Veteran Election Lawyers Explain Impeachment and the 25th Amendment at a Webinar Wednesday

Veteran Election Lawyers Explain Impeachment and the 25th Amendment at a Webinar Wednesday

1.13.2021

By Susan DeSantis

Jerry H. Goldfeder, chair of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Task Force on the Presidential Election and special counsel to Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, will join Professor Jed Shugerman of Fordham University School of Law to provide an overview of impeachment and the 25^th Amendment.

The webinar, which will take place between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday, is free and open to the press and the public. It will be livestreamed on the association’s Facebook page.

The House on Wednesday voted 232 to 197 to impeach President Donald Trump on a charge of “inciting violence against the government of the United States.” Just before midnight Tuesday, the House called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to strip the president of his powers but the vice president had already declined to do so by the time the vote took place.

The 25^th Amendment has four sections that provide ways to remove a sitting president temporarily or permanently if the president is not physically or mentally able to perform his duties. “Impeachment Redux: Impeachment, the 25^th Amendment and Criminal Prosecution” will be moderated by Hilary F. Jochmans, founder of Jochmans Consulting and NYSBA’s director of policy. The panelists will discuss what the 25^th Amendment is, how the process is different from impeachment and whether it is likely to be invoked.

Shugerman, a member of the NYSBA Task Force on the Presidential Election, is the author of a book that traces the rise of judicial elections, judicial review and the influence of money and parties in American courts. Goldfeder teaches Election Law at Fordham Law School where he was twice voted adjunct professor of the year.