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Unitary executive theory was a good article, but it was removed from the list as it no longer met the good article criteria at the time. There are suggestions below for improving the article. If you can improve it, please do; it may then be renominated. Review: January 22, 2006. (Reviewed version).

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@Just10A, all of the additions I have made are clearly reflected in the body and I invite you to do the same before adding interpretations in the lead. Also, just because a source makes a claim, that claim needs to be clearly spelled-out in the text in the body before added to the lead. Ideally, given this is a controversial topic, with a quotation embedded in the citation for easy reference for those who may not have access and are just joining us. Superb Owl (talk) 18:34, 29 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I am not aware of any changes I have made to the lead that are not reflected in the body. I rarely change both at the same time because usually the content is already included in the body and only needs to be added to the lead. Just10A (talk) 19:20, 29 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Just10A, please review WP:Original research, WP:secondary sources, and Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Tone - the superlatives and added emphasis are not necessary, supported by strong, reliable secondary sources (especially important in the lead paragraph) and are not encyclopedic Superb Owl (talk) 02:54, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

1.) The additions do not exclusively rely on primary sources. They are well supported by the cited secondary sources as well.

2.) Primary sources may be used for establishing basic facts and for things like direct quotes. That is what I have used them for. Further, court opinions are not traditional "primary sources," which wikipedia mainly focuses on things like scientific experiments when describing primary sources.

In summary, all additions added are well cited by both primary(only court opinions,) and secondary sources, in ways similar to other Wikipedia legal pages. The fact that several of your original reversion edits were based on blatant falsehoods (such as saying "this quote should be discussed in the body before being 'shoehorned' into the lead," while that exact quote was verbatim in the body) speaks for itself.

These are good faith edits which are clearly well sourced and in line with wikipedia policy. Again, you are more than welcome to proceed to arbitration, because I'm positive all or most of the edits will easily pass. Just10A (talk) 03:16, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

1) Not all of your edits are supported by secondary sources (though some are). I tried pointing some out with inline citations to be helpful but did not seem to do much so I removed them
2) I may have overstepped with that comment about it not being discussed in the article as I did not remembering that it was discussed in the body, however I will say that the summary did not reflect a consensus and needed some work and so it felt like shoehorning. I have been working to expand the discussion around the two recent supreme court cases in the body so that we can make sure the lead accurately reflects that and come to more of a consensus (I agree that it is worth including to some degree). Superb Owl (talk) 04:43, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Further, I invite you to review Template:Cite court and MOS:LAW. There is great precedent for citing legal cases in this way because they are a unique type of source. So much so, that there's literally an entire category of wikipedia citation for it.

"Where both primary and secondary sources are available, one should cite both. While primary sources are more "accurate", secondary sources provide more context and are easier on the layperson. Where primary and secondary sources conflict factually, the primary source should be given priority." Just10A (talk) 03:54, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for citing MOS:LAW - that is helpful to read and I see that there is more of a place for these citations than I thought. However, what makes me uncomfortable with the usage so far is that you seem to be making interpretations from citations that a reasonable person could interpret differently. That is WP:OR and that is the issue I have had with many of the primary sources you have used thus far. This is a complex issue and it should not be hard to find reliable secondary sources (I will keep working to find more to add) that helps to interpret what the ruling does or does not do with regard to precedent and Unitary executive theory. Superb Owl (talk) 04:48, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The entire first paragraph of the discussion section of this article is extremely outdated (30 year old citations), dubiously sourced and likely contains statements of opinion or original research.

According to law professors Lawrence Lessig and Cass Sunstein in 1994,^{[needs update]} "No one denies that in some sense the framers created a unitary executive; the question is in what sense. Let us distinguish between a strong and a weak version."^:8-9 In either a stronger or a weaker form, the theory would limit Congress's power to divest the president of control of the executive branch. The hypothetical "strongly unitary" theory posits stricter limits on Congress than the "weakly unitary" theory.^{[page needed]} But parts of the Constitution grant Congress extensive powers. Article I of the Constitution gives it the exclusive power to make laws, which the president then must execute, provided that those laws are constitutional. Article I, Section 8, clause 18, known as the Necessary and Proper Clause, grants Congress the power to "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution all Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof". The Constitution also grants Congress power "To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." Any legitimate theory^{[original research?]} of the unitary executive must allow Congress to wield its constitutional powers while ensuring that the president can do the same.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the information in here is well put and based on primary sources. However this being the first paragraph of the discussion page gives undue weight to the "weak" unitary executive theory. I would largely remove or condense the information in paragraph. I think that this paragraph is really just representative of much of the small issues with this article and its organization.

