Running head: SELECTION OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
Selection of Supreme Court Justices
(Name)
(University)
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SELECTION OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
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Selection for the position of serving as Supreme Court Justice arises when a vacancy
occurs. The Supreme Court acts as the final appeal court and it also handles cases that are of
national importance like presidential election petitions. Nemacheck (2007) says that, such a
vacant arises when a holder of an office dies or resigns and its unpredictable when such will
happen. The president has the Majesty to appoint them regarding the approval of the Senate.
It happens by the president nominating and presenting the name to the Senate for vetting.
Political influence is minimised by the fact that the legal community, other interest groups
and potential justices give input through advising the president. The president is there to
safeguard and uphold the Constitution hence he will follow the law to the latter. Going
against the law in nominating and the appointment of a member of the Supreme Court
justices may result in a censure motion against the president.
A president will weigh option and nominate a candidate for the position who will
uphold justice at all cost. According to Bernier-Grand (2010), they should have demonstrated
competency in work and be of strong ethical standings. It will ensure adoption of the
candidate for appointment by the Senate without any opposition. Such candidates can be
chosen from a pool of qualified justices from who may be serving in federal courts or
elsewhere and be of unquestionable character.
Those selected to sit on the Supreme Court should be able to make landmark decisions
in agreement with the constitution. Cases in point is where federal Weeks v. United States,
232 U.S. 383 (1914) and Map v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) where papers and letters, and
items from her basement respectively were taken from an accused premise forcefully and
used against them in passing. Officers who raided the premises did not have a search warrant
hence the judgement was reversed by the Supreme Court. The federal courts had violated the
fourth amendment that requires upholding of accused person rights as outlined by the
Constitution of the U.S (Davis, 2005).
SELECTION OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
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References
Bernier-Grand, C. T., & Gonzalez, T. (2010). Sonia Sotomayor: Supreme Court Justice. New
York: Marshall Cavendish Children
Davis, R. (2005). Electing Justice: Fixing the Supreme Court Nomination Process. New
York: Oxford University Press
Nemacheck, C. L. (2007). Strategic selection: Presidential nomination of Supreme Court
Justices from Herbert Hoover through George W. Bush. Charlottesville: University of
Virginia Press