Tillman, Seth Barrett (2021) Offices and Officers of the Constitution, Part 2: The Four Approaches. Law Journal Library (61). pp. 321-430.

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Abstract

This Article is the second installment of a planned ten-part series that provides the first comprehensive examination of the offices and officers of the Constitution. The first installment introduced the series. In this second installment, we will identify four approaches to understand the Constitution's divergent "office"- and "officer"-language. First, under Approach #1, the Intermediate View, the Constitution's references to "offices" and "officers" extend exclusively to positions in the Judicial Branch and in the Executive Branch-whether appointed or elected. But the Constitution's references to "offices" and "officers" do not extend to positions in the Legislative Branch-whether appointed or elected. Second, under Approach #2, the Maximalist View, the Constitution's divergent "office"- and "officer"-language is used synonymously. And, under this approach, these phrases refer to positions in all three branches, whether appointed or elected. Third, under Approach #3, the Minimalist View, the Constitution's divergent "office"- and "officer"-language has different meanings. The phrase "Officers of the United States" extends exclusively to appointed positions in the Executive and Judicial Branches. And the phrase "Office .. under the United States" extends exclusively to appointed positions in all three branches. (The ellipses refer to different words the Framers placed after office but before under: "profit," "trust," and/or "honor"). For more than a decade, Tillman has advanced Approach #3. Blackman was first piqued by Tillman's position shortly after he became a law professor, and he was thereafter persuaded.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Constitution; Officers; Maximalist View;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	18550
Depositing User:	Seth Tillman
Date Deposited:	17 May 2024 14:26
Journal or Publication Title:	Law Journal Library
Publisher:	HeinOnline
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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