Cass Sunstein is a credible legal scholar who has written much more recently on the idea of the unitary executive. In 'The Unitary Executive: Past, Present, Future' (2021) Sunstein said that unitary executive theory is when "the President, and no one else has executive power." at 81. He remarked that this is the theory by which the executive is called "unitary." When referring to the so-called "strong" view, he simply called it as the "idea of the unitary executive." Id at 84. That is, the strong view is the unitary executive theory.

As another example Chris Yoo in 'The Unitary Executive in the Modern Era, 1945-2004' who also (is an extremely credible source on the subject and is cited in the article) uses unitary executive theory to mean entirely the "strong" interpretation saying:

Scholarly debate has focused on whether the Constitution created a "unitary executive" in which all executive authority is centralized in the president, rather than the "executive by committee" that existed under the Articles of Confederation.

at 604.

It follows that if some of the most prominent legal scholars refers to the term "unitary executive theory" to be, not predominantly, but entirely, the "strong" interpretation, then this article should focus much more on this "strong" theory.

As another reason why this article should give much less focus to the "weak" theory is that the 'Criticism' section deals entirely with the so-called "strong" version.

I do not dispute that there are theories (in Constitutional jurisprudence) of a weak executive in the United States, but we should clarify in this article that if somebody says 'unitary executive theory' they mean the kind where presidents are able to remove executive branch officials and employees at will, and one which reads Scalia as correct in Morrison v. Olsen.

I do not think that there is anything wrong with the so-called "weak" interpretation, but discussion of the "weak" theory would be more appropriately couched in an article about debates on the extent of the President's powers under Article II, rather than this article.

I also see value in the 'Executive Power in Other Democracies' section, but I would move discussion of non-US jurisdictions to another article (I really like the part on governors though). This section provides helpful context for understanding executive power generally, but it needlessly adds length and does not necessarily further the understanding of unitary executive theory in the American political context (which is what this article is about).

Finally, this article has a ton of good information but it's organized like shit. I would change the entire organization to something like:

- 1. Terminology

- 2. Background
 - 2A. Historical Background (Pre-20th Century)
  - 2A1. King of Great Britain^*
  - 2A2. Background Put the Constitutional ratification debates here (2.5, 3.1)
 - 2B. 20th Century Jurisprudence
  - 2B1. Judicial decisions + growth of presidential powers section should be here (current sections 3.2, 3.3)
 - 2C. Textual Basis
  - 2C1+ (Take Care Clause, Opinion Clause) 

- 3. Criticism
 - I would put anything relevant/practical involving the "weak" theory here. I would also put any of the normative/moral criticisms here. I would also put discussions of state governors here and would change the title of this section to 'Other Theories of Executive Power' with perhaps a link to the article on Executive (government).

- 4. In Media
- 5. See also
- 6. References
- 7. Further Reading

^*This section has promising information but focuses too little on what the Founders thought of the King of GB and his power. "While the actual powers held by the Crown are disputed by legal historians. . ." This is good and well, but it does not help contextualize what the framers of the Constitution believed of the powers of the King of GB, which would be much more relevant for historical background and the historical antecedents for this theory. What would be helpful here is a cite to the Federalist, where the King's power is cited as inspiration for both the President's power, as well as the checks on the President's power. That is, "Invoking the king as an argument for expanded executive power was first made by the Supreme Court in Myers v. United States (1926)" is partially false. The earliest in the American context is at least the Federalist 70 (1788) and the earliest case where the King was cited as a justification for the U.S.'s national sovereign power was at least Johnson v. McIntosh (1823). Myers is perhaps the first time the king had been invoked as an argument for expanded executive power in a court case, which is a much more narrow statement. Overall, this section on the King of GB should be significantly rewritten.

