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A dumb hypothetical because this will never happen, but: could Obama nominate himself to replace Scalia? And if the Senate somehow approved him, would he have t

A dumb hypothetical because this will never happen, but: could Obama nominate himself to replace Scalia? And if the Senate somehow approved him, would he have to resign the presidency to take his spot on the bench? I don't see anything in the eligibility requirements to be President or a judge of the Supreme Court that would suggest an incompatibility. Is there relevant case law?

peeters 11y ago
IIRC from a West Wing episode (where spoiler, the Speaker of the House becomes president due to an invocation of the 25th Amendment) one cannot serve two branches of the government at the same time. I'll try to find the law that backs that up. Edit: I think the rule in question is the Ineligibility Clause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineligibility_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineligibility_Clause. Contrary to how it was phrased in the WW, this seems to only affect serving in the Legislative branch and the Judicial or Executive branch at the same time. I don't think it in itself puts limit on serving in the Executive and Judicial branches simultaneously.
- Anechoic 11y ago
  * Contrary to how it was phrased in the WW, this seems to only affect serving in the Legislative branch and the Judicial or Executive branch at the same time. I don't think it in itself puts limit on serving in the Executive and Judicial branches simultaneously. It doesn't - John Marshall served as the Secretary of State and Chief Justice of SCOTUS at the same time under John Adams.
bobwaycott 11y ago
Well, there is the Ineligibility Clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 6, Clause 2). But that only concerns the ineligibility of cross-serving in the legislative and executive/judicial branches, iirc. There's nothing I can think of in the Constitution that prevents serving under the executive and judicial branches simultaneously. In fact, John Marshall did exactly that (Chief Justice & Sec. of State, iirc).
- tomjakubowski 11y ago
  Huh, yup: John Marshall served jointly as Secretary of State and Chief Justice, for a few months at the end of the Adams administration. source: the sidebar here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall
DrScump 11y ago
You're suggesting that he appoint to SCOTUS someone who has never been a judge at any level, even municipal court? That has happened once at the state level. It didn't end well.
- tomjakubowski 11y ago
  I'm not suggesting that, merely asking if a ridiculous hypothetical situation would be legal. And contrary to your implication, there have been 40 SCOTUS justices who had no prior judicial experience, including several Chief Justices. source: http://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/nopriorexp.html http://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/nopriorexp...

peeters 11y ago

IIRC from a West Wing episode (where spoiler, the Speaker of the House becomes president due to an invocation of the 25th Amendment) one cannot serve two branches of the government at the same time. I'll try to find the law that backs that up. Edit: I think the rule in question is the Ineligibility Clause: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineligibility_Clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineligibility_Clause. Contrary to how it was phrased in the WW, this seems to only affect serving in the Legislative branch and the Judicial or Executive branch at the same time. I don't think it in itself puts limit on serving in the Executive and Judicial branches simultaneously.

Anechoic 11y ago
* Contrary to how it was phrased in the WW, this seems to only affect serving in the Legislative branch and the Judicial or Executive branch at the same time. I don't think it in itself puts limit on serving in the Executive and Judicial branches simultaneously. It doesn't - John Marshall served as the Secretary of State and Chief Justice of SCOTUS at the same time under John Adams.

bobwaycott 11y ago

Well, there is the Ineligibility Clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 6, Clause 2). But that only concerns the ineligibility of cross-serving in the legislative and executive/judicial branches, iirc. There's nothing I can think of in the Constitution that prevents serving under the executive and judicial branches simultaneously. In fact, John Marshall did exactly that (Chief Justice & Sec. of State, iirc).

tomjakubowski 11y ago
Huh, yup: John Marshall served jointly as Secretary of State and Chief Justice, for a few months at the end of the Adams administration. source: the sidebar here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall

DrScump 11y ago

You're suggesting that he appoint to SCOTUS someone who has never been a judge at any level, even municipal court? That has happened once at the state level. It didn't end well.

tomjakubowski 11y ago
I'm not suggesting that, merely asking if a ridiculous hypothetical situation would be legal. And contrary to your implication, there have been 40 SCOTUS justices who had no prior judicial experience, including several Chief Justices. source: http://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/nopriorexp.html http://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/nopriorexp...