1 / 13

The Politics of Judicial Selection in the U.S. |

Explore how Supreme Court Judges are selected in a political process. Learn about the nomination criteria, confirmation process, and public influence on justices. Discover the backgrounds of judges and justices in the U.S. |

larad
Download Presentation

The Politics of Judicial Selection in the U.S. |

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Aim: How is the Selection of Supreme Court Justices a Political Process Do Now: The Supreme Court is said to be above politics – can this truly be the case?

  2. How Federal Court Judges Are Selected • Often a very political process • Judges nominated by president and confirmed by Senate • Can reflect the ideological stamp of the president – WHY?

  3. Who Are Federal Judges? • Typically they have held other political offices. • State court judge or prosecutor • Most have been involved in politics • White males tend to dominate

  4. Appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court • Nomination Criteria • Competence • Ideology or Policy Preference • Strict constructionist or loose constructionist? • Liberal or Conservative • Pursuit of Political Support from Various Groups • Litmus Test

  5. The Supreme Court Confirmation Process • Investigation • Lobbying by Interest Groups • Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings • Senate Vote

  6. The Politics of Judicial Selection • President relies on attorney general and DOJ to screen candidates for Supreme Court • 1 out of 5 nominees will not make it. • Filibustering judicial appointments - “nuclear option” prevents filibusters for federal judges and other presidential appointments, EXCEPT SC nominees • Presidents with minority party support in the Senate will have more trouble. • Chief Justice can be chosen from a sitting justice, or a new member.

  7. The Politics of Judicial Selection

  8. How does the Public Influence Justices? • Justices are nominated by the president, but not entirely immune to public opinion • Since the president was elected, his picks will reflect that popular opinion to a degree • Justices are aware of public opinion, and are aware that decisions that flagrantly go against public opinion will not be implemented

  9. The Backgrounds of Judges and Justices • Characteristics: • Generally white males • Lawyers with judicial and often political experience • Other Factors: • Generally of the same party as the appointing president

  10. The Backgrounds of Judges and Justices

  11. Table 10.5

More Related