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| Deschler's Precedents | |
|---|---|
| Name | Deschler's Precedents |
| Author | Lewis Deschler |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Legislative procedure |
| Publisher | Government Printing Office |
| Release date | 1964–1977 (original) |
| Media type | |
Deschler's Precedents is a multi-volume compilation of procedural rulings and precedents from the United States House of Representatives compiled by Lewis Deschler. It serves as a reference for Members of the United States Congress, parliamentary practitioners, presiding officers such as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and scholars of American legislative practice. The work documents rulings from diverse episodes like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, debates over the Budget Control Act of 2011, and procedural disputes involving figures such as Tip O'Neill, Newt Gingrich, and Nancy Pelosi.
The project began under House Parliamentarian Lewis Deschler during the administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, building on longstanding practices from earlier eras including events in the First Continental Congress and the precedent-setting choices of the Federalist Party. Early accumulation of rulings drew on recorded actions from sessions involving leaders like Sam Rayburn, Joseph Gurney Cannon, and clerical records maintained in the United States House of Representatives Clerk. Subsequent compilation and editorial work continued through the terms of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, producing volumes that reflected major legislative episodes such as debates during the Great Society programs and procedural shifts during the Watergate scandal.
Volumes are arranged chronologically and thematically, covering topics ranging from quorum calls during sessions tied to the 19th Amendment era to points of order in appropriations linked to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. Entries include verbatim questions from presiding officers, citations to precedential rulings, and cross-references to related incidents in which figures like Tip O'Neill, Dennis Hastert, and John Boehner presided. Organizationally, the work indexes subjects that intersect with committee activities such as those of the House Committee on Rules, the House Committee on Appropriations, and select panels formed during episodes like the Iran-Contra affair. Appendices and tables permit cross-referencing to decisions made in the Senate and to historical documents like the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist Papers, and operative statutes including the Hatch Act.
Members and staff consult the compilation when confronting procedural contests involving motions tied to the Reconciliation process, points of order under the rules of the House Ethics Committee, and interpretation of the Speech or Debate Clause during oversight involving agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency. Presiding officers use precedents to decide rulings during contentious moments like consideration of emergency relief following events such as Hurricane Katrina or authorization debates for conflicts like the Gulf War. Legislative counsels, parliamentarians, and scholars from institutions like the Brookings Institution, Heritage Foundation, and various law schools cite the volumes when assessing tactics used by leaders including Tip O'Neill, Newt Gingrich, and Nancy Pelosi.
The original editorial process involved systematic extraction of rulings from the House Journal, the Congressional Record, and internal parliamentary memoranda prepared by the Office of the Parliamentarian. Later editions and supplements incorporated rulings from sessions during presidencies of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and were produced with oversight by clerks and parliamentarians who worked with the Government Publishing Office. Editorial standards emphasized verbatim transcription, cross-referencing, and chronological annotation similar to archival practices in the National Archives and Records Administration and bibliographic methods used by the Library of Congress.
Scholars in constitutional and legislative studies at institutions such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and Stanford Law School frequently cite the compilation in analyses of congressional procedure. Courts, including opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States, have referenced House precedents in cases examining legislative history and privileges under the Speech or Debate Clause. Think tanks and reform commissions, including panels convened by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the American Political Science Association, use the work when recommending rule changes or assessing episodes such as the Impeachment trials of presidents.
Critiques of the compilation note gaps in coverage for obscure episodes, potential editorial selection bias comparable to critiques of institutional archives like those of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation or media accounts in outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, and limited analysis of evolving practices tied to technological changes exemplified by the rise of electronic voting in the 1990s technological boom. Scholars including those affiliated with Cato Institute and legal historians have argued for greater contextualization and for linking procedural entries to broader constitutional debates exemplified by controversies over the War Powers Resolution and campaign finance reforms like the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
Category:United States legislative procedure