1999 the Clinton impeachment: ten years ago, 100 U.S. senators served as jurors and deliberated whether to remove President Bill Clinton from office after his impeachment by the House of Representatives.

• Author: Depalma, Anthony
• Position: TIME PAST

Every four years, Americans witness the dignified ceremony of a presidential inauguration, as we did last month for Barack Obama. But 10 years ago, a very different proceeding in Washington was something that no living American had seen--the impeachment and trial of a sitting President.

On the morning of Jan. 7, 1999, the checks and balances built into the Constitution came into stark relief as all three branches of government intersected over a single issue: whether Bill Clinton, the 42nd President, was unfit for office, and should be removed.

Presiding over Clinton's impeachment trial in the Senate was the Chief Justice of the United States, William H. Rehnquist, in a black judicial robe with four gold stripes on each sleeve. Seated before him were the 100 U.S. Senators, who had been sworn in as jurors. And lined up at a table in the well of the Senate were 13 U.S. Representatives who had led the impeachment proceedings in the House.

Though he was not physically present, Clinton was there, too, as the defendant.

A month later, Rehnquist called the Senate to order and asked "Is respondent William Jefferson Clinton guilty or not guilty?" A guilty verdict would make Clinton the first President ever removed from office. The mood was grave as the Senators, one by one, stood at their desks for the roll call and, in a grim whisper or defiant exclamation, gave their answers.

Although impeachment has been a part of the Constitution from the beginning, it's been used so infrequently that it is shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding.

Impeachment is in the Constitution because some delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 wanted a way to remove a President (and other officials) who had committed serious crimes like bribery or treason. They looked to Britain where Parliament had used impeachment to check the King's power by removing judges and ministers he had appointed. Future President James Madison called impeachment "indispensable."

The Convention agreed, rejecting arguments that impeachment would limit the President's independence and violate the separation of powers, and also rejecting the idea that an dection every four years was enough to kick out a scoundrel.

ANDREW JOHNSON

Impeachment can be thought of as akin to a prosecutor bringing an indictment. Under Article II, Section 4, of the Constitution, impeachment is initiated by the House of Representatives, which holds hearings into alleged wrongdoing that can lead to formal charges known as articles of impeachment. A trim is then held in the Senate, and if two thirds of the Senators vote to convict, the President is removed from office.

Understanding that impeachment could be abused for partisan...