Cite as: 510 U. S. 163 (1994)
Souter, J., concurring
Clause envisions appointment of some inferior officers by other inferior officers.
But even if Tax Court judges are principal officers, military trial judges compare poorly with them, because not only the legal rulings of military trial judges but also their fact-finding and sentencing are subject to de novo scrutiny by the Courts of Military Review. See 10 U. S. C. § 866(c). Though the powers of Court of Military Review judges are correspondingly greater, they too are distinguishable from Tax Court judges. First, Tax Court judges are removable only for cause, see 26 U. S. C. § 7443(f), while Court of Military Review judges may be freely "detail[ed]" by the relevant Judge Advocate General to nonjudicial assignments.8 See ante, at 171-172. Second, Tax Court judges serve fixed 15-year terms, see 26 U. S. C. § 7443(e), while Court of Military Review judges have no fixed term of office and typically serve for far less than 15 years.9 See Brief for Petitioners 5 (military judges "often serve terms of two, three, or four years").
"The line between 'inferior' and 'principal' officers is one that is far from clear," Morrison, 487 U. S., at 671, and though there is a good deal of force to the argument that military judges, at least those on the Courts of Military Review, are principal officers, it is ultimately hard to say with any certainty on which side of the line they fall. The Court
8 According to the Government, "[t]he [Uniform Code of Military Justice] and the services' implementing regulations are carefully structured to ensure that military judges are independent and impartial." Brief for United States 42. This is offered to repel petitioners' due process claim, but it strengthens petitioners' Appointments Clause position. It does not strengthen it enough, however, for the fact remains that military judges are removable for a broad array of reasons.
9 According to the Government, "military judges have the equivalent of tenure in the form of stable tours of duty." Id., at 31. Again, though offered as a defense to petitioners' due process challenge, this aids petitioners' Appointments Clause argument. The fact remains, however, that the statute provides no fixed term of office for military judges.
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