Key SCOTUS Cases – Article II – US v Nixon

by Professor Byron L. Warnken on October 25, 2010

Art. II. (Executive Branch), § 2, Cl. 1 (President)United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974).

Grand jury named President Nixon as un-indicted co-conspirator.  Special prosecutor subpoenaed audiotapes and documents of conversations between President and staff, which President moved to quash, citing executive privilege.  Supreme Court held that (1) it had jurisdiction; (2) issue regarding subpoena was justiciable and appealable; (3) mere assertion of an “intra-branch dispute” was insufficient to defeat federal jurisdiction; and (4) mere claim of executive privilege, rather than specific assertion of privilege against disclosure cannot trump due process, requiring disclosure of all relevant evidence in a criminal case.

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