The Impeachment Process

In the United States, both the Federal Government and the States have the authority to institute criminal proceedings. The Federal Government, as well as each State, have their own criminal system, their own court system, their own prosecutors, and their own police organizations. By virtue of both law and practice factors, the crimes that make the most frequently prosecuted are drug trafficking, organized crime, financial crime, fraud on a large scale, and crimes of particular federal interest and fraud against the United States. In addition, there are certain crimes which only the federal government can prosecute such as those related to tax issues, and crimes of espionage and treason. States bring criminal actions for delinquencies committed

“The first step, the one that is technically the impeachment, is taken by the House of Representatives” (“United States Constitution”). Once the vote is taken and approved by the majority of the House, the second step is when the Senate enacts a trail to determine the conviction of the official, with a two-thirds majority required to convict. In the conviction of judges, there is an issue of “good behavior” and what falls under the category of “good behavior”. There is no direct description or diction for “good behavior,” therefore leaving the understanding of such a clause as one based on opinion rather than facts. “ Only 15 federal judges have ever been impeached and only eight have ever been convicted and removed … But even then, the “articles of impeachment,” the list of misconduct the accused is on trial for, have described quite a wide range of inappropriate behavior” (“United States

District Court for the District of New Hampshire had become the first judge to go through the impeachment process. The cause of his impeachment was due to his mental instability and poor misconduct while on the bench (Turner). Other judges who have gotten impeached have either resigned from their position in hopes to keep their reputation clear or have been acquitted. Samuel Chase, the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States but later acquitted for induction his political bias in this court cases in 1805 (“Senate Prepares for Impeachment Trial”). In 1830, James H. Peck had been impeached on charges of abuse of the contempt power, which is power grated to the courts to “… punish persons who show contempt for the process, orders, or proceedings of that institution. The contempt power aims to provide a means for a judge to uphold the dignity of the judicial process” (US Legal, Inc). A year later Peck had been