Supreme Court Nominations

Federal judge related to House speaker is said to be under consideration for SCOTUS nomination

U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of Washington, D.C., is reportedly being vetted as a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee, according to a lawyer contacted as part of the process. The lawyer, who was not identified, told the National Law Journal (sub. req.) that he was contacted as part of…

Feb 29, 2016 6:55 AM CST

Republican governor, a former federal judge, is possible SCOTUS nominee

Nevada’s Republican governor, a former federal judge, is being considered for a nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is among several candidates being considered, report the Washington Post, Reuters, the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). The Post describes Sandoval as a centrist…

Feb 25, 2016 7:29 AM CST

Iowa ads debate Grassley’s opposition to hearings on SCOTUS nominee

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s comments on the Supreme Court nominations process are being featured in a television ad in Iowa. O’Connor told a Fox News affiliate that she disagreed with the idea that President Barack Obama should decline to name a nominee to allow the next president to do…

Feb 25, 2016 5:45 AM CST

What kind of justice will Obama appoint? He answers the question in a SCOTUSblog guest post

President Barack Obama shares his “spoiler-free insights” into his views of an ideal Supreme Court nominee in a guest post at SCOTUSblog on Wednesday. The blog post follows statements by Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that they will not hold hearings or a vote on any…

Feb 24, 2016 9:03 AM CST

Senate won’t consider a SCOTUS nominee by Obama, Republicans say after closed-door meeting

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Tuesday that there will be no hearings or vote on any Supreme Court nominee submitted by President Barack Obama. The senators spoke with reporters after meeting in private with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Associated Press, the New York…

Feb 23, 2016 1:34 PM CST

Finite terms for SCOTUS justices would ease ‘dysfunctional politics’ of nominations, editorial says

The Washington Post’s editorial board sees a connection between life tenure for Supreme Court justices and the “dysfunctional politics of judicial nominations.” In an editorial published on Sunday, the Washington Post says the Constitution relied on life tenure to strike a balance between democratic accountability and judicial independence. But that…

Feb 22, 2016 2:27 PM CST

Biden: Obama won’t nominate a ‘new Justice Brennan’ for the Supreme Court

Vice President Joe Biden believes President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia won’t be staunchly liberal. In an interview with the Washington Post and Politico, Biden said he doesn’t believe Obama will pick “a new Justice Brennan.” Biden said Obama will instead pick someone who isn’t overtly ideological,…

Feb 19, 2016 7:10 AM CST

Could Breyer become the next swing justice?

Justice Stephen G. Breyer could become the next “median justice” if President Barack Obama is able to get a liberal nominee confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Recently new justices have replaced outgoing justices with similar ideologies, the Upshot blog of the New York Times notes. But replacing Justice Antonin…

Feb 18, 2016 8:58 AM CST

Obama should nominate retired Justice O’Connor to the Supreme Court, profs say

Corrected: President Barack Obama should nominate former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to an op-ed by two political science professors. O’Connor left the Supreme Court in 2006 to care for her husband, who died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease in 2009. She has continued to…

Feb 18, 2016 6:15 AM CST

‘Natural born citizen’ issue requires Ted Cruz’s recusal in vote on SCOTUS nominee, op-ed says

GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz should recuse himself in any future Senate Judiciary Committee vote on a nominee to replace Antonin Scalia, according to a law professor’s op-ed. Cruz has a conflict of interest because of questions surrounding his eligibility to serve as president, according to the CNN op-ed by…

Feb 18, 2016 5:45 AM CST

SCOTUSblog founder mulls another possible nominee; this state AG won’t be on the list

President Barack Obama will be considering politics when he makes a U.S. Supreme Court pick, according to SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein. That’s because the Republicans will certainly refuse to confirm Obama’s nominee, whether it’s through a filibuster or a vote, Goldstein writes at SCOTUSblog. Goldstein has been considering possible nominees.…

Feb 17, 2016 7:41 AM CST

Constitution doesn’t bar SCOTUS nominees in election years, Obama says; will Grassley hold hearings?

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he will nominate “a very well-qualified candidate” to the U.S. Supreme Court in the next several weeks, but his nominee wouldn’t necessarily be a moderate. Obama spoke after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he hasn’t ruled out hearings on a nominee.…

Feb 17, 2016 7:09 AM CST

Could Obama make a recess appointment to the Supreme Court?

Republican calls to defer action on a U.S. Supreme Court nomination could have President Obama considering a recess appointment. But the chances of a recess appointment are low as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2014, SCOTUSblog reports. The decision gave the Senate more control over…

Feb 16, 2016 9:01 AM CST

Who will Obama nominate to replace Scalia? Here are some possibilities

Updated: Who will President Barack Obama nominate to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court? Predictions are being made, and some names are being mentioned more than others. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin believes Obama will pick Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…

Feb 16, 2016 7:41 AM CST

After his first decade, Alito is ‘every bit as conservative as conservatives could have dreamed’

A crowd of several hundred people gathered in the auditorium of the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., last fall to hear a conversation with a member of the U.S. Supreme Court who usually remains far from the limelight.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was approaching his 10th anniversary on the high court, recounted a story he likes to tell about attending a speech with his wife, Martha-Ann. They went to hear a judicial colleague talk about the Volstead Act, the federal law that implemented Prohibition.

Feb 1, 2016 2:40 AM CST