Morrison V. Olsen's Case Summary

In Morrison v. Olsen, the issue of the Independent Counsel Provision in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 was challenged and the court decided that it was not unconstitutional because it did not violate the separation of powers by taking power from the Executive and giving more to the Judicial or Legislative branches. Alexia Morrison had been appointed as the independent counsel to investigate Morrison to see if he had violated federal law; he sued her arguing that the Independent Counsel had taken away powers from the executive. The majority held that Morrison was an “inferior officer” due to the ability of the Attorney General to remove her for “good cause”, she can only perform certain limited duties, she is limited in jurisdiction, and