1. Federal Attorneys and Judges March 23, 2017
Objective: To obtain a firm grounding in federal attorneys and judges and their legal background

2. I. Federal Attorneys Attorney General- (Jeff Sessions)
Appointed by President w/Senate consent
Head of Justice Dept.
Solicitor General- (Jeffrey Wall)
Represents US govt. in Supreme Ct.
Elena Kagan (Affordable Health Care Act)
Decides cases fed. Govt. will appeal to SC

3. I. Fed Attorneys cont… US Attorneys
At least 1 for each District Court (94 total)
Virgin Islands, N. Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia
Prosecutes fed. cases before District Cts. and Cts. Of Appeals (>plea bargain)
Represents US govt. in civil cases (District)
Appointed by Pres-4 yr term (KEY patronage)
Senatorial courtesy applies

4. II. Federal Judges Appointed by PresSenate (majority)
Article III-hold office “during good behavior”=LIFE (can be impeached)
Compensation=
Cannot be lowered during judges’ term

5. II. Judges cont.-Factors affecting selection (10 of them)
Senatorial courtesy
Senate Judiciary Committee:
Screens nominees, sends rec. to Senate floor-approval or rejection
“Holds” (hold up confirmation-no time limit)
Senate:
Majority vote for confirmation
Political Party: judgessame pol. party as President

6. II. Factors affecting Selection-judges
Race
Mostly white
“Black seat” on Supreme (Thurgood Marshall ) 17% of Clinton’s appts.
Gender:
Mostly male
ObamaKagan, Sotomayer
25% of Clinton’s appts.=women
3 females on the SC (1993, 2009, 2010)
Age:
Pres. influence-long after leaving officeRoberts was 50 when appt. Chief Justice

7. II. Factors affecting judge appt.
Ideology
Ideologypresident (difficult to ensure)
New issues not considered-arise
Life terms-Pres, do nothing about decisions
Ideology affect retirement (O Connor, Stevens)
Sometimes “stray” from philosophy anticipated by Pres.
Existence of “paper trail”-used against
Justicesvague during confirmation process
Bork as an example
Number of Judges (Congress can increase/decrease)