Clinton v. Jones

Table of Contents

Clinton v. Jones
Overview
Context
About the Author
Explanation and Analysis of the Document
Impact
Document Text

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Abstract

While serving as governor of Arkansas in 1991, President Bill Clinton was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward Paula Corbin Jones, which she claimed she refused. Jones claimed that she was punished for refusing the governor’s advances and that her name was slandered further when a story ran in the American Spectator that outlined her as the initiator of the sexual request. She sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in May 1994, but as a sitting president, Bill Clinton’s defense team argued that he was immune from litigation under the doctrine of presidential immunity. The judge agreed that as long as he was president, he was exempt from litigation. The case was appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals who ruled in favor of Jones, contending that a president “is subject to the same laws that apply to all members of our society.” The case then proceeded to the Supreme Court in 1997, where Clinton’s attorneys once again argued that his role as a sitting president granted him immunity from legal prosecution. The Court ruled against Clinton in a unanimous vote.

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