December 30, 2019

"Legal experts say Roberts hopes to follow the example set by his late mentor Chief Justice William Rehnquist at then-President Clinton's 1999 trial."

"Rehnquist, for whom Roberts clerked in the 1980s, once mused that during Clinton’s proceeding he 'did nothing in particular, and did it very well,' lifting a line from Gilbert and Sullivan. Eric Claeys, a law professor at George Mason University and former Rehnquist clerk, said Rehnquist’s approach was framed by the 1986 rules. The rules say the presiding officer 'may rule' on all questions of evidence, like instances where the relevance and significance of a document or witness testimony is unclear. However, a single senator can appeal the ruling, triggering a Senate vote, where some say Roberts would break a 50-50 tie, though that is disputed. The presiding officer also has the option to stay mum on an evidentiary question and send it directly to the Senate for an up-or-down vote. Rehnquist generally avoided this option during Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial, Claeys said. Instead, Rehnquist applied the relevant precedents, then left it up to senators to decide whether to reverse his decision. 'I don’t think that Chief Justice Roberts will play a bigger role in President Trump’s impeachment trial than Chief Justice Rehnquist did in President Clinton’s,' Claeys said. 'I expect Roberts will follow the same strategy.' However, some legal experts believe today’s more intensely partisan atmosphere may force Roberts to depart from the course charted by his predecessor...."

From "Trump impeachment trial drags Roberts into spotlight" by John Kruzel (in The Hill).

The Gilbert and Sullivan song is "When Britain really ruled the waves" (from "Iolanthe"):
When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,
As every child can tell,
The House of Peers, throughout the war,
Did nothing in particular,
And did it very well:
Yet Britain set the world ablaze
In good King George’s glorious days!

28 comments:

Darrell said...

I hope the Republicans use Obama's African sign-language translator and adopt the rules of that last US Socialist conference regarding using jazz hands instead of clapping and saying "point of personal privilege" before speaking.

gilbar said...

let's get a pool going!
WHO THINKS NANCY WILL EVER SEND THE ARTICLES TO THE SENATE?

i don't think she will; i think she'll sit on them

AllenS said...

I think that idea is a 50-50 thing, gilbar.

rhhardin said...

Roberts should go for vertical gold stripes. Does this robe make me look fat.

gilbar said...

AllenS said... I think that idea is a 50-50 thing, gilbar.

i bet my mom, dollars to donuts; that they would Never sent
So i think it is a 50-50 thing too, Allen : )

AllenS said...

50-50 is some good odds that she won't do it.

AllenS said...

It won't happen this year, that's for sure.

tim maguire said...

Why would the intensely partisan atmosphere lead to a change in how Roberts presides? Do they fear he won't be pro-Democrat enough? Obamacare suggests they have nothing to worry about.

stevew said...

I think the odds are slightly better than 50/50 that Pelosi does not send the Articles to the Senate. She has given herself a perfect dodge by saying she needs to see what the rules will be before sending them over. Does the Senate have to or need to deliberate and create rules for the trial that hasn't yet been triggered? If they don't create the rules Nancy doesn't send the Articles over - no trial, no impeachment conviction.

ga6 said...

They giving JR his marching orders, expect many more think pieces about his role and what the "correct thinkers" want from him...

Michael K said...

McConnell has said he will convene the Senate in "early January," have the Chief Justice swear the Senators and wait for the House "managers" to present their case. If no managers, no case.

stevew said...

Ah, Michael K, I like that, very much, watching it unfold would be delicious.

Bay Area Guy said...

Let the farce begin!

Bob Boyd said...

Who decides what "preside" means?

Ann Althouse said...

“ Why would the intensely partisan atmosphere lead to a change in how Roberts presides? Do they fear he won't be pro-Democrat enough?”

The idea is that leaving it to the Senators will be leaving it to the GOP, so in the interest of neutrality, he could take over and give a purely legal ruling or the best approximation thereof.

Michael McNeil said...

WHO THINKS NANCY WILL EVER SEND THE ARTICLES TO THE SENATE?
i don't think she will; i think she'll sit on them


After the 2020 election, when the Republicans take back the House, but before the new House is seated so it can undo the impeachment vote, Pelosi will send it to the Senate.

gilbar said...

Serious Question
The President can Pocket Veto if Congress is not in session (which has NOTHING to do with this)
What happens to a House Bill not sent to the Senate?
does it stay valid? Until the Congress is not in session? Until the 116th Congress ends?

Obviously, Articles of Impeachment aren't bills; BUT can they last longer than the Congress that wrote them?
Input, please!

Seeing Red said...

Roberts and RBG should recuse themselves.

Him because he’s the head of the FISA course
Rats and she opened her mouth on impeachment.

Bob Boyd said...

he could take over and give a purely legal ruling or the best approximation thereof.

If there had been a purely legal ruling in the House, he likely wouldn't have been impeached in the first place.

Rory said...

"...can they last longer than the Congress that wrote them? Input, please!"

This is one of the reasons why the Chief Justice, if called, should just say, "I'm not presiding. No charges, no prosecutors, no impeachment."

TJM said...

Strange, that Nasty, fake catholic, Pelosi said impeachment was urgent, but now she is sitting on the articles of impeachment. Does the so-called media, care at all about the cognitive dissonance here? Are they content to flush, what little, if any credibility they have, down the toilet?

Howard said...

More tears in the rain.

tcrosse said...

The Law is the true embodiment
Of everything that's excellent
It has no kind of fault or flaw
And I, my Lords, embody the Law.

Greg the class traitor said...

Michael K said...
McConnell has said he will convene the Senate in "early January," have the Chief Justice swear the Senators and wait for the House "managers" to present their case. If no managers, no case.

No, no "managers", no prosecution

Trump can still present a defense. It's just that there won't be anyone to cross-examine the witnesses. Which means the Trump lawyers can ask specific questions, force the witnesses to answer them, and not have another lawyer come along and give the witness a chance to get anything else out

90% chance the impeachment trial has started in the Senate, or at least the articles of impeachment have been sent to the Senate, by Feb 1, 2020

Yancey Ward said...

I think Pelosi has no choice but to send House representatives when McConnell opens a trial, or equivalently the articles themselves formally. Sitting on it indefinitely isn't really an option- the Senate is now in control, and Pelosi knows it.

Roberts will defer to the Senate completely, though leftist pundits will be working maniacally in the background trying to convince him to run the entire show for the benefit of the Democrats.

Drago said...

All Roberts has to do is declare impeachment a "tax" and then let his liberal law clerks rewrite the Articles.

That is already an established process under Roberts.

Narayanan said...

gilbar said...
let's get a pool going!
______&&&&&&+++++++
To make 🍑 peach mint Trump worthy and one for the ages the Senate thing should be done by Twitter.

Narayanan said...

Drago beat me to it.
+ subpoenee Trump's tax returns.