# Impeaching A Supreme (Not Diana Ross, A Justice) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851 "2018-10-12T13:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/1 "2018-10-12T13:12:25Z")
Article 3, Section 1 of the Constitution - > [@](#): > > The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Article 2, Section 4, OOTH - > [@](#): > > The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors AIUI “high crimes and misdemeanors” means more or less whatever Congress decides it wants. There has been of late a certain amount of discussion about impeaching one of the Justices on the Supreme Court. My question is, does “during good behavior” have a more specific meaning than “high crimes and misdemeanors”? [ul][li]During good behavior. Does this mean the bad behavior to be considered for impeachment has to have occurred while on the Court? I assume this is not limited to official behavior - if Ginsberg is caught dealing crack out the back window of the Supreme Court building, she could be impeached for that even though she was not doing so as part of her role as Justice. But what if it were shown that she was dealing crack before she became a Justice? Could she be impeached for that? [/ul][/li][ul][li]What exactly is good behavior, especially as contrasted to bad behavior? Is this like HCaM which can mean anything Congress wants, ranging from sexually harassing the statue of Justice in the front hallway to peeing on the Washington Monument? Is it specifically illegal behavior? [/ul][/li]Don’t need answer fast, IANAL, all models are over 18, void where taxed or prohibited, do not read this thread if you are allergic to it or any of its ingredients, consult your doctor if you experience a thread lasting more than four hours. May contain peanuts. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/2 "2018-10-12T13:23:54Z")
The most recent attempt to impeach a Supreme Court Justice was Abe Fortas in the LBJ administration: > **[Abe Fortas | Nomination to be Chief Justice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Fortas#Nomination_to_be_Chief_Justice)** > > On June 26, 1968, Johnson nominated Fortas as Chief Justice of the United States, to succeed Earl Warren, who had submitted his resignation effective with the confirmation of a successor. Anticipating that conservative members of the Senate would have concerns about Fortas's liberal opinions, Johnson simultaneously announced that he would fill the vacancy created by Fortas's elevation with United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judge Homer Thornberry of Texas. The propri Antisemitis... ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/3 "2018-10-12T13:37:46Z")
The [case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_v._United_States) that definitively established that impeachment is beyond any judicial review was about a federal judge. So, impeachment of a judge can be for whatever Congress wishes, simply because there’s nowhere else that can take up the dispute. But I think there’s another issue that gets debate, which is whether the “good behavior” provision allows for _alternatives_ to impeachment for judges. That is, could there be some other process that establishes that a judge has not engaged in good behavior and terminates his or her service. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/4 "2018-10-12T13:44:01Z")
[Here](https://www.yalelawjournal.org/forum/removing-federal-judges-without-impeachment) is an argument along the lines I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/5 "2018-10-12T15:14:48Z")
Interesting article. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/6 "2018-10-12T15:42:25Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The most recent attempt to impeach a Supreme Court Justice was Abe Fortas in the LBJ administration: > [Abe Fortas - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Fortas#Nomination_to_be_Chief_Justice) Actually it was against [William O. Douglas during the Nixon administration.](https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal70-1292316) The article directly addresses the OP’s question. > [@](#): > > In considering the case against Douglas, the Subcommittee divided the charges into two categories—charges involving judicial conduct and charges involving non-judicial conduct. > > The distinction was made in an attempt to resolve the controversy created by the two constitutional provisions which affect impeachment of Federal judges. One provision states that Federal judges shall hold their offices during “good behavior” (Article III, Section 1). The other states that an impeachable offense shall be “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” (Article II, Section 4). > > The report said: “Such a distinction permits recogniton [sic] that the content of the word ‘misdemeanor’ for conduct that occurs in the course of the exercise of the power of the judicial office includes a broader spectrum of action than is the case when non-judicial activities are involved.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/7 "2018-10-12T23:52:11Z")
Let’s get down to Brass Tacks. How many Senators does it take to vote to actually REMOVE a Justice from the Supreme Court? (You can “Impeach” until the cows come home. It means nothing!) Number of times a Supreme Court Justice has been removed from the bench during the entire history of the USA. (ZERO) How many Democratic Senators are there right now? Best case scenario, how many Democratic Senators will there be after 2018 midterms? How many Republican Senators will join Democratic Senators and vote to remove Kavanuagh? So what are the odds Justice Kavanuagh will actually be removed from the Supreme Court? “Elections have consequences” Barack Obama ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/8 "2018-10-13T01:31:17Z")
[Moderating] The OP didn’t ask anything about whether it was politically realistic, and he in no way specified that he was talking about Kavanaugh. While the political realities, and Kavanaugh’s situation, are interesting topics for discussion, those topics belong in Great Debates or possibly Elections, not in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/9 "2018-10-13T17:39:27Z")
Does a Supreme Court judge have to be a member of the bar? What if the law society revoked his bar accreditation? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/10 "2018-10-13T17:51:56Z")
The only requirements for Supreme Court justice are appointment by the president and confirmation by the Senate. Lower courts have more stringent requirements laid out in the establishing statutes somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/11 "2018-10-14T01:57:01Z")
A reasonable reading might be that a sitting justice can only be impeached for offenses committed while he is a sitting justice. Anything he did before that should be dealt with during the confirmation hearings. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/12 "2018-10-14T02:05:33Z")
What if a Justice is found to have committed a crime before he was confirmed but only convicted of it after he was in office? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impeaching-a-supreme-not-diana-ross-a-justice/822851/13 "2018-10-14T05:09:37Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > What if a Justice is found to have committed a crime before he was confirmed but only convicted of it after he was in office? Does “found to” mean convicted of it, or just really credibly accused of it? If you’ve got enough credible evidence to go to, say, the Montgomery County Police today–30-odd years after the fact–and they can get a conviction, then yes, I think he’d be kicked off the bench. But as we have seen in the past few weeks, there are significant hurdles to this happening. Short of a clear conviction, no, he should not be impeached based on anything less. I think the grey area is, can he be impeached for lying about it during the confirmation process?