volume | 506 ⓘ |
| year | 1993 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.