Powell v. McCormick

Date: June 16, 1969

Citation: 395 U.S. 486

Issue: Qualifications for Congress

Significance: The Supreme Court limited the power of Congress to expel its members.

African American politician Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was reelected to his seat in the House of Representatives. However, because of some allegations regarding misuse of congressional funds based on some improperly filed expense reports, Congress sought to block him from taking his seat in Congress. The Supreme Court, by an 8-1 vote, ruled that the House of Representatives could not add to the constitutional qualifications of its members any criteria other than those set forth in the Constitution, all of which Powell met. Further, Congress could expel a member only by a two-thirds vote. Had Congress prevailed in this case, its members would have been able to circumvent the expulsion process in many cases.

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