National Labor Relations Board v. Canning
The Court Rules That Short Inter-session Recess Appointments by the President Are Unconstitutional
National Labor Relations Board v. Canning was featured in Recess Appointments, Supreme Court Debates (Feb. 2013). The following is excerpted from the summary of the unanimous opinion written by Justice Breyer, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions: The Recess Appointments Clause empowers the President to fill any existing vacancy during any recess — intra-session or inter-session — of sufficient length. Two background considerations are relevant to the questions here. First, the Recess Appointments Clause is a subsidiary method for appointing officers of the United States. The Founders intended the norm to be the method of appointment in…
