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Can a Supreme Court Justice be impeached?

Multiple petitions have popped up online calling for Kavanaugh's impeachment. One petition has already received over 150,000 signatures in only a week. While petitions help stir conversation, there is a detailed legal process required to remove a justice from office.

SPOKANE, Wash — Question: Can a Supreme Court Justice be impeached if the judge lied during confirmation hearings? Answer: Yes, as long as a majority of the House of Representatives votes for impeachment and the Senate passes a conviction with 67 votes.

Multiple petitions have popped up online calling for Kavanaugh’s impeachment. One petition has already received over 150,000 signatures in only a week. While petitions help stir conversation, there is a detailed legal process required to remove a justice from office.

Removing a Supreme Court Justice, or any federal judge, is the same as removing a president. It has to be done through impeachment. Under the Constitution, justices will hold their offices as long as they have good behavior.

At the start of his hearing, Kavanaugh swore under oath to tell the truth. Under federal code, if a person knowingly falsifies or conceals information from government officials, that’s perjury.

They would then be subject to a fine and imprisonment for up to five years. According to KREM2’S national Verify sources, a justice can be impeached as long as the majority agrees, that’s 50 percent plus one of the House of Representatives.

Then there’s a trial in the Senate that would require 2/3 or 67 votes for removal. In the 230 years of the United States’ constitutional democracy, a justice has never been removed from office.

In 1805, the House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase for refusing to dismiss biased jurors from a case. But he was acquitted in the Senate.

If you have any other questions on governmental processes or other topics, email our Verify team at verify@krem.com.

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