Supreme Court Justice

The United States Constitution mandates the President to nominate upon the "advice and consent of the Senate" and appoint the judges of the Supreme Court (Article II, Section 2, U.S. Constitution). The nominee's name shall be submitted by the President to Senate Committee on the Judiciary and thereafter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for background investigation of the nominee (Judiciary web site, n.d.). The Committee shall also conduct hearings to assess the suitability of all nominees. After the hearing, the members of the Committee will take a vote rejecting or approving the President's choice (Constitution Center.org, n.d.). Should there questions arise about the nominee; it can be remanded to the Committee again for further deliberations.

The American Bar Association is the body that furnishes the Committee with a report of the credentials of the nominees. ABA is the most influential organization of lawyers and may assist in the lobbying of the approval and voting of particular nominees. The process has become political because political groups and politicians see to it that the Supreme Court justice to be chosen share and agree with their political views and ideologies. Ideally, the role of the Senate in confirmation of the President's choice is to ensure that favoritism in the selection is observed. It is said, that "to make ideology an issue in the confirmation process is to suggest that the legal process is and should be a political one. That is not only wrong as a matter of political science; it also serves to weaken public confidence in the courts" (CFIF.org, n.d.).

References

Center for Individual Freedom "Confirmation process shouldn't be a political quest for legal outcomes." Retrieved on October 8, 2007, from

http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/legislative_issues/federal_issues/hot_issues_in_congress/supreme_court_watch/outcome-based-confirmations.htm