Saturday, September 28, 2019
What does it take to become a Supreme Court Justice?
In today’s class, we discussed the background of both previous Supreme Court Justices Hugo Black and Earl Warren. These two men raise an interesting question: what does it really take to become a Supreme Court Justice? The role of Justices within America’s justice system is crucial, dictating the precedent for the entire nation for years to come. Most would think every single one has an extreme amount of experience and education for this very reason. However, these two examples allow us to think differently as well. Hugo Black was an extremely influential Justice. Throughout his serving years, he was a crucial factor in many civil rights issues such as the desegregation of public schools, but how did he get there? Growing up, Black never received as much as a high school diploma or college degree, yet still made it onto the Court. So, what gave him the initiative to make it all the way up? Connections. In class, the documentary covered the connection between Black’s success and his involvement in the Ku Klux Klan. Through the KKK, Black was able to meet and get involved with some of the nation’s top leaders, and through these friendships was able to talk his way into the role of a Supreme Court Justice. Hugo Black is a demonstration of how, at the time in this country, connections to the right people were what were going to lead people to some of the top positions in government. In addition, Earl Warren got to be Chief Justice in a similar manner. Unlike Black, Warren did have experience as he was both an American politician and lawyer previous to his interest in getting on the Court. After not being nominated for the Presidential role of the republican party, his personal connection to the new President allowed him to make it to the Court. In 1953, Chief Justice Fred M. Winston passed away from a heart attack. President Eisenhower had a personal connection with Warren and ended up offering him the new slot of Chief Justice. Once again, connections are what got another man on the Supreme Court. So, it doesn’t seem like it took much more than knowing the right people to get on the Court in the past. However, times have changed, do the same standards still apply?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really enjoyed reading your post, and I liked how you analyzed the different ways Justice Black and Chief Justice Warren got their positions. I agree with your point that connections are crucial for getting appointed to the Supreme Court, but I also believe that the political climate at the time is also an important factor. One exemplar of this is Robert Bork. When Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell announced his retirement in 1987, President Ronald Reagan nominated Bork, who was a Republican, to take his place. However, if Bork was appointed, the Supreme Court would have become much more conservative, shifting away from its liberal-majority composition. Thus, liberals did everything in their power to stop him. The liberal media attacked Bork, and Democrats in the Senate bombarded him with questions. Interestingly enough, his name has since become a word; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term “bork” means to “obstruct (someone, especially a candidate for public office) through systematic defamation or vilification.”
ReplyDeleteSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork
I completely agree with you and think that it should be easier to get cloture on a filibuster because in the current Senate, it is nearly impossible with the partisan politics. While the filibuster was originally introduced as a way to slow down legislation, nowadays it is a way to postpone a bill for as long as a party wants from even coming to the floor.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you tackled the question with two examples. You explained how both supreme court justices got to their position and their similarities. They both had connections which led them to their position. I do think that having connections is still important today but I definitely believe that it is much more complicated. For example, social media plays a big role today. One has to be careful of their actions or what they post on the media, because somebody might bring it back against them. This can hurt their reputation and the possibility of landing a position.
ReplyDelete