IMPEACH AND REMOVE US Supreme Court Justices

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[Yosemitest]

Can a US Supreme Court justice be impeached and removed from office?

Yes.

Under normal circumstances, a Supreme Court justice is awarded a lifetime commission.

A Supreme Court Justice may be impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office if convicted in a Senate trial, but only for the same types of offenses that would trigger impeachment proceedings for any other government official under Articles I and II of the Constitution.

Article III, Section 1 states that judges of Article III courts shall hold their offices "during good behavior." "The phrase "good behavior" has been interpreted by the courts to equate to the same level of seriousness 'high crimes and misdemeanors" encompasses.

In addition, any federal judge may prosecuted in the criminal courts for criminal activity. If found guilty of a crime in a federal district court, the justice would face the same type of sentencing any other criminal defendant would. The district court could not remove him/her from the Bench. However, any justice found guilty in the criminal courts of any felony would certainly be impeached and, if found guilty, removed from office.

In the United States, impeachment is most often used to remove corrupt lower-court federal judges from office, but it's not unusual to find disgruntled special interest groups circulating petitions on the internet calling for the impeachment of one or all members of the High Court.


The Impeachment Process

Impeachment is a two-step process; the impeachment phase is similar to a Grand Jury hearing, where charges (called "articles of impeachment") are presented and the House of Representatives determines whether the evidence is sufficient to warrant a trial. If the House vote passes by a simple majority, the defendant is "impeached," and proceeds to trial in the Senate.

The House of Representatives indicts the accused on articles of impeachment, and, if impeached, the Senate conducts a trial to determine the party's guilt or innocence.

Impeachment is a two-step process; the impeachment phase is similar to a Grand Jury hearing, where charges (called "articles of impeachment") are presented and the House of Representatives determines whether the evidence is sufficient to warrant a trial. If the House vote passes by a simple majority, the defendant is "impeached," and proceeds to trial in the Senate.

The Senate trial, while analogous to a criminal trial, only convenes for the purpose of determining whether a Justice, the President (or another officeholder) should be removed from office on the basis of the evidence presented at impeachment.

At the trial a committee from the House of Representatives, called "Managers," act as the prosecutors. Per constitutional mandate (Article I, Section 3), the Chief Justice of the United States (Supreme Court) must preside over the Senate trial of the President. If any other official is on trial, an "Impeachment Trial Committee" of Senators act as the presiding judges to hear testimony and evidence against the accused, which is then presented as a report to the remained of the Senate. The full Senate no longer participates in the hearing phase of the removal trial. This procedure came into practice in 1986 when the Senate amended its rules and procedures for impeachment and has been contested by several federal court judges, but the Supreme Court has declined to interfere in the process, calling the issue a political, not legal, matter.

At the conclusion of the trial, the full Senate votes and must return a two-thirds Super Majority for conviction. Convicted officials are removed from office immediately and barred from holding future office. The Senate trial, while analogous to a criminal trial, only convenes for the purpose of determining whether a Justice, the President (or another officeholder) should be removed from office on the basis of the evidence presented at impeachment.

Impeachment and Near Impeachment

Only one Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Chase (one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence), has ever been impeached. The House of Representatives accused Chase of letting his Federalist political leanings affect his rulings, and served him with eight articles of impeachment in late 1804. The Senate acquitted him of all charges in 1805, establishing the right of the judiciary to independent opinion. Chase continued on the Court until his death in June 1811.

In 1957, at the height of McCarthyism, the Georgia General Assembly passed a joint resolution calling for "The Impeachment of Certain U.S. Supreme Court Justices" believed to be enabling Communism with their decisions. The resolution targeted Chief Justice Earl Warren and Associate Justices Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, Tom Campbell Clark, Felix Frankfurter, and Stanley Forman Reed (as well as several unnamed deceased Justices) for "...[usurping] the congressional power to make law in violation of Article I, Sections I and 8, and violated Sections 3 and 5 of the 14th Amendment and nullified the 10th Amendment of the Constitution."

[Yosemitest]

I can think of four justices that should be IMPEACHED, just as soon as the CONSERVATIVES take back the House and Senate.

[trumandogz]

Sure.

[US_MilitaryRules]

Sorry, but the only way these 4 scumbags are leaving the court is when they die.

[worst-case scenario]

High crimes and misdemeanors?

[Joe Boucher]

Impeach the Supremes?
Crappola,

Keel Haul the bastards.
And a hell of a lot of other lawyers too.

[ikka]

Didn’t happen after Kelo, won’t happen now or later even if the Repubs take it all...

[Publius6961]

Good luck with that,
Several Supreme Court Justices have been impeached, but none have ever been removed by the Senate.

Under circumstances more clearly corrupt and incompetent than the current court.

[Yosemitest]

"High crimes and misdemeanors?"

Sure.
Failure to UPHOLD the U.S. Constitution, IS a High Crime.

[worst-case scenario]

The only problem is that the Supremes are supposed to be the ones that decides how the Constitution applies to the case at hand. If they decide it means something, that is what it means. How can you put them on trial for failing to uphold something that they, theoretically, adjudicate?

[Yosemitest]

Words have meaning.
Those meaning are "defined" and "concrete".
Impeachment trials are "political", not "judicial".
The House of Representatives can do "anything" they chose to do, "legislatively".
The "Senate" can do anything they chose to do "politically".
IMPEACH AND REMOVE those US Supreme Court Justices, just as soon as you have the votes.

Can you understand?

[worst-case scenario]

Sure, I can understand. But will the American people and the Congress?

I’m just telling you what the barriers are to impeaching a Supreme Court justice on the grounds that he or she didn’t uphold the Constitution. Do you believe Congress has the guts?

[Yosemitest]

NO.

It'll probably take Term Limits on U.S. Supreme Court Justices, as well as Congressmen and Senators.

.

[worst-case scenario]

Wouldn’t term limits on Supreme Court Justices be contrary to the Founders’ intent?

[Hoodat]

An even better strategy would be for a GOP Congress to abolish all other federal courts (Article III, Section 1), and then start over. We could eliminate every single fiat-loving anti-Constitutional judge in the Federal Court system in one fell swoop.

[Yosemitest]

You need to read the book suggested in post #12.

[Sun]

“I can think of four justices that should be IMPEACHED, just as soon as the CONSERVATIVES take back the House and Senate.”

We the people need to keep bugging our reps and senators until they actually do impeach.

[terycarl]

I can think of four justices that should be IMPEACHED, just as soon as the CONSERVATIVES take back the House and Senate

nope....we need the illiterste “progressives” on the court to show even people of average intelligence, the difference between a liberal and a conservative. Don’t forget that checks and balances are very valuable, even the Republicans screw it up sometimes......when we have the likes of Ruth Ginsberg and Sotomaier and now the newest Kagan.....whats to worry about (except their votes). When you prove to the American people over and over again that you are a socialist......you are a socialist

[PRobertC]

Yes, but who and when?

[Yosemitest]

You;ll have to read that book to understand the title.
It's more than what you think it means.
But I'd start with the 6 (Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan) that rewrote LAW on SCOTUSCARE/OBAMACARE !