It seems the blogosphere has exploded with the possibility that Bush’s slow signing of the Military Commissions Act may have resulted in a technical “pocket veto“. As much as I would like to believe this, several points need to be made.
- Constitutional law is seldom as straightforward as we mere mortals feel it should be.
- Courts have a strong tendency to look at intent when dealing with the executive branch.
- There is some disagreement among scholars on the “adjournment” necessary to cause this clause to activate. Many seem to believe it refers to the final adjournment (adjournment sine die) rather than a midterm break.
See the article that sparked this here or here, with some discussion on the Snopes message boards here.
IANAL
With thanks to sunfell for bringing this to my attention.
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