How do US Supreme Court justices get appointed? - Peter Paccone
-
0:09 - 0:13There's a job out there with a great
deal of power, pay, prestige, -
0:13 - 0:16and near-perfect job security.
-
0:16 - 0:18And there's only one way to be hired:
-
0:18 - 0:22get appointed to the US Supreme Court.
-
0:22 - 0:24If you want to become
a justice on the Supreme Court, -
0:24 - 0:27the highest federal court
in the United States, -
0:27 - 0:29three things have to happen.
-
0:29 - 0:32You have to be nominated by
the president of the United States, -
0:32 - 0:35your nomination needs to be
approved by the Senate, -
0:35 - 0:40and finally, the president must
formally appoint you to the court. -
0:40 - 0:44Because the Constitution doesn't specify
any qualifications, -
0:44 - 0:47in other words, that there's no age,
education, profession, -
0:47 - 0:50or even native-born
citizenship requirement, -
0:50 - 0:54a president can nominate any individual
to serve. -
0:54 - 0:57So far, six justices
have been foreign-born, -
0:57 - 1:00at least one never graduated
from high school, -
1:00 - 1:04and another was only 32 years old
when he joined the bench. -
1:04 - 1:10Most presidents nominate individuals
who broadly share their ideological view, -
1:10 - 1:12so a president with a liberal ideology
-
1:12 - 1:14will tend to appoint
liberals to the court. -
1:14 - 1:18Of course, a justice's leanings
are not always so predictable. -
1:18 - 1:21For example, when President Eisenhower,
a Republican, -
1:21 - 1:24nominated Earl Warren for Chief Justice,
-
1:24 - 1:28Eisenhower expected him
to make conservative decisions. -
1:28 - 1:31Instead, Warren's judgements have gone
down as some of the most liberal -
1:31 - 1:33in the Court's history.
-
1:33 - 1:35Eisenhower later remarked on that
appointment -
1:35 - 1:39as "the biggest damned-fool mistake"
he ever made. -
1:39 - 1:42Many other factors come up
for consideration, as well, -
1:42 - 1:47including experience, personal loyalties,
ethnicity, and gender. -
1:47 - 1:49The candidates are then thoroughly vetted
-
1:49 - 1:53down to their tax records
and payments to domestic help. -
1:53 - 1:55Once the president interviews
the candidate -
1:55 - 1:57and makes a formal nomination
announcement, -
1:57 - 2:01the Senate leadership traditionally
turns the nomination over to hearings -
2:01 - 2:04by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
-
2:04 - 2:06Depending on the contentiousness
of the choice, -
2:06 - 2:09that can stretch over many days.
-
2:09 - 2:13Since the Nixon administration,
these hearings have averaged 60 days. -
2:13 - 2:17The nominee is interviewed
about their law record, if applicable, -
2:17 - 2:21and where they stand on key issues
to discern how they might vote. -
2:21 - 2:24And especially in more recent history,
-
2:24 - 2:29the committee tries to unearth
any dark secrets or past indiscretions. -
2:29 - 2:33The Judiciary Committee votes to send
the nomination to the full Senate -
2:33 - 2:36with a positive
or negative recommendation, -
2:36 - 2:41often reflective of political leanings,
or no recommendation at all. -
2:41 - 2:43Most rejections have happened
when the Senate majority -
2:43 - 2:47has been a different political
party than the president. -
2:47 - 2:50When the Senate does approve,
it's by a simple majority vote, -
2:50 - 2:53with ties broken by the vice president.
-
2:53 - 2:55With the Senate's consent,
-
2:55 - 2:57the president issues
a written appointment, -
2:57 - 3:00allowing the nominee to complete
the final steps -
3:00 - 3:03to take the constitutional
and judicial oaths. -
3:03 - 3:04In doing so,
-
3:04 - 3:08they solemnly swear to administer
justice without respect to persons -
3:08 - 3:11and do equal right to the poor
and the rich -
3:11 - 3:16and faithfully and impartially discharge
and perform all the duties incumbent -
3:16 - 3:19upon a US Supreme Court justice.
-
3:19 - 3:21This job is for life,
-
3:21 - 3:25barring resignation, retirement,
or removal from the court by impeachment. -
3:25 - 3:29And of the 112 justices who have held
the position, -
3:29 - 3:34not one has yet been removed from
office as a result of an impeachment. -
3:34 - 3:38One of their roles is to protect
the fundamental rights of all Americans, -
3:38 - 3:40even as different parties take power.
-
3:40 - 3:43With the tremendous impact
of this responsibility, -
3:43 - 3:47it's no wonder that a US Supreme
Court justice is expected to be, -
3:47 - 3:49in the words of Irving R. Kaufman,
-
3:49 - 3:51"a paragon of virtue,
-
3:51 - 3:53an intellectual Titan,
-
3:53 - 3:56and an administrative wizard."
-
3:56 - 4:01Of course, not every member of the Court
turns out to be an exemplar of justice. -
4:01 - 4:04Each leaves behind a legacy
of decisions and opinions -
4:04 - 4:07to be debated and dissected
by the ultimate judges, -
4:07 - 4:09time and history.
- Title:
- How do US Supreme Court justices get appointed? - Peter Paccone
- Speaker:
- Peter Paccone
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-us-supreme-court-justices-get-appointed-peter-paccone
There’s a job out there with a great deal of power, pay, prestige, and near-perfect job-security. And there’s only one way to be hired: get appointed to the US Supreme Court. But how do US Supreme Court Justices actually get that honor? Peter Paccone outlines the difficult process of getting a seat on the highest bench in the country.
Lesson by Peter Paccone, animation by Globizco.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:26
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