The United States Supreme Court is the highest court that interprets the laws and ensures they align with the Constitution. This power was not given but taken by the court, which has the duty to define the law. The Supreme Court is crucial constitutionally and politically, as it referees and adjusts the laws. The justices serve for life, making them politically uninfluenced. The appointment of a new justice is an irreversible decision that affects decades of law.
The process of appointing a new justice begins with the President, who has the power to select a nominee without restrictions. The nominee is then put before the Judiciary Committee, which conducts a thorough investigation. The Senate then votes on the nominee, and if approved, the nominee becomes a Justice.
There are political shenanigans around election dates and the timeline for the Senate to vote on the nominee. The Senate doesn't work all year round, often taking seasonal recesses. If a Supreme Court seat opens while the Senate is on recess, the President can instantly appoint someone straight into the court. This is known as a recess appointment.
The Senate has found a constitutional loophole, the pro-forma session, which allows the President to take breaks without officially being in recess. This has led to a debate over whether the Senate is in session or not, and whether a quorum is present.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Senate cannot tell
1. The Supreme Court in the United States is the highest court given the final say on what laws really mean and if they're in line with the constitution.
2. The Supreme Court's power was not given but taken back in the day.
3. The Supreme Court ruled that it is the duty of the court to say what the law is.
4. Even the best most well-intentioned legislators cannot write a law that covers every possible edge case for the rest of time.
5. The Supreme Court is supremely important constitutionally and politically.
6. The Supreme Court justices both referee and adjust the laws.
7. Each justice serves for life, so appointing a new one is an irreversible decision that will affect decades of law.
8. Only when a justice resigns or dies does a seat open.
9. The president, who the constitution gives the soul, absolute power to select a nominee with no restrictions whatsoever on who the nominee can be.
10. No prior judicial experience is required for a nominee.
11. The whole process of appointing a new justice starts with the president who the constitution gives the soul, absolute power to select a nominee.
12. The president can nominate whoever they want, but congress must approve the nominee.
13. The lower house of representatives with its hundreds of members gets to do nothing, it's just the exclusive upper house with its two senators per state that historically decides with a two-thirds majority before the senate votes.
14. The nominee is put in front of the judiciary committee which conducts the world's most arduous job interview over weeks.
15. The senate then gets to vote yay or nay.
16. The president must pick someone new to start over if the nominee is rejected.
17. The Supreme Court has a new justice to help uphold the constitution if the senate votes yay.
18. The Supreme Court justices are temporary and get to vote on cases before the court without senate approval.
19. Recess appointments aren't just for the Supreme Court but all sorts of government jobs.
20. The constitutional idea being that legislating the government isn't full-time work.
21. The senate for the first 140 years of its existence spent half or more of each year in recess.
22. The constitution gave the president the ability to temporarily fill vital positions for a minimum length of time even when the senate's not around.
23. The senate will get it say later when they're back to work.
24. The president could just wait until the senate went on recess to make the appointment.
25. The senate found a constitutional loophole the pro-forma session.
26. The president pro tempe of the senate is the longest serving senator who runs the senate's procedures.
27. The senate itself has decided the rule is to presume that a quorum is present unless someone asks for a roll call to show otherwise.
28. The senate takes just as many breaks as it ever did but is never officially at recess.
29. The Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision completely agreed with the senate.
30. The number of senators who need to agree with the president's nomination was whittled down to just one half exactly.
31. The Supreme Court should be left out of partisan politics and justices shouldn't be removed for political advantage.
32. The constitution does have this power where the president can quote from time to time force the congress back to the capital presumably to sort out some emergency business.
33. The president could force a long recess and make recess appointments till their heart's content.
34. The forced dismissal of congress by the president would be the most truly of nuclear shenanigans.
35. The current possible process is pretty straightforward. The senate never goes on recess officially so when a seat opens, the president picks a nominee and half or more of the senate must confirm that nominee to the highest court of the land.