Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court justice, dead at 79

[james_davis_nicoll]

Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court justice, dead at 79

Comments

[bruce munro (from livejournal.com)]

Well, they only last until the end of the next Senate session if not confirmed. I don't understand what a "Senate Session" means, really: 114th Congress indicate a fairly long time period, and the article said "no more than two years" but the Senate opens and closes for business all the time. Can someone enlighten me?

[nathan helfinstine (from livejournal.com)]

True story, there was just a Supreme Court case in 2014 on the limits of recess appointments. National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning.

Anyway, a session of congress is not just the daily meeting. The formal session is the time that the congress is "open for business" and considering laws etc. The session ends when congress has decided that no more work is to be done, and adjourns "sine die" ("without a date") meaning they don't intend to meet again that year. Of course, they can change their mind, or the president can change it for them and summon a special session. But in general, a modern session of congress lasts basically all year, partially so they can prevent effective recess appointments. The 113th Congress (2013-2015) had its first session from Jan 3rd 2013, to Jan 3rd 2014, and that same day began it's second session: Jan 3rd 2014 to Jan 2nd 2015, at which point it was time to swear in the 114th Congress which began its first session on Jan 6th 2015. So Obama had less than a week to enjoy recess appointments... although any appointments he made in those handful of days would be in place for the next year, as a consequence of Congress's unwillingness to adjourn the session.

For recent congressional session dates, see http://history.house.gov/Institution/Session-Dates/110-Current/