The Supreme Court Appointment Process: In Search of Constitutional Roles and Responsibilities
Year: 1986
Type: preprint
Abstract: Appointment of a United States Supreme Court Justice is product of a constitutional power sharing scheme between executive and legislative branches. The president is empowered to nominate Judges of [S]upreme Court. Confirmation, however, is subject to the Advice and Consent of Senate. Given role of seeking out and designating a candidate, executive branch is an active force in selection process. The Senate, given largely a veto function, exercises influence to extent that it may reject a nomination. Disapproval of a nominee, therefore, only occurs if a majority of Senate becomes sufficiently aroused to mobilize in opposition.Standards for rejecting a nominee are not constitutionally defined. A review of Senate responses to Court nominations reveals considerable variation in pattern and criteria. In its most combative movements, Senate has spurned multiple nominees for same seat. At other times, it has deferred to presidential judgment even if not necessarily comfortable with political philosophy or policy values of nominee.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Author: Donald E. Lively
Institution: Arizona Summit Law School
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2303418906