Before the act was signed into law in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, the president alone appointed special prosecutors to investigate allegations of wrongdoing against high-ranking government officials. But support for the law waned after one counsel after another was named during the Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations. Even current independent counsel Kenneth Starr, a target of a wave of recent criticism over the powers of the office, favors the law's demise. Former Independent Counsel Arthur Christy agrees. Christy investigated Carter White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan on allegations of drug use.
Critics also argue that independent counsels cost too much for so little result.
Espy was acquitted, but not until well after he was forced to resign. In 1988, the law was tested in the federal court system but upheld by the Supreme Court. Justice Antonin Scalia, the only dissenter, criticized the law, saying it unconstitutionally gave too much power to the independent counsels who were politically unaccountable. With the law's expiration, the Justice Department stands poised to take over the job of appointing special prosecutors. Attorney General Janet Reno told reporters that the regulations will be ready by July 1.