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cover of episode Note from Rachel 4/9: Rethinking Precedent

Note from Rachel 4/9: Rethinking Precedent

2025/4/9
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The Counsel

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Rachel Barkow: 特朗普总统正在利用最高法院可能推翻先例的可能性,大规模解雇独立机构负责人。这并非个例,最高法院近年来已多次推翻长期存在的先例,例如推翻罗诉韦德案中关于堕胎权的判决,以及改变政府机构审查框架等。特朗普政府此举是基于对1935年Humphreys Executor案的挑战,该案确立了国会拥有创建总统不能随意罢免其负责人的独立机构的权力。许多保守派认为该案是错误的,他们认为宪法赋予总统行政权力,国会不能通过法规限制这一权力。最高法院可能推翻Humphreys Executor案,因为法院已经表达了对总统广泛行政权力的支持,并且法官托马斯和戈萨奇已经公开表示该案应该被推翻。 最高法院对先例的轻率推翻导致了法律的不稳定和不可预测性,使得特朗普政府能够肆无忌惮地挑战法律边界。虽然罗伯茨法院承认先例对于法律稳定性和可预测性的重要性,但在推翻先前判例时,他们辩称这些判例从一开始就是严重错误的,违背了宪法的原意。 最高法院的原意主义解释方法导致了保守派受益,而自由派则试图通过强调先例的重要性来进行反击,但收效甚微。这种对制度规范的呼吁效果不佳,先例在声称违反宪法原意时很容易被推翻。 特朗普的行为揭示了先例的脆弱性,为自由派提供了一个机会,可以挑战那些违反宪法原意的判例。在过去的五十年里,最高法院在一些关键的刑事案件中作出了违背宪法原意的判决,例如允许被认为危险的人在审判前被监禁,授权警方在没有充分理由的情况下对人进行搜查,以及批准检察官使用胁迫手段威胁给予更长的刑罚以阻止人们行使陪审团审判的权利。这些判决都无法与宪法的原意相符,并且在作出判决时都严重偏离了既定的理解。 如果现在先例可以随意推翻,法院应该重新审议那些不仅保守派诟病的,而且在法院当前方法论下无法经受审查的所有案件。法院要么会证明它是一个愿意为了保守派和自由派的结果而推翻先例的原则性机构,要么会被暴露为一个只在结果符合保守派议程时才选择性地坚持原意主义的政策制定机构。

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President Trump's dismissal of independent agency heads challenges the existing statutes and Supreme Court rulings. The Trump administration is betting that the Supreme Court will overturn the 1935 case of Humphreys Executor v. United States, which protects agency heads from removal at will by the president. This action is based on the belief that the Constitution's vesting of executive power allows the President to fire agency heads without restriction.
  • Trump's removal of independent agency heads
  • Challenge to Humphreys Executor v. United States (1935)
  • Conservative view on executive power
  • Supreme Court's potential overruling of precedent

Shownotes Transcript

Rachel Barkow is the Charles Seligson Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and the Faculty Director of the Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at NYU. From 2013 to 2019, she served as a Member of the United States Sentencing Commission. From 2010 to 2020, she was a member of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Conviction Integrity Policy Advisory Panel and co-chaired Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s transition committee on police accountability in 2021. She is also amongst the most cited legal scholars of all time. 

For a transcript of Rachel’s note and the full archive of contributor notes, head to CAFE.com.

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