Impeachment in Nebraska
posted by Gerard Magliocca
The other day a friend asked me how impeachments work in Nebraska given that it has a unicameral legislature. I was embarrassed that I didn’t know. After all, I am an Admiral in the Nebraska Navy. (For more on that office, see here.) It turns out that a majority of the Legislature is required to impeach and two-thirds are required to convict after a full trial in which members must find by clear and convincing evidence that an impeachable offense occurred. The use of a specific burden of proof is an interesting twist on impeachment that is not in the Federal Constitution.
More broadly, this example points up the fact that constitutional scholars don’t pay enough attention to state constitutions. There are terrific comparative resources there that, at least in some instances, are probably more instructive than doing comparisons with foreign countries. (The California Constitution represents the leading dysfunctional case study.)
And, in case you’re wondering, I qualified for Admiral status because I wrote an article in the Nebraska Law Review ten years ago.
December 2, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Posted in: Constitutional Law
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Responses (1)
Tom S. - December 3, 2009 at 4:49 am
Needless to say, global warming may make that into a real job. Better bone up on your seamanship.
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