Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Syracuse University

2012

Legislation

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Law

The President And The Autopen: It Is Unconstitutional For Someone Or Something To Sign A Bill Outside Of The President's Presence, Terry L. Turnipseed Jul 2012

The President And The Autopen: It Is Unconstitutional For Someone Or Something To Sign A Bill Outside Of The President's Presence, Terry L. Turnipseed

College of Law - Faculty Scholarship

On May 26, 2011, only hours before three provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act were scheduled to expire, Congress passed an extension. For days, the White House had someone ready to fly to Europe with the legislation in hand for the President to sign, but Congress had been tardy. It seemed quite important to the White House that none of these provisions lapse for any length of time, even the relatively short time it would take to fly from Washington to France. With this urgency as a backdrop, the President was awakened at 5:45 a.m. Central European Time so …