Obama and plural officeholding

[Gerber, Scott]

We are covering separation of powers at the moment in Constitutional Law 1.  I noted with interest the small constitutional moment when President-elect Obama recently resigned his senate seat. Art. I, sec. 6: "no Person holding Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office."
 
By contrast, plural officeholding was common in colonial America. In 1775, for example, John Adams simultaneously represented Massachusetts in the continental congress, served as president of the board of war of the continental congress, justice of the peace and of the quorum for Suffolk County, justice throughout the colony, and chief justice of the superior court. 
 
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Scott Douglas Gerber
Ella & Ernest Fisher Chair in Law
Professor of Law
Ohio Northern University
Ada, OH 45810
419-772-2219
http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty_staff/faculty_profiles/scottgerber.html