Powell v. McCormack
| Powell v. McCormack | |
|---|---|
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| Argued April 21, 1969 Decided June 16, 1969 |
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| Full case name | Powell, et al. v. McCormack, Speaker of the House of Representatives, et al. |
| Citations | 395 U.S. 486 (more)
89 S. Ct. 1944; 23 L. Ed. 2d 491; 1969 U.S. LEXIS 3103
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| Prior history | Cert. to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit |
| Holding | |
| The House of Representative may not exclude a duly elected representative for any reason beyond those enumerated in the Qualifications of Members Clause. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Warren, joined by Black, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, White, Marshall |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
| Dissent | Stewart |
| Fortas took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. art. I § 2, cl. 2 | |
Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486 (1969) is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided that the Qualifications of Members Clause of Article One of the United States Constitution is an exclusive list of qualifications of members of the House of Representatives; the House may exclude a duly elected member for only those reasons enumerated in the clause.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., a senior member of the United States House of Representatives, was embroiled in scandal, specifically around allegations that he had refused to pay a judgment ordered by a New York court, misappropriated congressional travel funds, and paid his wife a congressional staff salary for work she had not done.
Powell was re-elected in the 1966 election. In January 1967, the 90th Congress convened, Speaker of the House John William McCormack asked Representative Powell to abstain from taking the oath of office. The House adopted H.Res. 1, which stripped Powell of his House Committee chairmanship, excluded him from taking his seat, and created a select committee to investigate Powell's misdeeds. After the select committee conducted its investigation and hearings, in March 1967, the House adopted H.Res. 278 by a vote of 307 to 116, which excluded Powell from Congress and also censured him, fined him $25,000, took away his seniority, and declared his seat vacant.
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