Presidential Powers Flashcards
What are the key powers granted to the President under Article II of the Constitution?
Article II grants the President executive power, the role of commander in chief, power to make treaties (with Senate approval), grant pardons, appoint officers (Appointments Clause), and veto laws.
What are the two sources of presidential domestic power?
(1) Article II of the Constitution (enumerated powers), and (2) Congressional statutory authorization.
What did the Court decide in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952)?
Truman’s seizure of steel mills during the Korean War was unconstitutional. The Constitution does not grant the President the power to seize private property, and Congress had not authorized it.
President T ruman deemed this necessary as a matter of national security b/c the US had troops
in the Korean War and they needed the steel mills to operate to keep creating guns.
What framework did Justice Jackson lay out in his Youngstown concurrence?
- President + Congress = Max power
- President alone (Congress silent) = “Twilight Zone”
- President acts against Congress = Minimum power (only constitutional authority applies)
What was the court’s methodology in Youngstown?
Formalistic: looked strictly at the Constitution’s text, rejecting functional/inherent power arguments like Commander-in-Chief or Take Care Clause.
What’s the scope of presidential power in foreign affairs?
More expansive. The President is the “sole organ” in international relations and can exercise broad discretion, especially with congressional acquiescence.
What did the Court hold in Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981)?
The President’s settlement of claims with Iran was constitutional due to congressional acquiescence and history of similar executive actions, including the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949. Presidents are the sole negotiator, and Congress has implicitly approved this practice throughout history.
Iranian Hostage crisis response where a construction company’s funds were frozen by presient.
What was the holding in U.S. v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936)?
Congress may delegate foreign affairs discretion to the President. He has broad power in international relations that wouldn’t be allowed in domestic contexts.
here, congress delegated legislative power to the president solely for the negotiation.
What did Ex Parte Milligan (1866) establish?
Military tribunals cannot try civilians when civilian courts are open and functioning. Martial law cannot apply where civil courts operate.
Gov’t held military tribunal for conspiracyy after the civil war – martial law cannot exist when courts are open.
What did Ex Parte Quirin (1942) establish?
The President may try unlawful enemy combatants (like German saboteurs) via military commissions under the law of war. Distinguished from Milligan because they were charged with violating acts of war rather than domestic laws.
What is the Non-Detention Act of 1971?
U.S. citizens may not be detained by the federal government except pursuant to an Act of Congress.
What was the ruling in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)?
Detained U.S. citizens classified as enemy combatants must be given Due Process: notice, opportunity to contest status, and a neutral decision-maker.
must be given an opportunity to
i.Challenge their status as an enemy combatant
ii. Receive fair notice of the factual basis for his classi cation
3. A fair opportunity to be hear to rebut the government’s factual assertions before a neutral decision maker
How did Rumsfeld v. Padilla (2004) differ from Hamdi?
absent a suspension of habeas corpus, A president may lack authority to detain without charges to a citizen captured in the US
What did Boumediene v. Bush (2008) decide?
Detainees (unlawful alient combatants) at Guantanamo Bay must be afforded habeas corpus or a meaningful substitute. The Suspension Clause protects this unless during rebellion/invasion.
What did U.S. v. Nixon (1974) hold about executive privilege?
Executive privilege is not absolute. In criminal cases, it must yield to the judicial need for evidence if there’s a demonstrated, specific need.
What is executive immunity for official acts, per Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982)?
The President has absolute immunity from civil damages for official acts, both during and after presidency.
What did Clinton v. Jones (1997) rule about private conduct?
The President is not immune from civil litigation for unofficial conduct that occurred before taking office.
Does the president have immunity to discovery in criminal proceedings?
no. In criminal proceedings, presidential communications will be available to the prosecution,
where a need for such information is demonstrated. Privilege cannot depend solely on broad, undi fferentiated claim of public interest → need a claim of need to protect military,
diplomatic, or sensitive national security secrets
Executive Privilege
Presidential documents and conversations are presumptively privileged, but the privilege must yield to the need for such materials as evidence in a criminal case to
which they are relevant and otherwise admissible.
Executive Immunity (Official Acts)
The President is entitled to absolute immunity from damages liability predicated on his o cial
acts. This immunity endures during the presidency and for life after. (Nixon v. Fitzgerald)
Executive Immunity (Private Actions)
The President does not have immunity from civil liability predicated on purely private actions committed before entering o ffice. (Clinton v Jones)
Is the President absolutely immune from state criminal subpoenas seeking private papers?
No. In Trump v. Vance, the Court held the President is not absolutely immune and not entitled to a heightened standard of need.
What grounds can the President use to challenge a state criminal subpoena?
On state law grounds (bad faith, undue burden/breadth) and constitutional grounds (interference with official duties).
What was the issue in Trump v. Vance?
Whether a state grand jury subpoena for Trump’s personal financial records violated presidential immunity under Article II and the Supremacy Clause.
