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Saturday, January 07, 2012

Law - More on "Obama Tempts Fight Over Recess Appointments" [Updated]

This January 5, 2012 ILB entry on recess appointments is supplmented today by two additional stories.

"Debate Over Appointees Hinges On One Word: Recess" is the heading to a Weekend Edition Saturday story by Carrie Johnson. A quote:

Harvard Law professor Lawrence Tribe says he thinks there will certainly be a wave of litigation. But Tribe says he believes Obama, his former student, acted well within his power to keep the administration moving during an extended break in Congress.

"I think he certainly anticipated legal actions and is on very solid ground," Tribe says. "I mean, 12 presidents have made 285 appointments of this kind during a session since 1867."

Ultimately, Tribe says, there's not much law on the issue, so the courts will need to develop "criteria for what counts as a real recess, which this I think clearly was, and what is simply a weekend break or a routine break that has nothing to do with frustrating the operations of the executive branch."

It's an issue that Tribe says could make its way up to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, after calls from lawyers and lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum, two sources familiar with the issue say the Obama administration could release a legal document from the Justice Department that forms the basis for its reasoning in the coming weeks. Some conservatives have asked for any findings by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the executive branch on tough legal questions. But for now the White House and Justice Department have declined to say whether any such document exists.

David Stout of Main Justice has this Jan. 6, 2012 blog entry headed "Obama’s ‘Recess’ Appointments Ignite Fight With Huge Implications."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 7, 2012 09:43 AM
Posted to General Law Related