Powell v. McCormack
Encyclopedia
Powell v. McCormack, was a United States Supreme Court
case decided in 1969. It answered the question of whether Congress
has the authority to exclude from being sworn in and enrolled upon its rolls a person who has been duly elected or appointed by the people or the executive authority of his/her district or state and who otherwise meets the requirements set forth in the United States Constitution
for serving in Congress.
, a senior member of the United States House of Representatives
, was embroiled in scandal
, specifically around allegations that he had refused to pay a judgment ordered by a New York
court
, misappropriated congressional travel funds, and illegally paid his wife a congressional staff salary for work she had not done.
Powell was reelected in the 1966 election. In January 1967, the 90th Congress
convened, Speaker of the House
John William McCormack
asked Representative Powell to abstain from taking the oath of office
. The House adopted H.Res. 1, which stripped Powell of his House Committee chairmanship, excluded him from taking his seat, and created a select committee to investigate Powell's misdeeds. After the select committee conducted its investigation and hearings, in March 1967, the House adopted H.Res. 278 by a vote of 307 to 116, which excluded Powell from Congress and also censure
d him, fined him $25,000, took away his seniority, and declared his seat vacant.
Powell, along with 13 of his constituents, filed suit
in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
, naming McCormack and five other members as defendant
s. He also named the Clerk of the House, the Sergeant at Arms, and the Doorkeeper. Most of these parties were named in an effort to get injunctions barring the enforcement of H.Res.278:
The suit claimed that excluding Powell amounted to an expulsion, but that an expulsion would not have garnered the necessary two-thirds vote.
The district court
dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction
. An appellate court
overturned the ruling, stating that the federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction but dismissed the case for a lack of justiciability
.
While the suit was making its way through the court system, Powell was re-elected in the 1968 election, and was ultimately re-seated in the 91st Congress
. It adopted H.Res. 2, fining him $25,000. Because he was seated when his federal case came to court, the defendants argued that the case was moot
.
In the aftermath of the decision, Congress passed the Federal Contested Elections Act to formalize the process for contesting elections in light of the Court ruling.
, and signed by Black
, Brennan
, Douglas
, Harlan
, Marshall
, and White
.
The opinion stated that the case was justiciable; that it did not constitute a political question that pit one branch of government against another. Rather, it required "no more than an interpretation of the Constitution".
The opinion stated furthermore that Congress being the sole judge of its members’ qualifications (Art. I, § 5, cl. 1) and the Speech and Debate Clause
(Art. I, § 6) do not preclude judicial review of Constitutional issues raised in this case (e.g., in this particular case, but not necessarily in all cases touching upon the subject of speech and debate, or Congress's judging the qualifications of its members) because "no branch is supreme" and it is the duty of the court to ensure that all branches conform to the Constitution.
The majority opinion held that Congress does not have the power to develop qualifications other than those specified in Art. I, § 2, cl. 1-2.
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case decided in 1969. It answered the question of whether Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
has the authority to exclude from being sworn in and enrolled upon its rolls a person who has been duly elected or appointed by the people or the executive authority of his/her district or state and who otherwise meets the requirements set forth in the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
for serving in Congress.
Background of the case
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was an American politician and pastor who represented Harlem, New York City, in the United States House of Representatives . He was the first person of African-American descent elected to Congress from New York and became a powerful national politician...
, a senior member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, was embroiled in scandal
Political scandal
A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...
, specifically around allegations that he had refused to pay a judgment ordered by a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
, misappropriated congressional travel funds, and illegally paid his wife a congressional staff salary for work she had not done.
Powell was reelected in the 1966 election. In January 1967, the 90th Congress
90th United States Congress
The Ninetieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1967 to January 3, 1969, during the last two years of...
convened, Speaker of the House
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
John William McCormack
John William McCormack
John William McCormack was an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts.McCormack served as a member of United States House of Representatives from 1928 until he retired from political life in 1971...
asked Representative Powell to abstain from taking the oath of office
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
. The House adopted H.Res. 1, which stripped Powell of his House Committee chairmanship, excluded him from taking his seat, and created a select committee to investigate Powell's misdeeds. After the select committee conducted its investigation and hearings, in March 1967, the House adopted H.Res. 278 by a vote of 307 to 116, which excluded Powell from Congress and also censure
Censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...
d him, fined him $25,000, took away his seniority, and declared his seat vacant.
