Morrison v. Olson

Facts of the case

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 created a special court and empowered the Attorney General to recommend to that court the appointment of an "independent counsel" to investigate, and, if necessary, prosecute government officials for certain violations of federal criminal laws.

Question

Did the Act violate the constitutional principle of separation of powers?

Conclusion

The Court addressed a number of constitutional issues in this case and upheld the law. The near-unanimous Court held that the means of selecting the independent counsel did not violate the Appointments Clause; the powers allocated to the special court did not violate Article III, and the Act was not offensive to the separation of powers doctrine since it did not impermissibly interfere with the functions of the Executive Branch.

Supreme Court of the United States

487 U.S. 654, 101 L. Ed. 2d 569, 108 S. Ct. 2597, 1988 U.S. LEXIS 3034, SCDB 1987-149

No. 87-1279

1988-06-29

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