Willing But Unable: Incapacity and the Incumbent C. J. Mills, PRP and Jonathan M. Jacobs, PRP, CPP
When the news broke in 2020 that the President of the United States had contracted COVID-19, the nation became concerned with what would happen if the president could no longer serve due to illness or incapacity. There was much discussion about invoking the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution (25th Amendment). Spurred by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the 25th Amendment was enacted in 1967. One of the issues it addresses is what happens to the presidency and vice-presidency when the president and/or vice-president dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated or disabled.1 This same discussion is relevant to organized societies. The incapacity of a president raises valid concerns among the members of organizations about lack of leadership and overall
anxiety about the state of the organization. The members of societies should be able to look to their bylaws for guidance on what to do if an officer, particularly the president, becomes incapacitated or disabled, potentially resulting in a vacancy in the office. What is “incapacity”? The dictionary defines incapacity as “the quality or state of being incapable especially: lack of physical or intellectual power or of natural or legal qualifications.” The medical definition of mental incapacity is 1: an absence of mental capacity. 2: an inability through mental illness or significant cognitive impairment to carry on the everyday affairs of life or to care for one’s person or property with reasonable discretion.2 What the framers of the Constitution meant by “incapacity”
1 National Constitution Center, https://constitutioncenter.org 2 https://www.merriam-webster.com 8
National Parliamentarian • Fall 2021
