Impeaching a Former President Is Plainly Constitutional

NEIL H. BUCHANAN

UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan argues that the text of the Constitution makes clear that Congress has the power to impeach and convict Donald Trump, even though he is no longer President. Buchanan describes the unambiguous textual support for this conclusion, which Buchanan (and others) argue is also amply supported by the Constitution’s purpose, structure, and other interpretive approaches.

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State v. Mercier

Citation: 2021 MT 12

Opinion Date: January 26, 2021

Judge: James A. Rice

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part Defendant's convictions for deliberate homicide and tampering with physical evidence, holding that Defendant's constitutional right of confrontation was violated, requiring reversal of his conviction of tampering with physical evidence. On appeal, Defendant argued that he was denied his right under the United States and Montana Constitutions to confront witnesses against him when the State presented a foundational witness in real time by two-way videoconference. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) furtherance of an important public policy to allow the witness to testify via two-way videoconferencing was not demonstrated in this case, and therefore, the first prong of the analysis set forth in Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836 (1990), was not satisfied; and (2) Defendant's right to a fair trial was not undermined by the prosecutor's closing argument.

Maffit v. City of Helena

Citation: 2021 MT 14

Opinion Date: January 26, 2021

Judge: Beth Baker

Areas of Law: Civil Rights

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the claim brought by the Montana Independent Living Project, Inc. (MILP) that the City of Helena retaliated against it when the City lowered the priority of MILP's request for funding as a result of an unrelated discrimination MILP had filed against the City, holding that the district court properly dismissed MILP as a plaintiff for lack of standing. In granting the City's motion to dismiss, the district court concluded that Mont. Code Ann. 49-2-301 does not allow non-human entities to sue for retaliation, and therefore, MILP had no standing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court correctly held that section 49-2-301 does not allow non-human entities to file retaliation claims under the Montana Human Rights Act.

State v. Quinlan

Citation: 2021 MT 15

Opinion Date: January 27, 2021

Judge: James A. Rice

Areas of Law: Constitutional Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of incest, holding that the district court did not err by precluding Defendant from introducing extrinsic evidence to challenge the victim's credibility. On appeal, Defendant argued that his defense was prejudiced because he was prohibited from demonstrating the victim's bias or motive to testify falsely and that the court's evidentiary ruling violated his right to confrontation under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Mont. Const. art. II, 24. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not misapply the rules or abuse its discretion in its ruling on the admissibility of evidence; and (2) the district court properly exercised its discretion by imposing reasonable limits on Defendant's evidentiary inquiries.