Appointment of Supreme Court Justices Flashcards
5 stages
•Vacancy
•Search for nominee
•Announcement
•Confirmation Hearings
•Confirmation Vote
Vacancy
Vacancy becomes available through voluntary retirement, death or impeachment (not yet happened)
-Rare due to security of tenure
Search for a new nominee
•EXOP search for and interview shortlisted candidates (vetting process is very extensive)
•Congressmen can mention potential nominees
•Interest groups (Federalist Society- Cons, Constitution Society- Lib) can suggest nominations
Announcement
•Large publicity event
-Photo opportunity, has no constitutional significance
Confirmation Hearing
Senate Judiciary Committee hold a confirmation hearing
•Supporters and critics will give evidence
•Interest groups can also provide evidence
•Committee then makes a recomendatory vote (not a real vote) which is seen as a foreword for how the Senate will vote
*Hijacked by hyperpartisanship
*Reflects party composition in the Senate
-Eg, Democrats walked out of the Kavanaugh hearing and boycotted Coney Barrett’s hearing
Confirmation Vote
•Nomination debated and voted on in the whole Senate
•Simple majority needed to secure confirmation
•Filibuster removed in 2017
Factors affecting how the President chooses their candidate
Judicial ability
Ideology
Social Characteristics
Divided v United gov (Senate only)
Judicial ability
•Need specific expertise to succeed in SCOTUS
•Most come from fed CoA
(all bar 1-Kagan)
•Several are former Law professors
(Coney Barrett- Notre Dame Law School)
Ideology
•Reflect presidents ideology
•Decisions on wedge issues (guns, abortion, death penalty)
•Reps will choose a conservative/ strict constructionist
•Dems will choose a liberal/ loose constructionist
Social Characteristics
•Mindful to retain some social mix to courts
•Obama nominated two women (Sotomaya and Kagan)
•Biden (Ketanji Brown Jackson- first African American woman)
Divided v United gov (senate only)
•If the senate is not controlled by their party, pres may choose a more moderate nominee (eg Obama with Kagan)
•If senate is Presidents own party, they can choose an more ideologically bolder candidate (Trump and Coney Barrett)
Why is the nomination so important? (use for AO2/3)
•Infrequent appointments (Average every 2-3yrs , 1994-2005 no vacancies)
•Security of tenure/average age of justices is decreasing (Coney Barrett was 48)
•Small membership allows for greater influence (Court remained at 9 justices which means only 5 is needed for a majority opinion)
•Judicial review powers are significant (Affect rights/ liberties)
Controversial appointments
•Bork was rejected by the senate in 1987 (too political and linked too closely to Nixon during Watergate)
•Kavanaugh accused of serious sexual assault during his hearings, claiming they were a political ploy to stop him being confirmed (he was, at a vote of 50-48)
•Trump nominated Coney Barrett after death of Liberal Ruth BG, criticised for hypocrisy (said Garlands was too close to election, was even closer. Susan Collins didn’t vote with Reps