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John J. Parker and the Beginning of the Modern Confirmation Process
Author(s) -
SANCHEZ ERNESTO J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of supreme court history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1540-5818
pISSN - 1059-4329
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-5818.2007.00148.x
Subject(s) - supreme court , pragmatism , law , dominance (genetics) , ideology , political science , tribe , law and economics , sociology , politics , philosophy , epistemology , biology , biochemistry , gene
Ideological concerns' dominance of the Supreme Court confirmation process has certainly become routine, especially in the form of issue‐driven interest groups' influence over the agenda for Senate debates. More significantly, the Senate normally focuses on what Laurence Tribe has called “the net impact of adding [a] candidate to the Court” 1 in terms of steering the Court toward adherence to a particular judicial philosophy, such as originalism 2 or pragmatism, 3 or toward a specific outlook on a given constitutional issue. And when the President nominates someone with prior judicial experience, the candidate's decisions, as well as his or her prior speeches or other public activities, become fair game as supposed indications of his or her fitness for service on the Court.