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Supreme Court Of The United States

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Supreme Courts Nomination in the United States Introduction The Supreme Court is considered the highest-ranking court the in the United States. It is composed of nine judges referred to as justices. The main purpose of having these justices is so that they can make rulings on cases that the junior court cannot settle. Supreme Court judges make the final decision on whether a law is consistent with the underlying constitution. All Supreme Court justices serve lifetime appointments, which means they serve until they either die or retire. According to the Constitution, as stated in Article II, it 's the president 's job to nominate another Supreme Court justice if the seat is declared vacant. The Senate must then go through the …show more content…

That distinction is crucial now than ever before because Justice Scalia was one of the most conservative judges. Moreover, with Scalia included, the Supreme Court leaned on the conservative side. Some high-profile Republicans in the Senate are pushing first to have a new president before they can confirm a new appointment. This push comes from an informal rule known as ‘THURMOND RULE ' that implies no new justice appointments should be made especially by the president during the final days in the presidential office. However, the rule’s application is wildly inconsistent. If the Supreme Court seat were to be left vacant for an entire year or so, it would be highly likely that more split decision would lie in the hands liberal-leaning lower courts, instead of receiving the overrules of the initially conservative-leaning Supreme Court. This move is brought about by the fact that the Supreme Court is evenly split as compared to the not so balanced Courts of Appeals. There is also an indirect problem if the seat was left vacant. If Senate refused to confirm an otherwise acceptable or popular candidate, it would affect the upcoming elections. Nine of 34 Senate seats up for re-election are close enough battles that may switch sides in the upcoming election. Six of the seats are Republican 's. Notably, five

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