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Learn about the membership of an ideal Supreme Court, the selection process, factors considered by the president, ideological leaning of justices, controversial criteria for nominees, and the role of the Senate in the appointment process.
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Selecting Justices of the Supreme Court AP Government and Politics Chapter 14: Wilson Homework: Wilson: (405-420)
Discussion Questions • What would the membership of an ideal Supreme Court look like? • Would it include male and female members of diverse racial and religious backgrounds? • Should it include younger members as well as older members, gay members as well as straight members, conservatives as well as liberals? • What would be the disadvantage of having nine like-minded justices (so long as you agreed with their approaches to judging)? • Senator Roman Hruska of Nebraska once said, when Richard Nixon nominated for the position of justice a lawyer, Harold Carswell, who was criticized for having an undistinguished record: • "Even if he was mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance? We can't have all Brandeises and Cardozos and Frankfurters and stuff like that there." • What do you think of Hruska's point?
The Selection Process • What factors does a president usually take into account when making a nomination for the Supreme Court? • What happens sometimes to the ideological leaning of a justice once appointed? • Why might this occur? • Why are the following “criteria” placed on nominees considered controversial? • Senatorial Courtesy? • A “litmus test”? • What is the role of the Senate with regard to the appointment process? • Should the Senate be a “rubber stamp” with regard to who the president has appointed? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRVsjNwWfe4&feature=channel • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tCOlKIYqHs • http://www.c-span.org/Special/Supreme-Court-Kagan-Senate-Confirmation-Hearing-34791.aspx