692
Opinion of the Court
will accommodate his busy schedule, and that, if a trial is held, there would be no necessity for the President to attend in person, though he could elect to do so.14
IV
Petitioner's principal submission—that "in all but the most exceptional cases," Brief for Petitioner i, the Constitution affords the President temporary immunity from civil damages litigation arising out of events that occurred before he took office—cannot be sustained on the basis of precedent.
Only three sitting Presidents have been defendants in civil litigation involving their actions prior to taking office. Complaints against Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman had been dismissed before they took office; the dismissals were affirmed after their respective inaugurations.15 Two
companion cases arising out of an automobile accident were filed against John F. Kennedy in 1960 during the Presidential campaign.16 After taking office, he unsuccessfully argued that his status as Commander in Chief gave him a right to a stay under the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, 50 U. S. C. App. §§ 501-525. The motion for a stay was denied by the District Court, and the matter was settled out of court.17 Thus, none of those cases sheds any light on the constitutional issue before us.
The principal rationale for affording certain public servants immunity from suits for money damages arising out of
14 Although Presidents have responded to written interrogatories, given depositions, and provided videotaped trial testimony, see infra, at 704- 705, no sitting President has ever testified, or been ordered to testify, in open court.
15 See People ex rel. Hurley v. Roosevelt, 179 N. Y. 544, 71 N. E. 1137 (1904); DeVault v. Truman, 354 Mo. 1193, 194 S. W. 2d 29 (1946).
16 See Complaints in Bailey v. Kennedy, No. 757,200, and Hills v. Kennedy, No. 757,201 (Cal. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 27, 1960).
17 See 72 F. 3d, at 1362, n. 10.
Page: Index Previous 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007