Updated: September 24, 2020 8:58:44 am
The nine-member court of the United States Supreme Court prepared for the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Washington. (Photo: AP)
While the death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is mourned across the country, her passing weeks before the presidential election has added another dimension to the November 3 race.
The list of the main determinants of this election, which so far included the coronavirus pandemic, racial tensions and President Donald Trump’s public order agenda, now has a new entry: occupying Ginsburg’s seat in the high court.
The polarizing debate has dominated the headlines, with Republicans rushing to pressure their nominee at the last minute, and furious Democrats claiming precedent was broken.
So how are appointments made to the Supreme Court of the United States? Are they always so tense? Here’s the understanding of the basics.
The Supreme Court of the United States
Unlike India, where the judiciary is integrated, the federal and state courts in the US are separate, and the 9-member US Supreme Court is the primary forum of the federal system. State systems have their own superior courts and are generally called state supreme courts.
In terms of hierarchy, the US Supreme Court is above 13 circuit courts (which are courts of appeal), which are above 94 district-level trial courts. Federal Circuit and District Courts are located throughout the country, and the Supreme Court is located in the national capital, Washington, DC.
Decisions of the district courts can be appealed in the circuit courts, but the federal Supreme Court generally has no obligation to hear appeals against the decisions of the circuit courts; it admits less than 1% of the appeals made to it.
How judges are appointed for life
The Constitution of the United States states that federal judges, including the “justices” of the Supreme Court, must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate (the upper house of the United States Congress). Currently, the Republican Party controls both the Senate and the presidency.
The process in India is different, where judges appoint judges under the Collegium system, not elected politicians.
Furthermore, in India, judges have a fixed retirement age: 65 for the Supreme Court and 62 for the High Courts. In the United States, federal judges can serve for life; Their terms only end if they resign, die, or are indicted and convicted by Congress.
Because there are no term limits, the liberal-conservative divide in the federal judiciary becomes very important for decades. The oldest member in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., retired in 1932 at the age of 90 after serving for 30 years. Judge Ginsburg was 87 years old and had been on the bench for 27 years.
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Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg was 87 years old and had been on the bench for 27 years. (File photo)
Who can join the Supreme Court?
The Constitution of the United States does not establish requirements for justices of the Supreme Court. Although the 9-member court is typically made up of former circuit court judges, it has included distinguished lawyers, law professors and even politicians.
A list of possible candidates for the Supreme Court that President Trump published in the week before Justice Ginsburg’s death included three senators from the Republican Party.
Why is replacing Ginsburg such a hot topic?
Because Supreme Court justices can serve for life and the appointment process is political, filling a vacancy becomes a major point of contention between the Democratic and Republican parties, the two blocs that dominate the political landscape of United States.
Before Ginsburg’s death, the nine-member bench had a conservative majority of five judges, with four progressives. Without Ginsburg, the conservative-progressive ratio is 5-3. If Republicans are able to fill the Ginsburg seat with a conservative, they would get a court that is more ideologically right-wing than it has been in three decades.
Such a composition could have a major impact on both divisive and consequential issues such as abortion, gun control, healthcare, and voting rights, and knowing this, Republicans have announced that they quickly want to confirm another judge of their choice.
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How Democrats Oppose a Nomination This Year
Democrats insist the winner of the November 3 election should make a new Supreme Court nomination. They trust the position Republicans took in 2016, when President Barack Obama-appointed Judge Merrick Garland did not receive a vote in the Senate because the vacancy had arisen in the last year of the Obama presidency.
That year, while the White House was in Democratic hands, the Senate had a Republican majority, and Republican leaders said they would not hold hearings or schedule a vote for Garland with less than a year remaining until the November 2016 election.
Democrats lost the 2016 election and Garland was completely bypassed. Republicans then filled the vacant seat in 2017 with a candidate of their choice, adding one more judge in 2018 after another vacancy emerged. Democrats have accused Republicans of “stealing” Garland’s seat.
How have Republicans responded?
Despite their 2016 stance, Republicans in the 2020 election year have said they would fill Ginsburg’s vacant seat.
They explained this radical change by saying that in 2016, although Obama was in the White House, his party had obtained a majority in the Senate only two years ago during the 2014 midterm elections, so the American people had the right to decide. the next Supreme Court justice, not a divided Washington.
This year, Republicans have said their 2016 mantra of “letting the people decide” is not applicable as it is their party that currently controls both the White House and the Senate.
To this, Democrats have said that even if Republicans back away from their 2016 position, there is not enough time to confirm another judge before the presidential race ends. The average time to confirm a judge is about 70 days, with just over a month left until Nov. 3, Democrats say.
Why does Trump want to squeeze his election at the last minute?
Trump, who is seeking re-election, has consistently lagged Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in polls for the November vote.
He faces considerable discontent over his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed 2 lakh people in the U.S. To keep his conservative base energetic, Trump has pushed for a law and order agenda, opposed the Black Lives Matter protests, condemning what he describes as “canceling culture” and “revisionist history,” but without significant progress against Biden, polls show.
Thus, the Supreme Court vacancy is a lifeline for Trump weeks before the election, and the president hopes a quick confirmation will improve his odds in November.
Do Republicans have enough votes in the Senate?
Yes. Republicans currently have 53 lawmakers in the 100-member Senate, and 51 of them are expected to back the election of President Trump.
In the immediate aftermath of Ginsburg’s death, there was talk that some moderate Republicans would not budge from their 2016 post, and two senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, publicly announced their unwillingness to vote before November 3. However, others appear to have towed the party line. .
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