Please let me know what you guys think. I am willing to make many of these changes and to collaborate with others who watch the page, but I wanted to gather consensus before making any significant changes. I look forward to hearing from the people who manage this page. I am a Leaf (talk) 00:30, 1 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with these suggestions. The 'weak version' largely muddles the idea and as a relatively new term, we should not be citing 30 yo articles at all Superb Owl (talk) 21:46, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your thoughtful edit to the Terminology section. I also proposed, "Opponents of unitary executive theory describe a 'Constitutional custom of distributed authority' which has allowed for dialogue between the staff of various agencies and the President.^[1]" It seems to me that the phrase "Constitutional custom of distributed authority" concisely describes a viewpoint. I interpret this phrase as meaning that this is a restraint on Presidential power is a custom. I think this idea deserves some prominence in the article because customs can be changed without a law being passed or a Supreme Court decision. Thank you. T g7 (talk) 19:15, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The term 'Unitary Executive Theory' is like a pop-legal term for the more well documented and scholarly phrase 'Vesting Clause Thesis'. I do not propose changing the title, as the "unitary executive theory" is a much more popular phrase and will be easier to find and will hopefully inform more people about this legal theory.

I suggest changing this article to include citations referring to vesting clause thesis. See, for example - The Executive Power Clause Mortenson (2020) (referring to the "vesting clause thesis" as the "executive power clause" and referring to originalists as believers in a "unitary executive" ) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3406350 and Vesting Shugerman (2022) (referring to the vesting clause as a pillar of the unitary executive theory) https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2288&context=faculty_scholarship

Because the scholarly use of "unitary executive theory" is much more recent, articles referring to it are less numerous. There are decades of scholarly discussion on the limits of executive power via the vesting clause under that term "vesting clause thesis" which we would likely do ourselves well to include.

I also propose the table of contents and structure change posted in my original thread on this talk page in the vein of

- 1. Terminology
- 2. Background
 - 2A. Historical Background (Pre-20th Century)
  - 2A1. King of Great Britain^*
  - 2A2. Background Put the Constitutional ratification debates here (2.5, 3.1)
 - 2B. 20th Century Jurisprudence
  - 2B1. Judicial decisions + growth of presidential powers section should be here (current sections 3.2, 3.3)
 - 2C. Textual Basis
  - 2C1+ (Take Care Clause, Opinion Clause) 
- 3. Criticism
- 4. In Media
- 5. See also
- 6. References
- 7. Further Reading

I did not edit the article as stated in my previous I wanted consensus before significantly altering the structure of this article. I do not intend to eliminate any information, for now at least, just to present the present information in a more encyclopedic and less redundant way. I am a Leaf (talk) 00:00, 25 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This article seems to be very unbalanced and not give WP:DUE weight to the plurality of expert opinion (including among nonpartisans) that finds this theory both novel and dangerous in areas outside of the criticism section like the lead. Superb Owl (talk) 21:59, 9 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If anything, this article's lead is far too unbalanced towards this supposed plurality of expert opinion. Arguments in favor of the unitary executive are presented broadly as "critics debate" or a simple presentation of who supports it, like the Supreme Court. Any detailed focuses on items like historical details that are deigned for mention in the lead are cherrypicked from the critics, like mention of Hamilton's opinion on the president's military control, a niche issue at best, but zero mention of Madison's opinion on the president's power to remove executive officials, which is by far the predominant concern of cases revolving around the unitary executive. This is constantly sprinkled throughout multiple lead paragraphs, bloating it and worsening readability. Compare this to the presentation of other heavily debated issues like the right to bear arms, Substantive due process, or even generally discredited theories like with the Lochner era.

And who are those plurality of expert opinions finding it novel and dangerous? Anyone with a JD who bothers to get themselves published? Seems like the most relevant experts consider the theory not so novel and dangerous in Seila Law and Collins v. Yellen. KiharaNoukan (talk) 17:47, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]