The Presidency, The Bureaucracy and the Judiciary Ppt 10 – pp

The Politics of the Judicial System President nominates = Senate confirms by a majority vote Guaranteed the right to serve for life “during good behavior” Only removed through impeachment Samuel Chase = officially impeached (although 6 other justices came close) John Rutledge

The Lower Courts: Judicial Selection Procedures Senatorial Courtesy – unwritten tradition, if nominations for these positions are not confirmed when opposed by a senator of the president’s party from the states in which the nominee is to serve. Courts of Appeal Judges – nominees are not confirmed if opposed by a senator of the president’s party from the state if the nominee’s residence Presidents usually check ahead of time!!

Background Checks Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Justice conduct competency and background checks on these persons and the president usually selects a nominee from those who survive the screening process.

Chief Justice Vacancies Presidents usually nominate someone from outside the Court; but if they decide to elevate a sitting associate justice (as Reagan did with Rehnquist in 1986); he or she must go through a new confirmation hearing.

Selection Process The president usually relies on the Attorney General and the Dept. of Justice to identify and screen candidates for the Supreme Court. Sitting justices try to influence the nominations. Senators play a less prominent role in the recruitment of Supreme Court justices. The ABA’s Standing Committee in the Federal Judiciary has played a varied but typically modest role; presidents are usually not willing to allow the committee to prescreen candidates.

Failure to Confirm Presidents have failed 20% of the time to get Senate confirmation of their nominees – percentage much higher than that for any other federal position. Nominations may run into trouble under certain conditions: ▫Parties that a minority in the Senate ▫Questionable competence or ethics ▫Opposition based on nominee’s ideology (not a valid reason but happens)

Characteristics of District and Circuit Court Judges All lawyers Overwhelmingly white males Typically federal judges have held office as a judge or prosecutor

Characteristics of Supreme Court Justices All have been lawyers All but 6 have been white males ▫Thurgood Marshall 1967 ▫Sandra Day O’Connor 1981 ▫Clarence Thomas 1991 ▫Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993 ▫Sonia Sotomayor 2009 ▫Elena Kagan 2010

Continued… Most have been in their 50s or 60s when they took office Upper –middle to upper class Protestants Most have experience as a judge, often at the appellate level Many have worked for the Department of Justice, and some have held executive office.

“Politics” and the selection process Partisanship is an important influence on the selection of judges and justices: only 13 of 108 members of the Supreme Court have been nominated by presidents of a different party Judgeships are considered very prestigious patronage plums Ideology is an important as partisanship