Interesting

President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate last year to appoint three members of the National Labor Relations Board, a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a far-reaching decision that could severely limit a chief executive's powers to make recess appointments.

[...]

The court [found] that under the Constitution, a recess occurs only during the breaks between formal year-long sessions of Congress, not just any informal break when lawmakers leave town. It also held that presidents can bypass the Senate only when administration vacancies occur during a recess.

  NYT

Good.

If it stands, it could invalidate hundreds of board decisions over the past year, including some that make it easier for unions to organize.

Not so good.

"The decision is novel and unprecedented," [White House press secretary Jay] Carney said. "It contradicts 150 years of practice by Democratic and Republican administrations."

So it's about time they stopped getting away with it.

The Justice Department hinted that the administration would ask the Supreme Court to overturn the decision, which was rendered by three conservative judges appointed by Republican presidents.

That's going to be sticky.