| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | Jones alleges sexual harrassment against Clinton, who is a sitting president. He was elected in 1992, and the incident happened in 1991. |
| Posture: | District court allows the case to go forward, but orders trial stayed until the end of Clinton's second term (it is 1997, and he'll be out of office in 2001). |
| Issue: | Is the president immune from this suit? Should it proceed now? |
| Holding: | No and yes. |
| Rule: | Public officials only get immunity for their official acts; it doesn't apply to unofficial conduct. Also, there's no law protecting the president from being sued while in office. |
| Reasoning: | This was about stuff that happened before Clinton was elected, and
didn't involve his official capacity. This isn't a separation
of powers issue, because no outcome here could curtail the
powers of the executive branch.
As to delaying the suit-- it's not clear that this is a for-real issue. Frivolous suits get dismissed, and those who file them get sanctions. Congress has passed legislation deferring lawsuits in the past, where it has been in the public interest: they can do so now if they think the situation warrants. |
| Dicta: | Breyer (concurring): the courts might have to come up with some special procedural rules to keep this from interfering with the president's duties. |