Congress and Power Sharing Delegating, Supervision, etc. Flashcards
Mistretta
Facts: Dealing with a delegation that asks the question of whether the court is going to far. Explicit [you get to make the regulations] or Implicit: here’s an abstract statute you execute it.
The delegation at issue involved the US sentencing commission. Law provided a commission of 7 members including federal judges of Pres. Choosing that would give mandatory sentences. Removal for good cause. Law setting maximum sentence was a lawmaking act created by legislative.
Rule: Courts are informed that Congress can not do its job without delegating power to agencies under broad and general directives. You shouldn’t give an executive a job that is just law making.
Delegating for the course of executing and delegating cold to just make the law.
Congress may delegate authority to set sentencing guidelines to a judicial commission, provided that it gives an intelligible principle to guide the commission and does not aggrandize the judicial branch at the expense of another branch.
Chadha
Instant Facts The House of Representatives passed a resolution overriding the Attorney General’s decision to allow Chadha (P), a deportable alien, to remain in the U.S.
Black Letter Rule A House of Congress may not act alone if its act is an exercise of legislative power and does not fall within one of the specific exceptions stated in the Constitution.
Humphrey’s Executor
Sometimes ok to create an executive body that is not completely under control of the president. FTC has an advisory role plus an expertise role. Its ok to limit the grounds on which the president can remove these people. What principle should govern which jobs?
Rule: The president’s power to remove an executive branch official is not applicable to officials with legislative or judicial functions.
Morrison
A law vesting the judiciary with the power to appoint an inferior executive officer (an independent counsel) and prohibiting the Attorney General from removing the officer without good cause does not violate separation-of-powers principles.
Nixon v. Fitzgerald
A President has absolute immunity from civil liability for his official acts, at least where Congress has not expressly provided otherwise by statute.
Clinton
Facts: The line-item veto act allows the president the right to break down a provision in a bill without discretion or direct spending involvement.
Worried about debt and trying to cut down on spending.
Rule: No, the constitution requires an established process that sends the bill back to the house after a veto. This line-item veto act extends beyond the presidential power. Formalist approach
Dissenters
Bowsher
Instant Facts A balanced budget law passed by Congress required conclusions about budget cuts to be made by the US Comptroller General, who was removable by Congress.
Black Letter Rule It is a violation of separation of powers for Congress to impose executive functions on an officer over whom Congress has the power of removal.
Free Enterprise Fund
Distinction that’s drawn about the president’s fully ability to control. Basic assumption that executive institutions must ultimately be under the control of the president.
A judgment where the court invokes the separation of powers.
President seems to need to have full control in the executive based on this thinking.
Rule: A President may not be restricted in his ability to remove a principal officer, who is in turn restricted in his ability to remove an inferior officer, because such multi-level protection from removal prevents the President from fulfilling his Article II duty to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed.
Seila
If one person is going to have so much power in the executive branch, they need to be insulated and have control over that person.
It is a violation of the separation-of-powers doctrine for an administrative agency to be headed by a single director not removable by the president at will.
U.S. v. Nixon
The president does not enjoy an absolute generalized privilege which would allow him to shield all communications from a subpoena in a criminal proceeding.
