Pictures
- A congressional hearing about President Nixon’s Watergate break-in scandal revealed that he had installed a tape-recording device in the Oval Office.
- The special prosecutor in charge of the case wanted access to these taped discussions to help prove that President Nixon and his aides had abused their power and broken the law.
Nixon v. U.S.
Warren Burger was the chief Justice on the case
Supreme Court Case
Significant Question of the Case:
The Justices on the Case
- Chief justice, Warren Burger
The Laws and Rights
- The Fifth and Sixth Amendment are involved in this case.
- The Fifth Amendment provides the Due Process.
- The Sixth Amendment provides that a defendant in a trial can be confronted by witnesses against the accused.
- Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
- William H. Rehnquist
Is the presidents right to safeguard certain information, using his"Executive Privilege"
confidentiality power, entirely immune from judicial review?
Conclusion of the Supreme Court Case
Sources
http://www.streetlaw.org/en/Page/719/Summary_of_the_Decision
Court Case Facts
http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-informed/federal-court-resources/historic-case-summaries.aspx
- A grand jury returned indictments against seven of President Richard Nixon's closest aides in the Watergate affair.
- Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.
- Burger wrote, “The impediment that an absolute, unqualified [executive] privilege would place in the way of the primary constitutional duty of the Judicial Branch to do justice in criminal prosecutions would plainly conflict with the function of the courts under Article III.”
- The special prosecutor appointed by Nixon and the defendants sought audio tapes of conversations recorded by Nixon in the Oval Office.
- Nixon asserted that he was immune from the subpoena claiming "executive privilege,"
- Decision: 9 votes for the United States, 0 votes for Nixon.
- Legal provision: US Const. Art. II
- The Court held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications
- The Court granted that there was a limited executive privilege in areas of military or diplomatic affairs
- Nixon resigned shortly after the release of the tapes.
- Five men were arrested on June 12, 1972 at the Watergate Hotel and Office Building.
- They were attempting to eavesdrop on the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, which was in the building.
- It was thought that high-level officials, of the White House, had a part in the outlining, the enforcement and the conspiracy of the event.
- The next two years were filled with investigations of the case.
- It was finally found out that President Richard M. Nixon was involved in the covering-up of the task.
- He was also keeping executive information secret.
- This resulted in Nixon becoming the first President to resign from the Presidential office.
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1974/1974_73_1766
- Unanimous decision in favor of the United States (9-0).
- It was said that the president does have some privacy with information but it is not absolute.