Senate Secrecy: Can the Votes of Senators on President Trump’s Impeachment be Withheld from the Voting Public?

VIKRAM DAVID AMAR, JASON MAZZONE

Illinois law dean Vikram David Amar and professor Jason Mazzone evaluate the suggestion made by some that the votes of senators on President Trump’s impeachment can and should be private. Amar and Mazzone argue that while the text of the Constitution alone does not foreclose secrecy, structural, prudential, and logistical considerations strongly disfavor a secret vote on the matter.

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Karon v. Elliott Aviation

Docket: 18-1199

Opinion Date: January 10, 2020

Judge: Edward M. Mansfield

Areas of Law: Contracts

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court dismissing this action presenting the question of what must be shown to avoid the effects of a contractual forum-selection clause, holding that fraud in general is not sufficient and must relate specifically to the forum-selection clause itself. This case involved an alleged scheme to inflate the purchase price of a general aviation jet aircraft. Plaintiffs argued that Defendants fraudulently misrepresented the acquisition price of the aircraft and failed to disclose the true acquisition price. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, asserting, in part, improper venue based on the forum-selection clause in the purchase agreement. The district court dismissed the case without prejudice based on improper venue. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Plaintiffs did not allege fraud with respect to the forum-selection clause in the written contract, Plaintiffs' general allegations of fraud in the inducement were insufficient to avoid enforcement of the forum-selection clause of the purchase agreement.

State v. Bynum

Docket: 18-0294

Opinion Date: January 10, 2020

Judge: Christensen

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of making a false report alleging the occurrence of the criminal act of carrying weapons, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's request for an instruction on the exceptions to the underlying criminal act of carrying weapons. On appeal, the Supreme Court addressed only whether the definitional instructions to the criminal act of carrying weapons required inclusion of the statutory exceptions. Based on its review of the entire record, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court's refusal to give Defendant's requested instruction was not erroneous because substantial evidence did not support Defendant's requested instruction on his hypothetical affirmative defense.