Brian C. Kalt
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300123517
- eISBN:
- 9780300178012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300123517.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter focuses on three areas: the ways that law interacts with politics when constitutional cliffhangers are resolved; the ways that constitutional weak spots get patched up, either before or ...
More
This chapter focuses on three areas: the ways that law interacts with politics when constitutional cliffhangers are resolved; the ways that constitutional weak spots get patched up, either before or after they cause problems; and ways to improve constitutional and legislative drafting to prevent such weak spots from developing in the first place. Constitutional cliffhangers like the ones in this book are dramatic for two reasons. First, they are rare, so they are startling when they happen. Second, they take place in the high-stakes realm of presidential power. Some of the cliffhangers in this book are more likely to occur; others less likely. Some would cause a “crisis”; others would only rise to the level of “interesting predicament.” Some would be easy to prevent or fix; others would be practically impossible. By having all of them set out, some common threads can be identified and some lessons learned.Less
This chapter focuses on three areas: the ways that law interacts with politics when constitutional cliffhangers are resolved; the ways that constitutional weak spots get patched up, either before or after they cause problems; and ways to improve constitutional and legislative drafting to prevent such weak spots from developing in the first place. Constitutional cliffhangers like the ones in this book are dramatic for two reasons. First, they are rare, so they are startling when they happen. Second, they take place in the high-stakes realm of presidential power. Some of the cliffhangers in this book are more likely to occur; others less likely. Some would cause a “crisis”; others would only rise to the level of “interesting predicament.” Some would be easy to prevent or fix; others would be practically impossible. By having all of them set out, some common threads can be identified and some lessons learned.
Brian C. Kalt
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300123517
- eISBN:
- 9780300178012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300123517.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This book discusses the election, punishment, and replacement of presidents in the United States. Ideally, the constitutional rules would be clear on such occasions, but often they are not. It ...
More
This book discusses the election, punishment, and replacement of presidents in the United States. Ideally, the constitutional rules would be clear on such occasions, but often they are not. It examines six presidential constitutional cliffhangers: scenarios in which the fate of the president or presidency is in doubt as politicians, courts, and the people argue over the proper interpretation of the Constitution. This book can be taken as a legal guide to navigating the six scenarios presented in the next few chapters, should they ever occur. In the process, these six discussions shed light on how law and politics combine to settle cliffhangers, how the constitutional weak spots that produce cliffhangers can be patched up, why such repairs are nevertheless rare, and how best to prevent these weak spots from forming in the first place.Less
This book discusses the election, punishment, and replacement of presidents in the United States. Ideally, the constitutional rules would be clear on such occasions, but often they are not. It examines six presidential constitutional cliffhangers: scenarios in which the fate of the president or presidency is in doubt as politicians, courts, and the people argue over the proper interpretation of the Constitution. This book can be taken as a legal guide to navigating the six scenarios presented in the next few chapters, should they ever occur. In the process, these six discussions shed light on how law and politics combine to settle cliffhangers, how the constitutional weak spots that produce cliffhangers can be patched up, why such repairs are nevertheless rare, and how best to prevent these weak spots from forming in the first place.
