Morrison v. Olson - Significance, The Creation Of The Independent Counsel, "how The Act Works In Practice", An "inferior" Officer
united court appellant appellee
Appellant
Alexia Morrison
Appellee
Theodore B. Olson, et al.
Appellant's Claim
That Title VI the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which established a special court and authorized the attorney general of the United States to recommend that the court appoint an independent counsel to investigate wrongdoing by federal officials, was not in violation of the Appointments Clause, or the principle of separation of powers, in the Constitution.
Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Alexia Morrison (pro se)
Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Thomas S. Martin
Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist (writing for the Court), John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
Antonin Scalia (Anthony M. Kennedy did not participate)
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
27 June 1988
Decision
That the Ethics in Government Act did not violate the Appointments Clause in Article II, the limitations on judicial duties in Article III, or the principle of separation of powers; accordingly, the judgment of the lower court was reversed.
Related Cases
- Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926).
- Wiener v. United States, 357 U.S. 349 (1958).
- United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974).
- Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
- Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361 (1989).
- Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 (1997).
Sources
Bacon, Donald C., et al., eds. The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
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