ConLaw Class 5 – The Executive Powers I – Appointments Power

February 3rd, 2014

The lecture notes are here. The live chat is here.

The Executive Powers I – Appointments Power

  • The Executive Power – Article II (296-297).
  • Notes (306-308).
  • The Appointment Power (334-335).
  • The “Removal” Power (348-351).
  • Myers v. United States (351-366).
  • Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (366-370).
  • Morrison v. Olson – Removal (370-382).
  • National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning (2014): Case overview in plain english, and oral argument recap
  • The “Faithfully Executed” Clause (316-318).
  • The “Take Care” clause (330-331).
  • Impeachment (475).

The majority opinion Myers v. United States was authored by Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who had previously served as President of the United States (the only person to serve in both offices). Taft is in the first row in the middle. One dissent was authored by Justice Brandeis (first row, first on the right), who was the first Jewish Justice appointed to the bench. The other dissent was penned by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (first row, second from left). The other dissent was by Justice James McReynolds (first row, first from the left).

1925_U.S._Supreme_Court_Justices

This is Justice Taft, who had the second-nicest mustache on the Court.

taft

This is Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who had the nicest mustache on the Court.

holmes-2

This is Justice Louis Brandeis.

ibrandl001p1

 

Justice Joseph Story, who served on the Supreme Court from 1811-1845, published in 1833 his commentaries on the Constitution, that offered explanations for many constitutional questions.

story-commentary

This is Justice George Sutherland, one of the “Four Horsemen” who opposed President Roosevelt’s agenda, who authored Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.

sutherland

This is William E.Humphrey, who served as the commissioner of the FTC, and who was removed by President Roosevelt.

WilliamEHumphrey

This is Alexia Morrison, the independent counsel in Morrison v. Olson.

morrison

This is Ted Olson, who served in the Reagan Justice Department, and was subject to investigation by Morrison.

olson

Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote the majority opinion for the Court.

rehnquist

This is the Justice Scalia bobblehead. Note the wolf, because of his famous line that “this wolf comes as a wolf.”

scalia-bobblehead