Yeah, you heard me. More lawyers. Congress needs 'em. Or maybe Nancy Pelosi simply needs to consult one. You see, my friends, Speaker Pelosi wants to sue President Bush over the latest Iraq bill if he issues a signing statement. Sue.
Ok, I'm but a mere second-year law student, a veritable neophyte, if you will. That said, even I know that despite the litigiousness of our society, you can't just sue the President of the United States, or anyone else for that matter, without jumping through a few hoops. First and foremost, you need to have standing to litigate. Simply put, in order to show standing you need to show that you have personally suffered some actual or threatened injury (an invasion of a legally-protected interest) as the result of the supposedly illegal conduct of the defendant. One wonders what sort of injury Nancy Pelosi might suffer if George Bush tells her to pound sand in a signing statement.
Of course, a lawyer would also tell Speaker Pelosi that federal courts are "prudentially barred" from answering political questions. Federal courts stay out of political pissing contests, so unless there has been some violation of law, the courts don't go there. Thing is, not only has no law been broken, but the US Supreme Court said in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), that it defers to the Executive's interpretation of law if Congress has not directly spoken to the precise issue in question. That means if Bush wants to add a signing statement--something presidents have done ever since Monroe--he can damn well add a signing statement.
I know this is pretty esoteric and not on anyone's radar. I just find it amazing that a lawmaker doesn't know the law.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
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3 comments:
I am sure she knows the law. She also knows that most people do not. She is simply playing to her base. Like with most politicians, there is an overabundance of talk, but very little action.
And even if she was ignorant enough to actually think she could sue, some staffer will take her aside and inform her. Then she will not speak of it again.
It's like my political science professor at UTA, (Univ. of Texas at Arlington), told us of politicians - believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.
Then again, since it seems the courts are liberally biased, maybe she has a case...
Some courts are liberally biased, and I'm sure if she's a good forum shopper, she might find a district court to grant her standing, though it's pretty entertaining to read when an appellate court squashes a district court on a whack decision.
You obviously took Saxe for poli sci.
Allen Saxe was very impressive. He did not hide his liberal feelings, but did not use his job to drum it into his students. He believed that anyone's opinion counted, but it should be based in something other than "cuz mama says so."
I was more impressed when the media outlets would ask him on. Still, he stayed with facts and made you think.
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