Morrison v. Olson (1987)

Docket
87-1279
Decided
1987-01-01

Summary

Question: Did the Act violate the constitutional principal of separation of powers? Conclusion: The Court addressed a number of constitutional issues in this case and upheld the law. The near-unanimous Court held that the means of selecting the independent counsel did not violate the Appointments Clause; the powers allocated to the special court did not violate Article III; and the Act was not offensive to the separation of powers doctrine since it did not impermissibly interfere with the functions of the Executive Branch.

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