High crimes and misdemeanors
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- This article is about the legal term. For the Ann Coulter book, see High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton,
for the Woody Allen film, see Crimes and Misdemeanors. For the 2002 film, see High Crimes.
The charge of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct that do not fall under a more clearly defined impeachable offence; e.g., high treason. This charge occurs only in cases of parliamentary impeachment and is unrelated to any offence in criminal law.
Britain
The impeachment of the King's Chancellor, Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk in 1386 was the first case to use this charge. One charge under this heading alleged that de la Pole broke a promise to Parliament. He had promised to follow the advice of a committee regarding improvement of the kingdom. Another charge said that he failed to pay a ransom for the town of Ghent, and that because of that the town fell to the French.
The 1450 impeachment of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, a descendant of Michael's, was next to allege charges under this title. He was charged with using his influence to obstruct justice, cronyism, and wasting public money. Other charges against him included acts of high treason.
Impeachment fell out of use after 1459 but Parliament revived it in the early 1600s to bring the King's ministers to book. In 1621, Parliament impeached the King's Attorney General, Sir Henry Yelverton for high crimes and misdemeanors. The charges included failing to prosecute after starting lawsuits and using authority before it was properly his.
After the Restoration the scope of the charge grew to include negligence, and abuse of power or trust while in office. For example, charges in the impeachment of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford in 1701 included many violations of trust and his position. In this case, he abused his position in the Privy Council to make profits for himself; as Chief of the Navy he embezzled funds; and, as Lord High Admiral of England he got a commission for the pirate William Kidd.
United States
High crimes and misdemeanors is a phrase from Section 4 of Article Two of the United States Constitution: "The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."
"High" in the legal parlance of the 18th century means "against the State". A high crime is one which seeks the overthrow of the country, which gives aid or comfort to its enemies, or which injures the country to the profit of an individual or group. In democracies and similar societies it also includes crimes which attempt to alter the outcome of elections.
The first impeachment conviction by the United States Senate was in 1804 of John Pickering , a judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, for chronic intoxication. Federal judges have been impeached and removed from office for tax evasion, conspiracy to solicit a bribe, and making false statements to a grand jury.
In the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the late 1990s for perjury, the exact meaning of the term high crimes and misdemeanors became the subject of debate. A particular subject of debate is exactly what rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. Some felt that the act of perjury, a federal crime, rose to that level. Others felt that this particular act of perjury, while illegal, did not reach that level because the lie was specifically in regard to a matter of personal infidelity and that the questioning that led to it was allegedly politically-motivated. Those in favor of impeachment[who?] often counter that the conditions that led to the crime are irrelevant and that one of the President's duties is to set a good moral example, while supporters of President Clinton[who?] often contend that impeachments resulting from politically-motivated inquiries could lead to a slippery slope affecting the balance of power between the Executive and Legislative branches.[citation needed]