Blog Post 1.4 "Judicial Impeachment"

1.How much of the House must agree to impeach a judge? How much of the Senate must agree to remove a judge? 

To impeach a justice, a majority of the House has to approve for an indictment, and 2/3 majority in the Senate is needed to remove him or her from the bench. 

2.2. Has this process ever been used before for the Supreme Court?  How many times? 

Impeachment has been used for the Supreme Court before. One justice was impeached; however, he was later acquited in the Senate. Federalist Samuel Chase was impeached by Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans for political partisanry and to remove a political enemy.

3.Where in the Constitution does it set up the impeachment process?

Under Article IV, section II, the Constitution sets up impeachment for Presidents, Vice Presidents, and other civil officers. Goverment officers can be impeached for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

4.What are the reasons for the impeachments of the 5 most recent judicial impeachments?

Harry Claiborne was impeached for falsifying income tax return. Then, Alcee Hastings was impeached for accepting a $150,000 bribe. However, he was later acquitted, but then he was convicted by another Court for committing perjury and tampering with evidence on his previous impeachment trial. Afterwards, Walter Nixon was impeached for committing perjury. Later, Samuel Kent was impeached for committing sexual assault and committing obstruction of justice. Last, G. Thomas Porteous was impeached for accepting bribes and not recusing himeslf from cases where he investigated people who bribed him.

5.Why does the current makeup of the Senate make it unlikely that Supreme Court justices Kavanaugh or Thomas would be removed if impeached today?

The Senate is controlled by Republicans who support Thomas and Kavanaugh; therefore, it is unlikely that the Senate will meet its 2/3 supermajority requirement for removing a justice.

6.Why is it hard to tell which offenses are "impeachable offenses" for a justice?

The Constitution does not define "high crimes and misdemeanor." Therefore, the Senate decides what is and what is not an impeachable offense. Since an impeachable offense is subjective, it is are to determine what offenses that are appropriate for an impeachment.