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Federal Court Judges Appointment Process: Politics and Senate Consent

The process of appointing federal court judges involves the President nominating candidates who are then confirmed by the Senate. The politics of judicial selection and the unwritten tradition of "Senatorial Courtesy" play significant roles in this process. This tradition dictates that if a senator of the relevant state opposes a judge's confirmation, it may not proceed. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in comprehending the complexities of the judiciary appointment system.

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Federal Court Judges Appointment Process: Politics and Senate Consent

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  1. The Judiciary part 2

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  2. Appointment of Federal Court Judges President selects with “advice & consent” of the . . . Senate

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  3. District Court Appointments Through “Senatorial Courtesy” Unwritten tradition Judge is not confirmed if a senator of the president’s party from the state where the nominee will serve opposes the nomination

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  4. Supreme Court Appointments Prospective nominees are usually carefully screened Presidents without majority party support in the Senate will have more difficulty The Chief Justice can be chosen from a sitting justice or as a new member of the Court

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  5. Supreme Court Appointments Question: How many nominees are rejected? 10% 20% 33% 50%

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  6. Supreme Court Appointments Question: How many nominees are rejected? 20%

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  7. Some Recent Nominees Who Didn’t Make It

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary

  8. Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  9. Harriet Miers Nominated by George W. Bush, She withdrew after many questioned her qualifications (she had never been a judge), and after heavy criticism by other Republicans, who believed she would not be conservative enough

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary

  10. Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  11. Robert Bork Nominated by Ronald Reagan He was attacked for his extreme views And did not help his case by being argumentative when questioned by the Senate in hearings The Senate rejected him, 58-42 Now, whenever a nominee is heavily criticized in hearings, it is referred to as being “Borked”

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary

  12. Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  13. Douglas Ginsburg Nominated by Ronald Reagan He withdrew It was discovered that when he was a student in the 60’s and then a professor of law at Harvard in the 70’s, he . . . Enjoyed a certain illegal leafy substance

    Politics of Judicial Selection

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  14. Characteristics Generally white males Lawyers with judicial experience Often politically active as well

    Backgrounds

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  15. Other Characteristics Generally of the same political party as the president making the nomination However, some judges and justices may not end up making decisions the way presidents had hoped they would have

    Backgrounds

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  16. Upon nominating Earl Warren to be Chief Justice in 1953, President Eisenhower said: “He represents the kind of political, economic and social thinking that I believe we need on the Supreme Court.”

    Backgrounds

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  17. This is Earl Warren He was a Republican governor of California (3 times) Supported the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII And had been a district attorney prosecuting criminals

    Backgrounds

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  18. Warren presided over the following cases: Brown v. Board of Education Mapp v. Ohio Gideon v. Wainwright Miranda v. Arizona Loving v. Virginia This case, in 1967, ruled that a Virginia law prohibiting inter-racial marriage was unconstitutional

    Backgrounds

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  19. Eisenhower said that appointing Warren to the Supreme Court was: “the biggest damned-fool mistake I ever made”

    Backgrounds

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  20. The oldest Justice was . . . Oliver Wendell Holmes Who was 90 years old when he retired and is considered to be one of the giants of American legal history

    And now some Supremes Trivia

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  21. The oldest current Justice is . . . Ruth Bader Ginsburg She is 77 years old Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993 The second female on the Court

    And now some Supremes Trivia

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  22. The first female Justice was . . . Sandra Day O’Connor Graduate of Stanford & Stanford Law But could not get a job as an Attorney (offered a job as a secretary) Nominated by Reagan as a solid conservative She became a “centrist moderate” on the Court

    And now some Supremes Trivia

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  23. The Justice who served the longest . . . William O. Douglas Served over 36 years In his late 60’s when he married his 3rd wife, who was in her early 20’s Disliked by other Justices, because he was not collegial and was a womanizer

    And now some Supremes Trivia

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  24. The first non-white Justice was . . . Thurgood Marshall Great-grandson of a slave Lead attorney in the case of Brown v. Board of Education Known to greet the Conservative Chief by saying: “What’s shakin’, Chiefy Baby”

    And now some Supremes Trivia

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  25. The current Chief Justice is . . . John Roberts who is 55 years old Conservative in ideology Could still be Chief when you are in your early 40’s

    And now some Supremes Trivia

    AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
  26. ASSIGNMENT Is the Supreme Court, in its existence and practices, inconsistent with the idea of a democracy? Discuss among yourselves. Write a brief essay (individually). Due Friday. AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS - Judiciary
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