Case Law

Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. *Supreme Court Building, Washington D.C.* [between 1980 and 2006]. Carol M. Highsmith Archive. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

No challenge to impeachment proceedings was filed in federal court prior to the impeachment and conviction of Halsted L. Ritter in 1936. After his conviction by the Senate, Ritter filed suit in the U.S. Court of Claims for his salary on the grounds that he had not been convicted under the constitutional standards for impeachment. The Court of Claims rejected Ritter's claims, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his request to review the decision. Since Ritter, Judges Claiborne, Hastings, and Nixon have tried to have their convictions overturned in federal court. The defining decision — which established that most challenges to impeachment are nonjusticiable — is Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224 (1993).

The resources listed below relate to the actions filed by Judges Ritter, Hastings, and Nixon.

The following materials link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Cases decided in the Court of Claims of the United States...
Call Number: KF125.C5 C52
Published/Created: 1867-1949
Ritter v. United States, 84 Ct. Cl. 293 (1936), cert. denied, 300 U.S. 668 (1937) - Judge Green, writing for the court, reviewed the issues in dispute and ruled that impeachments are not subject to judicial review. The opinion of the court also reviews the existing state law on this question (available at Caselaw Access Project External).
Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court
Call Number: KF101.9 .R43
Published/Created: 1832-
The records and briefs collection for Ritter v. United States, 300 U.S. 668 (1936), includes the Petition for Writ of Certiorari and Brief in Opposition. Petitioner’s points three and four, pages 26-33, present the arguments that the Senate erred in Ritter’s trial. The United States’ Brief in Opposition reviews the argument that the Senate’s decision is final. Provides citations to supporting state authority.

West's Federal Supplement
Call Number: KF120 .F42
Published/Created: 1988-
Hastings v. U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial Comm., 716 F. Supp. 38 (D.D.C. 1989), aff'd, 281 U.S. App. D.C. 104, 887 F.2d 332 (D.C. Cir. 1989) - This lawsuit was an attempt by Judges Hastings and Nixon to stop their scheduled impeachment trials. The federal district court refused to intervene on the grounds that the issue presented a political question under the doctrine of Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962). Includes discussion of the origin of Impeachment Rule XI (available at Google Scholar External).

West's Federal Supplement
Call Number: KF120 .F42
Published/Created: 1988-
Nixon v. U.S., 744 F. Supp. 9 (D.D.C. 1990) - This lawsuit was a challenge by Walter Nixon of his conviction by the Senate on the grounds that the use of a Rule XI trial committee violated the impeachment trial provision of Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution. The court rejected Nixon’s claim on the grounds that it was nonjusticiable under the doctrine of Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969), and dismissed the case (available at Google Scholar External).
West's Federal Reporter
Call Number: KF105 .F432
Published/Created: 1988-
Nixon v. U.S., 290 U.S. App. D.C. 420, 938 F.2d 239 (D.C. Cir. 1991), reh’g denied, 1991 U.S. App. LEXIS 25391 (D.C. Cir. 1991), cert. granted, 502 U.S. 1090 (1992). Affirms the district court’s decision that impeachments are nonjusticiable, with a good discussion of this theory. The dissent beginning at page 248 challenges this approach and provides a review of the origin of Rule XI procedures and criticism of the rule (available at Google Scholar External).
United States Reports
Call Number: KF101 .A212
Published/Created: 1884-
Nixon v. U.S., 506 U.S. 224 (1993). Decision holding that, on most grounds, impeachment trials are nonjusticiable
(available at Law Library of Congress U.S. Reports Collection).
Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court
Call Number: KF101.9 R43
Published/Created: 1832-
Petition and briefs for Nixon v. U.S., 506 U.S. 224 (1993) - Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Brief in Opposition, Petitioner’s Brief, Respondent’s Brief, Petitioner’s Reply, and Amicus Curiae Briefs.

Federal Impeachment

Case Law