Opinion ID: 2367442
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: The dimensions of the argument

Text: While the instant certified question does not raise every conceivable issue in the appointment process, it is important to note that the argument puts the Judiciary in the middle between the Executive and Legislative branches in a situation where there is a potential for abuse on both sides. On the one side, if the Governor can use his recess appointment power notwithstanding the holdover provision, he could be tempted to avoid the Senate altogether by making appointments only during the recess of the Senate. Such action on his part would be an avoidance of a duty to respect the Senate's constitutional prerogatives and an abuse of power. On the other hand, given a holdover more acceptable to the Senate than the nominee of the Governor, the Senate can avoid its responsibility, as it did in this very case, by taking no action on the nominee. Such a course is also an abuse of power. It is not the equivalent of a rejection because there is not the accountability of a vote. It is simply the avoidance of a constitutional duty. These risks have long been recognized by constitutional observers. In 1823, the Attorney General of the United States, William Wirt, opined that the recess power extended even to a vacancy which had its origin while the Senate was in session. He said: The construction which I prefer is perfectly innocent. It cannot possibly produce mischief, without imputing to the President a degree of turpitude entirely inconsistent with the character which his office implies, as well as with the high responsibility and short tenure annexed to that office; while, at the same time, it insures to the public the accomplishment of the object to which the constitution so sedulously looks  that the offices connected with their peace and safety be regularly filled. 1 Op.Att'y.Gen. at 634. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney when he was Attorney General in 1832 was even more emphatic: He may fill up vacancies which `happen' during the recess. But vacancies are not designedly to be kept open by the President until the recess, for the purpose of avoiding the control of the Senate. And the word `happen' is used to describe the class and kind of vacancies, and not the particular time at which they took place. . . . . . It has been said that this power, if possessed by the President, may be so used as to defeat the intention of the constitution, and exclude the Senate from all share in appointments. The answer to such an objection appears to be a plain one. If the President wilfully abuses a power given to him, the constitution has provided a remedy.... 2 Op.Att'y.Gen. 525, 528-29. It should be noted that constitutional debates on our current 1897 Constitution clearly indicate that recess appointments are to be followed by regular nominations at the next session of the Senate. III Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Delaware 1902, 1972 (1958). Presumably the Governor's failure to submit a regular nomination after the purported recess appointment in this case was due to the uncertainty as to the validity of the recess appointment. And, lest the machinations of the Senate be deemed new, reference again can be had to Mr. Taney's 1832 justification of a recess appointment: In this case, the Senate have had a full opportunity of acting, but have not acted, and have held the nomination under advisement, and left it to fall vacant as soon as they adjourned. They must be supposed to have had sufficient reasons for keeping the nomination in their power, and suspending their action upon it. The President could not nominate another person for the same office until this was disposed of, and was either withdrawn by him or finally acted on by the Senate. And as the Senate have had an opportunity of acting, but have determined to suspend their decision, I cannot see how an appointment now made by the President can be supposed to interfere with the rights of the Senate. There is nothing in the case that can be construed into a desire to avoid their constitutional control. 2 Op.Att'y.Gen. at 529. Similarly, Attorney General Knox's 1901 opinion has a rather current ring: It may be that Congress might `temporarily adjourn' for several months as well as several days, and thus seriously curtail the President's power of making recess appointments. But this argument from inconvenience, like the argument against a power because of its possible abuse can not be admitted to obscure the true principles and distinctions ruling the point. 23 Op.Att'y.Gen. 599, 603. The constitutional duty of the Senate to act on gubernatorial nominations seems clear. [6] And, notwithstanding the absence of precedent and the failure of oral argument in this case to suggest an enforcement mechanism, we are not called upon to foreclose and we do not foreclose the possibility that the judicial branch has the power to enforce the duty, at least on a case by case basis, when the claim is promptly made and diligently pursued. For example, one remedy that could be considered in a given case, would be that the Senate's willful and prolonged avoidance of its constitutional duty to confirm a qualified nominee may be deemed an assent to the nomination and the equivalent of a confirmation. See also question 4b in the Opinion of the Justices, Del.Supr., 405 A.2d 694, 695 (1969) suggesting lack of action results in a vacancy. Admittedly, Courts have traditionally refrained from such activity, Gilbert v. Gladden, N.J.Supr., 87 N.J. 275, 432 A.2d 1351 (1981), Passaic County Bar Association v. Hughes, N.J.Super., 108 N.J.Super. 161, 260 A.2d 261 (1969), but, in instances of patent abuse, Courts have filled the gap in related areas. Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 82 S.Ct. 691, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962). This Court, which particularly has a strong tradition of judicial restraint, said in Henry E.I. duPont v. Director of the Division of Revenue of the Department of Finance, Del.Supr., 347 A.2d 653, 656-657 (1975): Over the years the Delaware Courts have recognized the broad powers conferred on the General Assembly by the Constitution and, indeed, it has been said that the legislative power `is as broad and ample in its omnipotence as sovereignty itself,' Collision v. State, Del.Supr., 9 W.W.Harr. 460, 2 A.2d 97 (1938); State v. Shaw, Del.Super., 11 Terry 193, 126 A.2d 542 (1956), aff'd, 11 Terry 365, 131 A.2d 158 (1957). The administration of that power by the Assembly is specifically permitted by Art. II, § 9 which provides that `[e]ach House may determine the rules of its proceedings, ... and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the Legislature of a free and independent State.' In sum, broad substantive and procedural powers are vested in the General Assembly by our Constitution and, for that reason, Delaware Courts have traditionally deferred to the legislative body in matters involving the conduct of its business and the law-making process. But it does not follow that all legislative procedures are beyond judicial scrutiny. We say this because the power of the Assembly, like that of the Governor and the Courts, is subject to constitutional restrictions, whether express or necessarily implied. State v. Shaw, supra, and, in an appropriate case, it is the duty of the Court to define such restrictions. Here, relief is not available to plaintiff but the General Assembly should take notice of the legal attack on its notice procedures, particularly in light of evolving judicial concepts. The potential abuses are mentioned because they demonstrate the duties of the two branches and the extended dimensions of this argument. This Court is being thrust into the middle of a stew not of our making. We must assume that all will act in good faith and with a prime regard for constitutional duty. We have taken care to see to it that an issue is particularly defined and arises in the context of a specific case. Opinion of the Justices, Del.Supr., 405 A.2d 694, 700-01 (1979); Opinion of the Justices, Del.Supr., 424 A.2d 663, 664 (1980). Out of caution, we note that we now have a specific case which has been contested before us on a single certified question. The attack here is broad and singular. It is claimed that there can be a recess appointment to an office properly occupied by a holdover. There is no claim here based on the behavior of the Senate. Thus, the disposition of the limited appeal in this case cannot by its nature cover the entire spectrum of duties, rights and remedies.