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Simple English definitions for legal terms

impeachment

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A quick definition of impeachment:

Impeachment is a process where the government can remove a public official from their job if they have done something really bad, like breaking the law or being dishonest. It starts with the House of Representatives investigating and deciding if the official should be impeached. If they are impeached, they go to trial in the Senate, where they can be removed from their job if two-thirds of the Senators agree. This process is only for important government officials like the President or judges, and they can still be punished by the law even if they are impeached.

A more thorough explanation:

Impeachment is a process used by the United States government to remove a public officer from their position. This process is not only for the President, but also for other civil officers, including Federal judgeships. The process involves a series of steps and procedures undertaken by the legislature, beginning with the House's impeachment inquiry and ending with a full-blown trial conducted by the Senate with the Chief Justice presiding.

  1. The House Judiciary Committee deliberates over whether to initiate an impeachment inquiry.
  2. The Judiciary Committee adopts a resolution seeking authority from the entire House of Representatives to conduct an inquiry. Before voting, the House debates and considers the resolution. Approval requires a majority vote.
  3. The Judiciary Committee conducts an impeachment inquiry, possibly through public hearings. At the conclusion of the inquiry, articles of impeachment are prepared. They must be approved by a majority of the Committee.
  4. The House of Representatives considers and debates the articles of impeachment. A majority vote of the entire House is required to pass each article. Once an article is approved, the President is, technically speaking, "impeached" -- that is subject to trial in the Senate.
  5. The Senate holds trial on the articles of impeachment approved by the House. The Senate sits as a jury while the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial.
  6. At the conclusion of the trial, the Senate votes on whether to remove the President from office. A two-thirds vote by the Members present in the Senate is required for removal.

Impeachment was an established process in English law and government at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. The Founding Fathers incorporated the process, with modifications, into the fabric of United States government. The Constitution, however, only provides the framework-the basic who's, why's, and how's. The remaining procedural intricacies reside in the internal rules of the House and Senate.

Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution states that "The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States" can be subject to impeachment. This includes Federal judges, but not House Representatives or Senators.

Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution states that impeachment can occur "for, and on conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors." This implies that the impeachment process is not tightly linked to the criminal law. The standard remains undefined, but the language suggests that criminal action may be required.

The House of Representatives has the power to impeach, which translates into the power to indict. The House, through the Judiciary Committee, conducts investigation and gathers evidence. At the proper time, the House assembles the evidence into individual indictments or charges known as Articles of Impeachment. Each article requires a majority vote of the House to pass to the Senate. The trial of the impeached officer is held in the Senate, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding over the trial. A two-thirds vote by the Members present in the Senate is required for removal.

In 2019, President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate held a trial, but ultimately did not vote to remove him from office. This example illustrates the process of impeachment and how it can be used to hold public officials accountable for their actions.

impeach | impeachment of a witness

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texaslawhopefully
22:30
@KnowledgeableRitzyWasp: That all sounds great. It sounds like it has fairly diverse cuisine for a smaller city
yeah there are so many good cuisines in ithaca
renard99
22:31
@lilypadfrog: that’s a pity I’da be liking them all
texaslawhopefully
22:31
Only food I’m going to miss for sure if I leave Texas is texmex
22:31
waspy hasnt had thai food in ithaca yet. ithaca thai is so good
^^^^ truuuuuu
22:32
there are two major thai places and they have very similar names bc a divorced husband and wife own them lol
22:32
personally i think taste of thai is better than taste of thai express but thats just me
i had pho tho and it was really good and huge portions
texaslawhopefully
22:32
Glad they have good Thai food, I love Thai food! Can’t wait to visit :)
22:33
when tex goes to ithaca i want to come
Dkk
22:34
Crying Tiger, best Thai dish.
damn im so hungry all i had today was a curry tonkatsu and buldak
and it was a lil baby noodle cup
vvv hungry
22:36
curry tonkatsu so yummeh
22:36
whats even open rn? pizza?
CTB is it i think
22:37
is collegetown pizza not open
22:37
i used to get a slice from there or wings over at like 1am after my shift at the restaurant
Dkk
22:48
Ross Ulbricht free. God Bless Trump. Huge win.
JeremyFragrance
22:54
agreed
texaslawhopefully
22:55
This is an interesting read: https://thedispatch.com/article/birthright-citizenship-trump-implications/
Dkk
23:01
I mean, idk how it's possible to end birth right citizenship without amending the constitution because to me the 14th amendment is pretty clear about it.
ross ulbricht tried to hire a hitman to kill 5 people
i am not that sympathetic to him
Dkk
23:04
@KnowledgeableRitzyWasp: That might have been an FBI agent. It was most likely him and he was most likely doing it to retrieve stolen funds that corrupt FBI agents stole, but yeah moral gray area but me personally, cool with hitmen. It's not like it is uncommon to hire hitmen. I don't think the action itself is necessarily wrong but the intent behind it can be.
Dkk
23:05
Like, Boeing whistblowers being killed by hitmen = wrong but a guy hiring hitmen to retrieve stolen funds = good to me.
texaslawhopefully
23:05
@Dkk: Yeah, for sure. My guess is it'll go to SCOTUS and it'll be 8-1 or 7-2, saying that EO was unconstitutional.
Dkk
23:06
Indeed. I need a count for how many exectuive orders he has signed and how many already have pending lawsuits.
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