The Nation - News from Jan. 27, 1988

Independent counsel Alexia Morrison asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington to stay a decision overturning the special prosecutor law while the Supreme Court resolves the issue of the statute’s constitutionality. An appeals court panel ruled 2 to 1 that the independent counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 were an unconstitutional encroachment on the power of the President to enforce criminal laws. A special court appoints independent counsels at the request of the attorney general to probe alleged crimes by executive branch officials.