The theme of this article is the use and abuse of power in relation to politics and ethics. The role of the United States Supreme Court as the umpire of the structure of separation of powers is explored through analysis of two relatively recent cases. This is followed, in conclusion, with some reflections on the ethical implications of our constitutional and political principles and on the role of the Court as ethical guide.
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References
1.
1. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, The Federalist (New York: Modern Library, 1937), no. 51, p. 338.
2.
2. Ibid., no. 78, p. 504.
3.
3. For a full account of this case, see Barbara Craig, Chadha: The Story of an Epic Constitutional Struggle (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990).
4.
4. Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983).
5.
5. For a defense of Justice White's opinion, see Joseph Cooper, “The Legislative Veto in the 1980's” in Congress Reconsidered, ed. Lawrence C. Dodd and Bruce Oppenheimer, 3d ed. (Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1985), pp. 364-389.
6.
6. U.S., Constitution, art. 2, § 3.
7.
7. Louis Fisher, “Judicial Misjudgments about the Lawmaking Process: The Legislative Veto Case,”Public Administration Review, 45:705 (Nov. 1985). Fisher is citing one of the famous Brandeis rules of self-restraint for the Court in Ashwander v. T.V.A., 297 U.S. 347 (1936).
8.
8. Craig, Chadha, pp. 103, 239.
9.
9. U.S., Constitution, art. 2, § 2.
10.
10. Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988).
11.
11. Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, Federalist, no. 37, p. 229.
12.
12. Ibid., no. 48, p. 321.
13.
13. Ibid., no. 51, p. 337.
14.
14. John Rohr, Ethics for Bureaucrats: An Essay on Law and Values, 2d ed. rev. (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1989).
