The Constitution as Supreme law

The U.S. Constitution calls itself the "supreme law of the land." Courts have interpreted this clause to mean that when state constitutions or laws passed by state legislatures or by the national Congress are found to conflict with the federal Constitu­tion, these laws have no force. Deci­sions handed down by the Supreme Court over the course of two cen­turies have confirmed and strength­ened this doctrine of constitutional supremacy.

Final authority is vested in the American people, who can change the fundamental law, if they wish, by amending the Constitution or—in theory, at least – drafting a new one. The people do not exercise their authority directly, however. They delegate the day-to-day business of government to public officials, both elected and appointed.

The power of public officials is limit­ed under the Constitution. Their public actions must conform to the Constitution and to the laws made in accordance with the Constitution. Elected officials must stand for re­election at periodic intervals, when their records are subject to intensive public scrutiny. Appointed officials serve at the pleasure of the person or authority who appointed them and may be removed at any time. The exception to this practice is the life­time appointment by the president of justices of the Supreme Court and other federal judges, so that they may be free of political obligations or influence.

Most commonly, the American peo­ple express their will through the ballot box. The Constitution, how­ever, does make provision for the removal of a public official from office, in cases of extreme miscon­duct or malfeasance, by the process of impeachment. Article II, Section 4 reads: "The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

Impeachment is a charge of miscon­duct brought against a government official by a legislative body, it does not, as is commonly thought, refer to19 conviction on such charges. As set forth in the Constitution, the House of Representatives must bring charges of misconduct by voting a bill of impeachment. The accused official is then tried in the Senate, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding at the trial.

Impeachment is considered a drastic measure, one that has been used on only rare occasions in the United States. Since 1797 the House of Representatives has voted articles of impeachment against 16 federal offi­cials–two presidents, one cabinet member, one senator, one justice of the Supreme Court, and 11 federal judges. Of those impeached, the Senate has convicted seven, all of them judges.

In 1868 President Andrew Johnson was impeached over issues relating to the proper treatment of the defeated Confederate states follow­ing the American Civil War. The Senate, however, fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority necessary for conviction, and Johnson com­pleted his full term in office. In 1974, as a result of the Watergate affair, President Richard Nixon resigned from office after the Judiciary Com­mittee of the House recommended impeachment, but before the full House of Representatives could vote on a bill of impeachment.

As recently as 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of per­jury and obstruction of justice. After a trial, the Senate acquitted the pres­ident on both charges, voting not guilty on perjury by a margin of 55-45 and dividing evenly at 50-50 on obstruction of justice. To remove the president from office would have required a guilty verdict by a majori­ty of 67 votes on either charge.