Posts Tagged ‘impeachment’
Rejecting The "Gretna Defense"
I usually root for the defense, especially in an impeachment case, since I lost one of those 21 years ago. (I represented Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr. of Mississippi.) But there’s no criticizing the Senate’s conviction yesterday of District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans. The case, as detailed in a Senate committee report, presented a…
Read MoreJudge Porteous in Trouble
I just wrote about the final witness in the Senate committee proceedings for the impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans. Not a good way for the judge to end his presentation.
Read MoreMy New BFF: R. Owen Williams
The current issue of Reviews in American History includes a review by R. Owen Williams of my book about the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, Impeached. I hasten to note that I have no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Williams, a Yale history Ph.D. and the new president of Transylvania University (no, that’s not where…
Read More"Impeached" in Paperback
On Tuesday, May 15, Simon & Schuster will officially release the paperback edition of Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy. Although Amazon has been selling the paperback version for several days, with any luck the new release will be available in stores soonest. At this point in the life…
Read MoreThe Porteous Articles
With the Senate impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans coming up in August, I took a swing at the impeachment articles against Porteous in an item on Huffington Post. Although Judge Porteous has a lot of conduct to explain, there are some constitutional issues surrounding the articles against him, including: Whether…
Read MoreEdward Durell: The First Federal Judge from Louisiana to be Impeached
As an avid follower of the current impeachment proceedings against Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans, I have been delighed to discover that another judge from New Orleans was impeached by the House of Representatives — in 1874. Judge Edward Durell, a transplant to the Crescent City from New Hampshire, was impeached as part of…
Read MoreEnd Run Around "High Crimes and Misdemeanors"
The meaning of “high crimes and misdemeanors” in the Constitution’s impeachment clause has bedevilled generations of lawyers and politicians, and citizens. An interesting new piece by a Cornell Law Professor, Josh Chavetz, suggests that what is an impeachable offense can be gleaned from another angle — by the comparison between impeachment and assassination. Chafetz starts with…
Read MoreSunday Morning on C-SPAN2's Book TV
At 10:15 a.m. on this Sunday, March 28, C-SPAN2’s Book TV is scheduled to run an interview I did with them at the Virginia Festival of the Book last weekend in Charlottesville. The subject is Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy.
Read MoreNo Way to Treat a Judge
The current impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans is reopening old wounds of mine. My critique of the Senate process of trying impeachments by committee is up at Huffington Post. Having been through one of these Senate trials by committee, and having closely watched another, I am convinced they shortchange everyone involved,…
Read MoreVirginia Festival of the Book
At noon on Saturday, I’ll be in at the university book store Charlottesville for the Virginia Festival of the Book, on a panel titled “American History: Our Government at Work.” I’ll be talking about the first presidential impeachment, based on my book Impeached. My co-panelists will be: Brian Balogh, of UVA, author of Government Out of Sight, The…
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