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Dems may not be able to block Blago pick
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| Parent(s) |
Race
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| Contributor | Monsieur |
| Last Edited | Monsieur Dec 30, 2008 02:38pm |
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| Category | Analysis |
| News Date | Tuesday, December 30, 2008 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Democrats insisted Tuesday that they’ll deny a Senate seat to Roland Burris – the 71-year-old African-American Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has picked to replace Barack Obama – but it’s not clear whether they have the legal authority to make good on the threat.
Over the years, the Senate has used its constitutional authority to sort out a number of messes surrounding open seats. But legal experts say this one is unprecedented: the appointment of a replacement senator by a governor facing criminal charges stemming from the appointment process itself.
The closest precedent is the 1969 case of Powell v. McCormack, in which the Supreme Court held that the House and Senate can exclude a would-be member only if he or she does not meet the minimum constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship and residency in a state.
But that ruling dealt with the corruption of the would-be member, not the alleged corruption of the process, and it arose in the context of an election, not a gubernatorial appointment. Thus, some legal experts say, there may be an argument that the ruling doesn’t apply when the would-be member has been appointed by a governor who has been charged with trying to sell it to the highest bidder. |
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