Supreme Court Invalidates Three Obama Recess Appointments to Labor Board

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In Narrow Ruling, Supreme Court Invalidates 3 Obama Appointments http://n.pr/TAL7oL


The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that three appointments President Obama made in 2012 to the National Labor Relations Board are not valid because they were not approved by the Senate, which was in pro forma session at the time.

In a unanimous decision, the justices said the Constitution's recess-appointments clause gave Congress the power to decide when it is in recess, and that there was no recess when Obama acted.

On Thursday, Justice Stephen Breyer said that in order to be considered a recess under the Constitution, a congressional break must last at least 10 days.

As The Associated Press notes, "The outcome was the least significant loss possible for the administration. The justices, by a 5-4 vote, rejected a sweeping lower court ruling against the administration that would have made it virtually impossible for any future president to make recess appointments."


read: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/06/26/325801235/in-narrow-ruling-supreme-court-invalidates-3-obama-appoinmtments?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews

read decision: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-1281_bodg.pdf