1. The Presidency, The Bureaucracy and the Judiciary pp. 511-519

2. 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) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0_amkcZZ3s

3. The Lower Courts: Judicial Selection Procedures Senatorial Courtesy – unwritten tradition, nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator from that state ▫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

4. Failure to Confirm Presidents have failed 20% of the time to get Senate confirmation Nominations may run into trouble under certain conditions: ▫President’s party is the minority in the Senate ▫Questionable competence or ethics ▫Not passing the “Litmus Test” – an examination of the ideology of the nominee, usually a question on abortion

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

6. 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.