United States v. Nixon
| United States v. Nixon | |
|---|---|
|
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| Argued July 8, 1974 Decided July 24, 1974 |
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| Full case name | United States v. Richard Milhous Nixon, President of the United States, et al. |
| Citations | 418 U.S. 683 (more) |
| Argument | S. Ct. 3090; 41 L. Ed. 2d 1039; 1974 U.S. LEXIS 93 Oral argument |
| Prior history | Cert. before judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit |
| Holding | |
| The Supreme Court does have the final voice in determining constitutional questions; no person, not even the president of the United States, is completely above the law; and the president cannot use executive privilege as an excuse to withhold evidence that is "demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial." | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Burger, joined by Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell |
| Rehnquist took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision which resulted in a unanimous 8–0 ruling against President Richard Nixon, ordering him to deliver presidential tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials to the District Court. Issued on July 24, 1974, the ruling was important to the late stages of the Watergate scandal, when there was an ongoing impeachment process against Richard Nixon. United States v. Nixon is considered a crucial precedent limiting the power of any U.S. president to claim executive privilege.
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion for a unanimous court, joined by Justices William O. Douglas, William J. Brennan, Potter Stewart, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun and Lewis F. Powell. Burger, Blackmun and Powell were appointed to the Court by Nixon during his first term. Associate Justice William Rehnquist, a Nixon appointee, recused himself as he had previously served in the Nixon administration as Assistant Attorney General.
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