MODULE 60: Politics and the Supreme Court
Core Module Issues:
• How are Supreme Court Justices selected?
• What factors should determine how a Justice is selected?
Module Teaching Notes
This last unit largely shifts its focus away from companies and towards the government.
This opening module looks at something that bugs me: a lot of students have no idea of how Supreme
Court Justices are selected.
It is a big deal when a new Justice joins the Court. A President lasts for 4 years, or perhaps 8. But with the
trend toward appointing Justices on their 50s, many current Justices will likely be on the bench for in the
neighborhood of 30 years.
That’s a long time to hold 11% of the legal system’s ultimate interpretive power.
I’d like for more students to be aware of the process in two ways:
1. They should know the nuts and bolts of how picks are made in the first place.
-Justices have lifetime appointments, but when one dies or retires, the sitting President nominates a
replacement.
-If the Senate confirms the nominee (by a simple majority vote), then the person gets the big lifetime
position.
2. They should have the ability to follow the news with a keener eye toward the political considerations that
make a President nominate one worthy person over another.
-To me, a person should at least be aware of the tendencies that presidential candidates will have if called
upon to nominate Justices. This should be at least some factor in voting, both for presidents and senators.
In the scenario, the President is left to decide what he thinks is right when he is given a slate of possible
nominees to the Supreme Court.
Discussion Points for Scenario Questions
1. If you were the president, how would you rate the five candidates? Rank them from 1 to 5,
with #1 being your top choice, #2 as your second choice, etc.
_____ Atkinson (most experienced judge)
_____ Benson (extremely accomplished law professor)
_____ Cavanaugh (young judge, agrees with president on all issues)
_____ Dawson (judge with moderate values)
_____ Lee (experienced judge, could be first Asian-American justice)
[THIS QUESTION IS NOT DIRECTLY FOR DISCUSSION – IT IS MEANT TO
SET UP THE NEXT QUESTIONS.]
2. Discuss your top two choices. Why were they at the top?
3. Which two candidates to you think actual presidents would be the most likely to nominate?
If you think one of their top two choices would differ from yours, why do you think actual
presidents would tend to dismiss one or both of your top choices?
A. SAME CHOICES – DO THE CANDIDATES YOU FAVOR USUALLY WIN
ELECTIONS?
4. Would a president’s Supreme Court nomination ever be likely to influence your vote? Or
would other issues always make a candidate appealing or unappealing? What are the two issues
most likely to influence your support for politicians?
A. YES – IS IT A TOP ISSUE? WHAT ARE YOUR TOP ISSUES?
B. NO – WOULD IT BE A FACTOR AT ALL? WHAT ARE YOUR TOP
ISSUES?
5. Should Supreme Court justices have lifetime appointments, or should they have to go
through a nomination-and-confirmation process every so often?
A. LIFETIME – ISN’T 30 YEARS (OR LONGER) AN AWFULLY LONG TIME?