Corpus Impeachmenti

Mighty sailor man Peter McGrath, expert on (among other things) matters papal, points to historical precedent for posthumous impeachment:

Cadaver Synod - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cadaver Synod (also called the Cadaver Trial or, in Latin, the Synodus Horrenda) is the name commonly given to the posthumous ecclesiastical trial of Pope Formosus, held in Rome in January of 897. During the proceedings, the decomposing body of Formosus, who had been dead for nine months, was dressed in his papal vestments and seated on a throne while his successor, Pope Stephen VI, read the charges against him and conducted the trial. The Cadaver Synod is remembered as one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of the medieval Roman Catholic papacy.

Technorati Tags: impeach, posthumous, pope, formosus