U.S. Supreme Court
Photo credit:Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
Posted 4/12/10
Last Friday, U.S Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced he would retire when the high court finishes up its work for the summer. Stevens’ decision opens the door for Democratic President Barack Obama to make another nomination to the Supreme Court.
The nomination could be an seen as an opportunity for Obama, but given the highly agitated state of current U.S. politics, it could also turn into a nightmare.
Two Connecticut college professors, Dr. Adrienne Fulco, Director of the Public Policy and Law Program at Trinity College in Hartford, and political science professor Scott McLean of Quinnipiac University in Hamden, contacted for comment, predict a rocky road for Obama and his nominee.
Fulco described the current climate in the U.S. Senate as “terrible” in terms of offering a rational environment for confirmation hearings on the next Supreme Court nominee. She said the process has been politicized over the last few decades by Democrats and Republicans alike. “The Senate has ceased to function as it should,” she said.
McLean said the President may “just have to go with what he thinks is in the best interest of the Supreme Court, which may be a completely different question” than the political situation.
Both scholars agree that Republicans will latch onto the Supreme Court nomination as a new vehicle to go after Obama and a new spotlight for debate as the GOP tries to build momentum for the fall elections.
Since Stevens was viewed as the “dean” of the liberal justices on the high court, Obama doesn’t get a chance to change the overall political make-up of the court, and common sense suggests he’d nominate another liberal justice to maintain balance.
The President may be advised to appoint someone with a more moderate or independent political background, in an effort to blunt Republican opposition, but Fulco and McLean don’t think that tactic will work.
“Given that the base of the Republican Party feels very strongly about the Supreme Court, it seems to me that Republicans could be motivated to be oppositional—period,” Fulco said.
McLean believes the GOP is so intent on weakening Obama in his first term that “they will take any initiative or proposal that comes from President Obama and barbeque it.” That being the case, McLean suggests Obama might as well go liberal if he wants to with a nominee. He explained: “Why not? The Republicans would probably oppose whoever he nominates, no matter how moderate this person would be.”
Last Friday, the President said he intends to name a successor to Stevens soon, “in the coming weeks”, setting up for a confirmation schedule sometime this summer. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said he hoped the process would involved “thoughtful and civil discourse”, but Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said if Obama nominates an activist judge, the President can expect “a whale of a fight”.
Fulco noted that Justice Sonia Sotomayor won confirmation after a political struggle last August, but Fulco warned “it seems to me that relationships between the two parties in the Senate have deteriorated since last summer.”
Becoming a U.S Supreme Court justice is likely the secret dream of virtually every judge now on the bench. Yet in the current climate, a nominee should be forewarned that not only will he or she have all their legal decisions scrutinized to the max, but their personal lives will be examined with the enthusiasm of a nasty divorce lawyer looking for misdeeds. That is a lot to ask for judges who’ve tried their best to maintain dignity and integrity in their careers.
For that reason, McLean suggests the President might want to think outside the box. Instead of nominating a sitting judge, perhaps Obama should appoint a former politician. “Maybe pick somebody who was an elected official, who brings a real world, practical point of view into it,” he said. A respected former politician, who’s weathered many campaigns, would have the mental and emotional toughness to handle a rough-and-tumble confirmation battle, and might have enough old friends in Washington to take the edge off GOP opposition.
Under normal circumstances, Obama should relish the chance to appoint a Supreme Court justice as a way to lengthen the legacy of his administration beyond his time in office. However, the nomination could become a weapon for his opponents to re-ignite political turmoil this summer, setting the stage for the fall midterm congressional elections.