HEARING NOTICE: Articles of Impeachment Against Governor Nixon

House Hearing April 23rd
Missouri First Home

Impeachment
Resource Page


April 17, 2014

Michael,

Should the Governor Nixon be impeached?

Article VII Section I of the Missouri Constitution says, “All elective executive officials of the state, and judges of the supreme court, courts of appeals and circuit courts shall be liable to impeachment for crimes, misconduct, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude or oppression in office.”

Notice that most of the constitutional grounds for impeachment are NOT criminal in nature. The purpose of impeachment is to “check” an official who is damaging the People and his office in some way, even if no crime has been committed. It doesn't even have to be a malicious act – notice that “incompetency” is grounds for impeachment.

In1843 Judge John Leland was impeached for deficiency in legal knowledge, negligence, tardiness, and inattentiveness.



Impeachment is NOT a Finding of Guilt

When the House of Representatives votes to impeach an official, they are not saying he is guilty – all they are saying is that there's enough evidence to hold a trial. In Missouri, unlike virtually all the other states, the actual impeachment trial and determination of guilt is left up to seven judges. When the governor is the object of the impeachment, the Senate selects “seven eminent jurists” from among sitting judges across the state.

So the question before the House Judiciary Committee next week, and possibly the whole House later on, is, “Is there enough cause to hold an impeachment trial of Governor Nixon?”

I think there is. What do you think? Please learn more about impeachment and fill out a witness form, either for or against impeaching Governor Nixon, and we will deliver it to the committee. (See more details below the witness form link.)



Hearing On Wednesday!
Fill out your witness by Tuesday.

Committee: Judiciary
Date:  Wednesday, April 23
Time:  Upon noon adjournment
Room:  HR 1
HR 380: Marshal, HR 476 Moon, HR 923 Brattin
Articles of Impeachment against Governor Nixon
Please double check the hearing schedule before traveling to the hearing.






Witness Form - I will hand deliver your witness form and also make your testimony available online for the committee to read.


(Please remove the above link before forwarding this email.)

Generic Witness Form: Witness form link for HR 380, 476, 923




The House Resolutions -- Articles of Impeachment

Tuesday, April 22nd, the House Judiciary Committee will hold public hearings for three separate articles of impeachment:

HR 380: Adopts Articles of Impeachment for Governor Jay Nixon for the issuance of Executive Order 13-14, which recognizes same-sex couples for the purpose of filing joint married tax returns in spite of the Missouri's Constitution marriage amendment.

HR 476 Adopts articles of impeachment against Governor Nixon for failure to issue writs of election to fill vacancies in the General Assembly without delay as required by state law

HR 923 Adopts articles of impeachment for the Governor based on his failure to discipline or dismiss executive branch employees responsible for the released of concealed carry endorsement information to the federal government.



Learn About Impeachment Here

What is impeachment?
Why is it important?
Who can impeach a judge in Missouri?
Why does the power to impeach rest with the house of representatives alone?
What happens once articles of impeachment have been approved by the house?
What are the possible penalties if found guilty?
For what reasons can a judge be impeached?



Missouri Constitution

Public Officers (Article VII)
Grounds for impeachment (Section 1)
House responsible for impeachment (Section 2)
Consequences (Section 3)


Missouri Revised Statutes

Removal and Impeachment of Public Officials (RSMo 106)
About impeached judges (RSMo 476.480)
About removed judges (RSMo 476.480)


Impeachment is one of the tools the Framers of our Constitution gave us to keep government abuse in check. Even when there is no conviction, the threat of impeachment helps to keep public officials honest.

To be a viable threat, it needs to be used once in a while.

For liberty,

If only the RINOs can find the balls to follow through on this.

HR380 can burn in hell.  The DOMA amendment is another example of government reaching into the private lives of residents.  Don't like gay marriage?  Don't get gay married.  That amendment needs to go.  I support the Governor's actions on allowing those who were legally married in states that aren't wrong on this issue the ability to file state taxes as married; it has zero impact on me, my marriage or anyone else.

Explain to me why it is ok to bar someone from their chosen partner's ICU room?  If two folks are in a committed relationship, why should they not have the right of survivorship?  If Grover Norquist and the Moral Majority don't like it, they can also not get gay married.

The Show Me state's GA really needs to get out of the business of diving into peoples' lives.  Attempting to put a gold star on Resident Aliens' Driver's Licenses or removing their ability to get them at all?  State House bills introduced in the last seven years.  The fight to get Resident Aliens the same ability for armed self defense just got approved last August against the wills of several folks in the GOP in this state.  

Continuation of the prohibition of marijuana when the state is broke and several other states are making tons of tax money by either decriminalizing it or legalizing it for medicinal or recreational use is dumb.

All that being said, Gov Nixon's administration handed over the CCW rolls which is also an egregious breech.  By not issuing any pink slips over that issue, he has condoned the action and issued his tacit approval.

+1

Yeah... let's not pursue this one. MO took a beating over Todd Akin, and I'd rather not ride that ride again. If that bill goes through, the MSM is going to make it the center of their attention, which will be especially bad in an election year.

I'm ill-informed on 476, but 923 looks good.

++1

I'd love to see that fat turd out of office!

I have little doubt that the two Amendments I mentioned have a shorter political life left than Nixon.  

Damn Bible-Thumpers.  Their ilk already gave us Claire, they won't be happy till they turn everyone not at church seven days a week away from the Republicans.  Newsflash, most people under 50 don't give a flying fornication about gays.  Live and let live would be a good motto for the do as I say not as I do crowd.

I for one have no problem with gay marriage so long as both girls are hawt.

+1

Has anyone noticed this FoxNews article lifted from the AP wire?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/04/23/democratic-missouri-gov-nixon-may-be-impeached-over-gay-marriage-decision/?intcmp=latestnews

Specifically ...

Does not quite tell the whole story and the comment section is closed.

WTF?

Fox may have an R lean, but they're still anti-gun.

Yeah, they didn't really get into the fact that Nixon released the personal info on the news tonight.