The Supreme Court has never had a
case on impeachment proceedings. The
impeachment process is an extraordinary
device, used infrequently and with great
trepidation by political figures because
of the political implications of such a
decision.
Impeachment provisions within the
federal and state constitutions are very
much a part of Anglo-American heri-
tage and tradition. In some ways, they
may be described as anachronisms, long
outgrown, especially in our proposed
constitution where the number of con-
stitutional officers shall be minimal;
where the governor shall have the power
to remove those he appoints; where the
judiciary is providing a new evaluation
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process; where the legislature is the
judge of the actions of its members.
Furthermore, an increasing number of
state officials in this state, as elsewhere,
are part of the merit system which has
its own procedure for dismissal, within
the tenure provisions. Therefore it " is
suggested that even the provisions of
the Model Constitution are too exten-
sive. All that needs to be provided, if
one wishes an impeachment provision
for historical reasons, is a provision that
will allow the General Assembly to
establish a procedural framework and,
possibly, an additional provision that
will forbid the Governor from granting
reprieves or pardons to those who have
been impeached.
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