Supreme Court Nominations

Obama as a Supreme Court justice? It’s a great idea, Clinton says

Hillary Clinton was apparently wowed on Tuesday by the idea of appointing President Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court. Clinton responded to an audience member during a campaign event who noted the next president will likely have a lot of Supreme Court appointments, report the Des Moines Register and the…

Jan 27, 2016 7:06 AM CST

How ‘loyalty effect’ plays out among Supreme Court justices

Supreme Court justices vote favorably for their appointing president about 65 percent of the time, providing evidence of the “loyalty effect,” according to a study by two legal scholars. The study found that justices generally make more decisions favorable to their appointing president than they do to subsequent presidents, report…

Dec 21, 2015 9:14 AM CST

Supreme Court justices become more liberal as they age, statistics blog says

Many current justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are becoming more liberal as they age, according to an analysis of their votes on cases. The statics blog FiveThirtyEight looked at ideological scores of Republican- and Democratic-appointed justices since 1937, and found that Republican appointees become more liberal. Democratic appointees also…

Oct 5, 2015 8:52 AM CDT

1935-1944: A New Deal

Alexander Hamilton had called the judiciary the “least dangerous branch,” but by the 1933 inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. Supreme Court was a caged tiger. Its justices had been appointed by a sequence of Republican presidents, backed by the capitalists of the Gilded Age, and the justices’ mission…

Jan 1, 2015 5:25 AM CST

Would a SCOTUS vacancy result in gridlock in a GOP-controlled Senate?

A U.S. Supreme Court vacancy in a GOP-controlled Senate could result in nomination gridlock and 4-4 decisions by an eight-member court, some court watchers contend. Or not. The New Republic considers the possibilities. “Given the already toxic atmosphere in Congress over the politicization of the judiciary,” legal affairs editor Jeffrey…

Nov 4, 2014 8:13 AM CST

Obama picks favorite SCOTUS decision of his tenure, sees downside to becoming a justice

The U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Congress’ power to enact the health-care law isn’t President Obama’s favorite ruling by the court. Neither is the decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act provision denying federal benefits to same-sex married couples. Asked to name the best Supreme Court decision of his…

Oct 21, 2014 7:28 AM CDT

Who would Obama choose next for the Supreme Court?

The speculation began after President Barack Obama said he expected upcoming U.S. Supreme Court vacancies. Speaking at a Massachusetts fundraiser last month, Obama said he needs a Democratic Senate partly because “we’re going to have Supreme Court appointments.” The White House later downplayed the statement, saying Obama had no knowledge…

Sep 3, 2014 6:15 AM CDT

‘Most conservative member’ of California Supreme Court to retire, sparking speculation on successor

Associate Justice Marvin Baxter of the California Supreme Court announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the year, the Los Angeles Times reports. Baxter is considered the “most conservative member” of the court, though not an activist, according to the Times. A 74-year-old native of Fresno County,…

Jun 20, 2014 10:59 AM CDT

Obama leads by a mile in women judicial picks, study says

President Barack Obama has successfully appointed more women to the federal bench than any president in history, a new study shows. Forty-two percent of Obama’s judicial appointees have been women, according to a study (PDF) by the liberal-leaning Alliance For Justice. That’s a rate almost double that of former President…

Jun 14, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Biographer Doesn’t Pull Punches, Calls Rehnquist’s Judicial Philosophy ‘Nihilistic at its Core’

The author of a new biography of William H. Rehnquist doesn’t hold back in his evaluation of the late U.S. Supreme Court chief justice. Indeed, while the Wall Street Journal Law Blog gives John A. Jenkins credit for being direct, it notes that Jenkins “doesn’t think very highly of his…

Sep 27, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Legal Analyst Creates SCOTUS Nominee Short List: All Lawyers with Military Background

For the first time—ever since Justice John Paul Stevens retired from the bench in 2010—there is no one sitting on the nation’s highest court with active, wartime military experience. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that, legal analyst Andrew Cohen points this out in an article for the Atlantic.…

Aug 13, 2012 5:42 PM CDT

Youth Will Out: No Matter Who Wins, SCOTUS Nominees Will Get Younger

Voters won’t be punching chads or hitting touch screens with the names of U.S. Supreme Court nominees on Nov. 6. But with three justices in their late 70s and a fourth in his mid-70s, chances are strong that a second-term Barack Obama or a first-term Mitt Romney will have the…

Aug 1, 2012 7:50 AM CDT

New Supreme Court Shortlist Names Likely Nominees if GOP Takes White House

As GOP presidential contenders clamor for primary votes, one publication is looking ahead and considering the likely Supreme Court nominees if the party wins the general election. The Huffington Post asked conservative legal experts for likely nominees, and found that five names were most often mentioned. Here are three of…

Dec 22, 2011 1:04 PM CST

Female Judicial Candidates Are Held to Different Standards, Sotomayor Tells Students

Female federal judiciary candidates are treated differently than their male counterparts, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told a group of law students yesterday, and women jurists need a thick skin. “There are expectations about how women and men should behave,” she said. “I am probably a bit more aggressive,…

Mar 8, 2011 2:39 PM CST

Laurence Tribe’s Leaked Memo: Sotomayor ‘Not as Smart as She Seems to Think She Is’

Harvard law professor and constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe offered a spirited endorsement of Elena Kagan in a 2009 memo that noted the law school dean had the ability to persuade “a bunch of prima donnas to see things her way.” The memo (PDF), leaked to conservative blogger Ed Whelan, bluntly…

Oct 29, 2010 11:56 AM CDT