10,775

1

they could not convict President Johnson save in a

2

judicial sense, that "the case must be decided as if the

3

Senate were a court. There is a confusion here, it

4

seems to me, in this debate as to what the purpose of

5

this trial is, this is not a trial as Delegate Hanson

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suggested, which is to replace an action by the court.

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This is a trial to determine whether an individual can be

8

removed from office. He is still subject to action by

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a court if accusation be made against him according to

10

law.

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By all means, it seems to me we should remove

12

the trial of impeachment cases from the political atmos-

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phere of the Senate and put it where it belongs in a

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commission of judges.

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THE CHAIRMAN: Any further discussion?

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Delegate Gill.

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DELEGATE GILL: Just a matter of statistics,

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Mr. Chairman and fellow delegates. The 1957 report of

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the Citizens Conference on State Legislatures: Impeach-

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ment and trial of governors: Of the power of impeachment,

21

49 empowered the legislature to impeach the governor. Of