WEBVTT 00:00:08.754 --> 00:00:13.444 There's a job out there with a great deal of power, pay, prestige, 00:00:13.444 --> 00:00:16.244 and near-perfect job security. 00:00:16.244 --> 00:00:18.485 And there's only one way to be hired - 00:00:18.485 --> 00:00:21.874 get appointed to the US Supreme Court. 00:00:21.874 --> 00:00:24.494 If you want to become a Justice on the Supreme Court, 00:00:24.494 --> 00:00:27.204 the highest federal court in the United States, 00:00:27.204 --> 00:00:29.334 three things have to happen. 00:00:29.334 --> 00:00:32.395 You have to be nominated by the President of the United States, 00:00:32.395 --> 00:00:35.455 your nomination needs to be approved by the Senate, 00:00:35.455 --> 00:00:39.944 and finally, the President must formally appoint you to the court. 00:00:39.944 --> 00:00:43.554 Because the Constitution doesn't specify any qualifications, 00:00:43.554 --> 00:00:47.025 in other words, that there's no age, education, profession, 00:00:47.025 --> 00:00:50.216 or even native-born citizenship requirement, 00:00:50.216 --> 00:00:54.145 a President can nominate any individual to serve. 00:00:54.145 --> 00:00:57.305 So far, six Justices have been foreign-born, 00:00:57.305 --> 00:00:59.855 at least one never graduated from high school, 00:00:59.855 --> 00:01:04.375 and another was one 32 years old when he joined the bench. 00:01:04.375 --> 00:01:09.815 Most presidents nominate individuals who broadly share their ideological view, 00:01:09.815 --> 00:01:11.785 so a president with a liberal ideology 00:01:11.785 --> 00:01:14.493 will tend to appoint liberals to the court. 00:01:14.493 --> 00:01:18.376 Of course, a Justice's leanings are not always so predictable. 00:01:18.376 --> 00:01:21.396 For example, when President Eisenhower, a Republican, 00:01:21.396 --> 00:01:24.285 nominated Earl Warren for Chief Justice, 00:01:24.285 --> 00:01:27.616 Eisenhower expected him to make conservative decisions. 00:01:27.616 --> 00:01:31.342 Instead, Warren's judgements have gone down as some of the most liberal 00:01:31.342 --> 00:01:32.976 in the Court's history. 00:01:32.976 --> 00:01:35.106 Eisenhower later remarked on that appointment 00:01:35.106 --> 00:01:39.256 as "the biggest damned-fool mistake" he ever made. 00:01:39.256 --> 00:01:42.196 Many other factors come up for consideration, as well, 00:01:42.196 --> 00:01:47.155 including experience, personal loyalties, ethnicity, and gender. 00:01:47.155 --> 00:01:49.236 The candidates are then thoroughly vetted 00:01:49.236 --> 00:01:53.127 down to their tax records and payments to domestic help. 00:01:53.127 --> 00:01:55.186 Once the president interviews the candidate 00:01:55.186 --> 00:01:57.406 and makes a formal nomination announcement, 00:01:57.406 --> 00:02:01.417 the Senate leadership traditionally turns the nomination over to hearings 00:02:01.417 --> 00:02:04.106 by the Senate Judiciary Committee. 00:02:04.106 --> 00:02:06.316 Depending on the contentiousness of the choice, 00:02:06.316 --> 00:02:08.766 that can stretch over many days. 00:02:08.766 --> 00:02:13.127 Since the Nixon administration, these hearings have averaged 60 days. 00:02:13.127 --> 00:02:16.796 The nominee is interviewed about their law record, if applicable, 00:02:16.796 --> 00:02:21.246 and where they stand on key issues to discern how they might vote. 00:02:21.246 --> 00:02:23.718 And especially in more recent history, 00:02:23.718 --> 00:02:28.656 the committee tries to unearth any dark secrets or past indiscretions. 00:02:28.656 --> 00:02:32.627 The Judiciary Committee votes to send the nomination to the full Senate 00:02:32.627 --> 00:02:35.518 with a positive or negative recommendation, 00:02:35.518 --> 00:02:40.648 often reflective of political leanings, or no recommendation at all. 00:02:40.648 --> 00:02:43.357 Most rejections have happened when the Senate majority 00:02:43.357 --> 00:02:47.148 has been a different political party than the president. 00:02:47.148 --> 00:02:50.028 When the Senate does approve, it's by a simple majority vote, 00:02:50.028 --> 00:02:53.297 with ties broken by the vice president. 00:02:53.297 --> 00:02:54.547 With the Senate's consent, 00:02:54.547 --> 00:02:57.034 the president issues a written appointment, 00:02:57.034 --> 00:02:59.568 allowing the nominee to complete the final steps 00:02:59.568 --> 00:03:02.963 to take the constitutional and judicial oaths. 00:03:02.963 --> 00:03:03.963 In doing so, 00:03:03.963 --> 00:03:08.030 they solemnly swear to administer justice without respect to persons 00:03:08.030 --> 00:03:10.669 and do equal right to the poor and the rich 00:03:10.669 --> 00:03:15.918 and faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties encumbent 00:03:15.918 --> 00:03:19.113 upon a US Supreme Court Justice. 00:03:19.113 --> 00:03:20.773 This job is for life, 00:03:20.773 --> 00:03:25.371 barring resignation, retirement, or removal from the court by impeachment. 00:03:25.371 --> 00:03:28.713 And of the 112 Justices who have held the position, 00:03:28.713 --> 00:03:33.868 not one has yet been removed from office as a result of an impeachment. 00:03:33.868 --> 00:03:37.959 One of their roles is to protect the fundamental rights of all Americans, 00:03:37.959 --> 00:03:40.300 even has different parties take power. 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:43.399 With the tremendous impact of this responsibility, 00:03:43.399 --> 00:03:47.398 it's no wonder that a US Supreme Court Justice is expected to be, 00:03:47.398 --> 00:03:49.419 in the words of Irving R. Kaufman, 00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:51.339 "a paragon of virtue, 00:03:51.339 --> 00:03:53.000 an intellectual Titan, 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:56.190 and an administrative wizard." 00:03:56.190 --> 00:04:00.563 Of course, not every member of the Court turns out to be an exemplar of justice. 00:04:00.563 --> 00:04:03.740 Each leaves behind a legacy of decisions and opinions 00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:07.200 to be debated and dissected by the ultimate judges, 00:04:07.200 --> 00:04:09.203 time and history.