Powell, along with 13 of his constituents, filed suit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a federal district court. Appeals from the District are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a...
, naming McCormack and five other members as defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s. He also named the Clerk of the House, the Sergeant at Arms, and the Doorkeeper. Most of these parties were named in an effort to get injunctions barring the enforcement of H.Res.278:
- To prevent the Speaker from refusing to administer the oath of office
- To prevent the ClerkClerk of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House....
from "refusing to perform the duties due a Representative" - To prevent the Sergeant at ArmsSergeant at Arms of the United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms is an officer of the House with law enforcement, protocol, and administrative responsibilities. The Sergeant at Arms is elected at the beginning of each Congress by the membership of the chamber...
from withholding Powell's salary - To prevent the DoorkeeperDoorkeeper of the United States House of RepresentativesAn appointed officer of the United States House of Representatives from 1789 to 1995, the Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives was chosen by a resolution at the opening of each United States Congress. The Office of the Doorkeeper was based on precedent from the Continental...
from barring Powell from Congressional chambers
The suit claimed that excluding Powell amounted to an expulsion, but that an expulsion would not have garnered the necessary two-thirds vote.
The district court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority to hear bankruptcy cases....
. An appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
overturned the ruling, stating that the federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction but dismissed the case for a lack of justiciability
Justiciability
Justiciability concerns the limits upon legal issues over which a court can exercise its judicial authority. It includes, but is not limited to, the legal concept of standing, which is used to determine if the party bringing the suit is a party appropriate to establishing whether an actual...
.
While the suit was making its way through the court system, Powell was re-elected in the 1968 election, and was ultimately re-seated in the 91st Congress
91st United States Congress
The Ninety-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1969 to January 3, 1971, during the first two years...
. It adopted H.Res. 2, fining him $25,000. Because he was seated when his federal case came to court, the defendants argued that the case was moot
Mootness
In American law, a matter is moot if further legal proceedings with regard to it can have no effect, or events have placed it beyond the reach of the law...
.
In the aftermath of the decision, Congress passed the Federal Contested Elections Act to formalize the process for contesting elections in light of the Court ruling.
Constitutional issues of the case
- Congressional power to develop qualifications other than those specified (Art. I, § 2, cl. 1-2)
- Congressional power to exclude rather than impeach or expel (Art. I, § 2, cl. 5; Art. I, § 5, cl. 2)
- Judicial review versus Congressional power to be the judge of its qualifications (Art. I, § 5, cl. 1) Supreme Court Jurisdiction and Justiciability (Art. III)
- Rights of the electorate to elect their Representative
Warren's majority opinion
The majority opinion was authored by Chief Justice WarrenEarl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
, and signed by Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
, Brennan
William J. Brennan, Jr.
William Joseph Brennan, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1956 to 1990...
, Douglas
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court...
, Harlan
John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. His namesake was his grandfather John Marshall Harlan, another associate justice who served from 1877 to 1911.Harlan was a student at Upper Canada College and Appleby College and...
, Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
, and White
Byron White
Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...
.
The opinion stated that the case was justiciable; that it did not constitute a political question that pit one branch of government against another. Rather, it required "no more than an interpretation of the Constitution".
The opinion stated furthermore that Congress being the sole judge of its members’ qualifications (Art. I, § 5, cl. 1) and the Speech and Debate Clause
Speech or Debate Clause
The Speech or Debate Clause is a clause in the United States Constitution . The clause states that members of both Houses of Congress...
(Art. I, § 6) do not preclude judicial review of Constitutional issues raised in this case (e.g., in this particular case, but not necessarily in all cases touching upon the subject of speech and debate, or Congress's judging the qualifications of its members) because "no branch is supreme" and it is the duty of the court to ensure that all branches conform to the Constitution.
The majority opinion held that Congress does not have the power to develop qualifications other than those specified in Art. I, § 2, cl. 1-2.