684
Opinion of the Court
Gilbert K. Davis argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Joseph Cammarata.*
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case raises a constitutional and a prudential question concerning the Office of the President of the United States. Respondent, a private citizen, seeks to recover damages from the current occupant of that office based on actions allegedly taken before his term began. The President submits that in all but the most exceptional cases the Constitution requires federal courts to defer such litigation until his term ends and that, in any event, respect for the office warrants such a stay. Despite the force of the arguments supporting the President's submissions, we conclude that they must be rejected.
I
Petitioner, William Jefferson Clinton, was elected to the Presidency in 1992, and reelected in 1996. His term of office expires on January 20, 2001. In 1991 he was the Governor of the State of Arkansas. Respondent, Paula Corbin Jones, is a resident of California. In 1991 she lived in Arkansas, and was an employee of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission.
On May 6, 1994, she commenced this action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas by filing a complaint naming petitioner and Danny Ferguson, a former Arkansas State Police officer, as defendants. The
*John C. Jeffries, Jr., and Pamela S. Karlan filed a brief for Law Professors as amicus curiae urging reversal.
Christopher A. Hansen and Steven R. Shapiro filed a brief for the American Civil Liberties Union as amicus curiae urging affirmance.
Briefs of amicus curiae were filed for the Coalition of American Veterans by Laurence A. Elgin; and for Law Professors by Ronald D. Rotunda, Albert E. Jenner, Jr., Stephen B. Burbank, William Cohen, Geoffrey P. Miller, Robert F. Nagel, and Richard Parker.
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007