February 19, 201610 yr Another serious question. If SCOTUS judges are supposed to be Constitutional scholars, why are there so many 5-4 (soon to be 4-4) decisions? One of the FIRST things I ever heard a law professor say that stuck with me was in first semester contracts class during my first year. I think was probably the second class I ever had there: "Reasonable people can differ."
February 19, 201610 yr Good point. I'm thinking, though, that there might be fewer 4-4 decisions than one might think, because the internal dynamics of the court are going to change with Scalia's death. We might well see Roberts take a more assertive role in forging consensus now that Scalia no longer looms large. It's certainly possible. Roberts is neither a textualist nor an originalist; he's a conservative with a deep belief in the importance of stare decisis and of judicial restraint. It'll be fascinating to see where the Court goes from here as he continues to move from recent appointee to elder statesman of the bench.
February 19, 201610 yr It's certainly possible. Roberts is neither a textualist nor an originalist; he's a conservative with a deep belief in the importance of stare decisis and of judicial restraint. It'll be fascinating to see where the Court goes from here as he continues to move from recent appointee to elder statesman of the bench. Should be an opportunity for more Roberts arm-twisting and agenda-setting now. Neither of the other two far-right justices -- Alito and Thomas -- commands the attention or persuasive skills of Scalia.
February 19, 201610 yr Looking at past nominations is interesting to me. Scalia was approved by a 98-0 vote. Anthony Kennedy 97-0. Ginsburg 96-3. Breyer 87-9. You just don't see those numbers anymore. The four most recent votes: Roberts 78-22 (Obama voted no). Alito 58-42 (Obama voted no). Sotomayor 68-31. Kagan 63-37. My take on the whole thing is that the President is supposed to nominate justices, so Obama should do that. But it's also the Senate's job to confirm or reject nominees. Obama voted to reject the two times he had the opportunity in the Senate. The Republicans should simply return him the favor.
February 19, 201610 yr Another serious question. If SCOTUS judges are supposed to be Constitutional scholars, why are there so many 5-4 (soon to be 4-4) decisions? You answered your own question.
February 19, 201610 yr Should be an opportunity for more Roberts arm-twisting and agenda-setting now. Neither of the other two far-right justices -- Alito and Thomas -- commands the attention or persuasive skills of Scalia. Do any of the far left justices?
February 19, 201610 yr I wonder if this contention is even older than the Bork nomination; I think perhaps it is. I was reading about rejected candidates earlier this morning. In 1969 and 1970, President Nixon needed four tries to get a man on the bench. His first candidate withdrew, then Clement Haynsworth and G. Harold Carswell were both rejected by the senate. Haynsworth and Carswell were both born in the South and accused of writings that seemed to be indulgent of segregation. The split was not along party lines but along North/South lines. They were roundly rejected by northern Democrats but supported by Republicans in and near the South. It wasn't until he nominated Minnesota judge Harry Blackmun that Nixon got his justice; he was confirmed 94-0. Blackmun was a lifelong Republican and was supposed to have been a "strict constructionist" when it came to the constitution; he was actually recommended by Warren Burger, an Eisenhower appointee who held those views. Blackmun would go on to author the court's opinion in Roe v. Wade less than three years after his confirmation. That's a heck of a lesson for the Senate to have learned during such a contentious period of American jurisprudence. Edited February 19, 201610 yr by Getslow
February 19, 201610 yr ^ Burger was actually Nixon's first appointment, according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nominations_to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States Nixon nominated 6 people to the Supreme Court during his time as President. That's a lot of nominees for the 5 1/2 years he was in office.
February 19, 201610 yr ^ Burger was actually Nixon's first appointment, according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nominations_to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States Nixon nominated 6 people to the Supreme Court during his time as President. That's a lot of nominees for the 5 1/2 years he was in office. Thank you. Eisenhower was the one that put Buger on the federal bench, but it was Nixon that put him on the Supreme Court.
February 19, 201610 yr I like that they used to have voice votes for Supreme Court nominations. That would be entertaining to watch if they did that today.
February 19, 201610 yr I like that they used to have voice votes for Supreme Court nominations. That would be entertaining to watch if they did that today. I have a feeling that before there were TV cameras, Congress' most important task of the day was whether or not they could finish working before lunch.
February 19, 201610 yr Do any of the far left justices? Stephen Breyer certainly. Check out the Breyer-Scalia constitutional debates on youtube. I noticed that in recent years ... when Scalia was peddling one of his books on TV squawk shows ... he never appeared solo. Always had a "co-author" with him to tackle questions he didn't care to respond to. Scalia was an odd duck in many ways. For starters, he was born in the wrong century.
February 19, 201610 yr Another serious question. If SCOTUS judges are supposed to be Constitutional scholars, why are there so many 5-4 (soon to be 4-4) decisions? Because ideology trumps reality.
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