[Political Junkie Too]

Three key passages in the Constitution governed the case.

Terry,

There is a fourth "key" passage that nobody is talking about.

Article I Section 5 Clause 4:

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Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

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Everyone is making a big deal about whether the Senate was in recess and whether Obama can decide when the Senate is in recess. However, the Constitution says that the House of Representatives gets to decide when the Senate is in recess, and the House did NOT consent. The House remained in session, forcing the Senate to conduct pro forma sessions.

People need to put more emphasis on the House's role in this. The Senate's pro forma sessions were not a "gimmick" that excuses Obama from acting unconstitutionally

-PJ

[jazusamo]

Excellent point that I had forgotten also.

[Mr. Lucky]

The Court distinguished between intra-session adjounments and The inter-session recess. By the Court's logic the appointments would have been void regardless of whether the House had consented to an adjounment.