The Case Against Lame Duck Impeachment (Paperback)

In The Case Against Lameduck Impeachment, Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman argues that the bill of Impeachment against President Clinton, passed in December 1998, expired on January 3rd, 1999, when a new House of Representatives began its term of office. It is unconstitutional for the Senate to begin a trial unless a majority of the newly elected House once again charges the President with "high crimen and misdemeanors."

The newly elected House of 1999 contains 40 new members and five mote Democrats, suggesting that a new House vote could produce a different outcome on one or both of the lameduck articles of impeachment.