Nixon v. General Services Administration
1977 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Nixon v. General Services Administration?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Nixon v. General Services Administration, 433 U.S 425 (1977), is a landmark court case concerning the principle of presidential privilege and whether the public is allowed to view a President's “confidential documents”.[1] The Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974, ordered that the Administrator of the General Services Administration obtain President Richard Nixon’s presidential papers and tape recordings. In addition, the Act further ordered that government archivists seize these materials. These archivists would preserve the material deemed historic and return to former President Nixon the materials deemed private. Furthermore, this Act stated that material that was preserved could be used in judicial hearings and proceedings. Immediately after this Act was enacted, Richard Nixon filed a lawsuit in a federal district court claiming that the Act violated the principle of separation of powers, the principle of presidential privilege, Nixon's personal privacy, his First Amendment right of association, and further asserted that it amounted to a constitutionally prohibited Bill of Attainder.[2]
Nixon v. General Services Administration | |
---|---|
Argued April 20, 1977 Decided June 28, 1977 | |
Full case name | Nixon v. Administrator of General Services |
Citations | 433 U.S. 425 (more) 97 S. Ct. 2777; 53 L. Ed. 2d 867; 1977 U.S. LEXIS 24 |
Case history | |
Prior | 408 F. Supp. 321 (D.D.C. 1976); probable jurisdiction noted, 429 U.S. 976 (1976). |
Holding | |
Congress has the power to pass an act directing the seizure and disposition, within the control of the Executive Branch, of the papers and tapes of a former president. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Brennan, joined by Stewart, Marshall, Stevens (in full); White (except for Part VII); Blackmun (Part VII only); Powell (except for Parts IV and V) |
Concurrence | Stevens |
Concurrence | White (in part) |
Concurrence | Blackmun (in part) |
Concurrence | Powell (in part) |
Dissent | Burger |
Dissent | Rehnquist |