U.S. Supreme Court
History Suggests Kagan Confirmation Process Will Be Rockier than Sotomayor’s
Presidents since Woodrow Wilson have faced increased Senatorial opposition in attempts to get their second Supreme Court Justice seated; only 1 such nominee out of 13 received greater support from Senate
Read MoreRepublican Opposition to Sotomayor Marks Largest Supreme Court Confirmation Vote Dissent in GOP History
Last week’s vote in the U.S. Senate confirming Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court was noteworthy foremost, of course, for Sotomayor being the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the Court. But the Senate…
Read MoreRepublican Senators Ignore ‘Hispanic Effect’ in Sotomayor Confirmation Vote
In the months after President Barack Obama’s selection of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, political analysts and even a few Republicans (e.g. Joe Scarborough) have characterized GOP opposition to and harsh questioning of the new Associate Justice as…
Read MoreAre Supreme Court Justices Living Longer?
Yesterday Smart Politics challenged the popular notion that Presidents have been eying younger Supreme Court nominees in recent years, presumably to deepen their impact and legacy on the Supreme Court as the judicial branch has become seen as more partisan….
Read MoreAre Supreme Court Nominees Getting Younger?
Many commentators and political analysts have speculated that Barack Obama’s nomination of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court was based not only on his agreement with her judicial philosophy, but also her gender, ethnicity (Hispanic),…
Read MoreHow Many Senators Will Vote for the Next Supreme Court Nominee?
With the recent announcement by Associate Justice David Souter that he intends to retire from the Supreme Court this year, all eyes are on President Barack Obama to see who he will send up to the U.S. Senate for confirmation…
Read MoreDoes Supreme Court Abortion Decision Signify Shift in Attitudes?
In a 5-4 decision reached last week the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a federal ban on the medical procedure known as ‘partial birth abortion.’ The procedure was a rallying cry for right-to-life advocates, although even some…
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