Alert: Serving in Congress and the Air Force as a Judge

Lindsey Graham is the senior senator from South Carolina. The Senate is his full time job, but his part time job is the one drawing challenge in the case U.S. v. Lane. Senator Graham is Judge Graham in his part time postion as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve. The ACLU and National Institute of Military Justice are challenging Grahm’s ability to be impartial sitting on the panel that reviewed the case of Airman First Class Charles M. Lane. A/1C Lane was convicted of coccaine possession and the case landed before Graham’s panel for mandatory review.

They are challenging the constituionality of his Air Force commission and at a basic level his assignment to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. They claim that his commission is a violation of the incompatibility and ineligibility clauses of the U.S. Constituion. This wasdecided to be a political question related to the requirements to have a seat in congress. What makes Graham’s situation unique is his assignment as a judge at AFCCA. The challenge was born of a recusal motion motion that was denied by Judge Graham.

When they say he is inelgible to sit on the Lane panel they cite comments that he made in reference to prisoner abuse and even that his biography mentions his position on the court. Another claim is that he can not be fair on the Lane case becasue he is accountable to his constituents for legal decisions he makes.

Inorder to make their argument stick they have to claim what they are not that Graham’s commission as a Reservist is an office. The judicial assignment cannot be an office if the commission that lead to it isn’t an office (see Schlesinger v. Reservists Commission).

All they seek according to the brief for the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is they want the case looked at by a new panel of three qualified judges. They calim Graham is unqualified to sit on the panel becasue he is also a Senator. The Government answered saying that Graham has no conflict that would prevent him from deciding this case fairly and that he would recuse himself if the circumstances required this of him.

Joint amici brief to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals

U.S. v. Lane

I ask that everyone read the documents and write letters to the editor or your local news papers telling them what you think about this topic.