Clinton V. Jones

''Clinton v. Jones'', 520 U.S. 681 (1997), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case establishing that a sitting President of the United States has no immunity from civil law litigation, in federal court, for acts done before taking office and unrelated to the office.. In particular, there is no temporary immunity and thus no delay of federal cases until the President leaves office.

Background of the case

On May 6, 1994, former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones filed a sexual harassment suit against U.S. President Bill Clinton and former Arkansas State Police Officer Danny Ferguson. She claimed that on May 8, 1991, Clinton, then Governor of Arkansas, propositioned her. David Brock had written, in the January 1994 issue of ''The American Spectator,'' that an Arkansas state employee named "Paula" had offered to be Clinton's mistress. According to the story, Ferguson had escorted Jones to Clinton's hotel room, stood guard, and overheard Jones say that she would not mind being Clinton's mistress.

The initial suit, ''Jones v. Clinton'', was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Jones, represented by Attorneys Joseph Cammarata and Gilbert K. Davis, sought civil damages from the President. Clinton's request to file a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds of presidential immunity was approved on July 21, 1994. On December 28, 1994, Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled that a sitting president could not be sued and deferred the case until the conclusion of his term, essentially granting him temporary immunity (although she allowed the pre-trial discovery phase of the case to proceed without delay in order to start the trial as soon as Clinton left office).

Both parties appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which ruled in favor of Jones, finding that "the President, like all other government officials, is subject to the same laws that apply to all other members of our society."

Clinton then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, filing a petition for writ of certiorari.

Supreme Court's decision

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. In the majority opinion by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Court ruled that separation of powers does not mandate that federal courts delay all private civil lawsuits against the President until the end of his term of office.

The court ruled that they did not need to decide "whether a claim comparable to petitioner's assertion of immunity might succeed in a state tribunal" (a state court), but noted that "If this case were being heard in a state forum, instead of advancing a separation-of-powers argument, petitioner would presumably rely on federalism and comity concerns". The court also found that "our decision rejecting the immunity claim and allowing the case to proceed does not require us to confront the question whether a court may compel the attendance of the President at any specific time or place." In his concurring opinion, Breyer argued that presidential immunity would apply only if the President could show that a private civil lawsuit would somehow interfere with the President's constitutionally assigned duties.

Aftermath

On April 1, 1998, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright granted summary judgment to Clinton in ''Jones v. Clinton'', ruling that Jones showed inability to prove that she was injured, personally or in her career. A witness in ''Jones v. Clinton'', Monica Lewinsky, denied having engaged in a sexual relationship with Clinton. A friend of Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, had recorded conversations where Lewinsky discussed her affair with Clinton. Tripp then turned the tapes over to Kenneth Starr, an independent counsel investigating Clinton's misconduct in office. The revelations from these tapes became known as the Lewinsky scandal.

In the Court's opinion in ''Clinton v. Jones'', Stevens had written, "...it appears to us highly unlikely to occupy any substantial amount of petitioner's time." The Supreme Court's ruling in ''Clinton v. Jones'' led to the District Court's hearing of ''Jones v. Clinton'', which led to the Lewinsky scandal, when Clinton was asked under oath about other workplace relationships, which led to charges of perjury and obstruction of justice and the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

On April 12, 1999, Wright found Clinton in contempt of court for "intentionally false" testimony in ''Jones v. Clinton'', fined him $90,000, and referred the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court's Committee on Professional Conduct, as Clinton still possessed a law license in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Supreme Court suspended Clinton's Arkansas law license in April 2000. On January 19, 2001, Clinton agreed to a five-year suspension and a $25,000 fine in order to avoid disbarment and to end the investigation of Independent Counsel Robert Ray (Starr's successor). On October 1, 2001, Clinton's U.S. Supreme Court law license was suspended, with 40 days to contest his disbarment. On November 9, 2001, the last day for Clinton to contest the disbarment, he opted to resign from the Supreme Court Bar, surrendering his license, rather than facing penalties related to disbarment.

In the end, Independent Counsel Ray said:

More specifically, the Independent Counsel concluded that President Clinton testified falsely on three counts under oath in ''Clinton v. Jones''. However, Ray chose to decline criminal prosecution in favor of what the ''Principles of Federal Prosecution'' call "alternative sanctions". This included being impeached:

These seven sanctions, Ray reasoned, were "sufficient", and therefore he did not pursue further sanctions in a criminal proceeding.IV. Analysis of Potential Violations of Federal Criminal Law
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March 6, 2002

See also

*'' Nixon v. Fitzgerald'' (1982)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton V. Jones
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
United States executive privilege case law
Clinton administration controversies
1997 in United States case law
Trials of political people