Is it soup yet? …
There is ZERO chance Ginsburg will retire as long as Trump (or any R) is in office. It will not happen.
It’s a lifetime appointment, no one can be forced to resign.
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Toast???
…
I’m sure she would have retired if Hilly were elected. But alas the may die in office. Upside, no retirement benefits for life.
Serious question … can a Justice continue to serve if they are incapacitated on life support?
Oh yes, when Trump was elected I wondered if RBG was sorry she didn’t resign when Obama could have replaced her. Now there is no chance she quits when Trump or another R would get the chance.
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I’m not aware of any way to remove a Justice who is no longer able to perform his or her duties. Could be wrong though.
There have been people who stayed in the Senate months after they were capable of doing their job. They weren’t removed either.
Seems to me a life appointment is just that, unless they voluntarily resign like Kennedy and others have done, or else impeachment. But no one would impeach someone who couldn’t do their job due to health reasons.
I tried to find something along those lines but the best anyone could do was the best behavior argument and that really isn’t specific enough to actually use IMHO.
I’m thinking there is no way short of resignation or death.
Constitutional Language
Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution states: “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.” Because federal judges are considered civil officers, they are subject to this rule.
Article 3 mentions good behavior of judges, without defining it. According to the Congress.org website, produced by CQ-Roll Call Group, this is taken to mean that the reasons for impeachment of a federal judge aren’t limited to criminal acts.
Impeachment Process
The impeachment process begins in the House of Representatives, with passage of articles of impeachment by a majority vote. The articles of impeachment state specific allegations of wrongdoing. The second step in the process is a trial in the U.S. Senate on the allegations. To convict someone who has been impeached, a two-thirds majority vote is required by the Senate. If convicted by the Senate, the accused is immediately removed from office.
Impeachment of Samuel Chase
The Federal Judicial Center lists federal judges who have been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. No Supreme Court justice has been convicted and removed, and only one has been impeached. The House impeached Justice Samuel Chase in 1804. The impeachment accused him of basing court decisions on political bias and misconduct. The Senate acquitted Chase in 1805 and he returned to duty.
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There is a process for removal under certain circumstances. Ask Safiel over on the other board, he can explain it.
If the case arose the dem’s would try and keep her on life support long enough to outlast Trump’s ability to replace her if at all humanly possible. If the tech existed to put someone in suspended animation they’d go that route forcing her removal before giving up.
I’d never agree with removing someone from office who was dying, no matter who it was. No one even thought of it when Kennedy and McCain were dying.
The court can function fine with 8 justices, as it has before. I think there would be a terrible backlash against any party that tried to remove a justice involuntarily because they were too ill to carry out their work.
When you are in such a high position you have a duty to the nation. If you cannot perform that duty you should remove yourself. If you don’t, then you should be removed.
We’re not talking about congress where one rep or senator not being present makes little or no difference.
If the POTUS, VP, or SCOTUS judges cannot perform their duty and won’t be back, they should be removed.
The court functioned fine after Scalia’s death. It was at least a year before Gorsuch was confirmed.
I just think there would be a big backlash if someone tried to remove a Justice against their will. I do agree though if they can’t perform their duties they should voluntarily resign. That would be the right thing to do, but they are not under any obligation to do so.
The smartest people were ones like Kennedy and OConnor who left of their own free will while they were still very capable of continuing.
Or you could read the post above.
The only case on record of impeaching a justice.
RBG is going to miss oral arguments this morning. It will be the first time in her tenure on the bench that she decided to stay home and rest. Stick a fork in her, she’s done.
She may not participate but she will not retire and leave an opening to be filled by this president.
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I’m hoping that this is a sign of what’s to come. She won’t mentally quit, but her body might fail.
That is Correct…
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