Crs Report for Congress

The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is an event of major significance in American politics. Each appointment is of consequence because of the enormous judicial power the Supreme Court exercises as the highest appellate court in the federal judiciary. Appointments are usually infrequent as a vacancy on the nine-member Court may occur only once or twice or never at all during a particular President''s years in office. Under the Constitution Justices on the Supreme Court receive lifetime appointments. Such job security in the government has been conferred solely on judges and by constitutional design helps insure the Court''s independence from the President and Congress. The procedure for appointing a Justice is provided for by the Constitution in only a few words. The Appointments Clause (Article II Section 2 clause 2) states that the President shall nominate and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court. The process of appointing Justices has undergone changes over two centuries but its most basic feature--the sharing of power between the President and Senate--has remained unchanged: To receive lifetime appointment to the Court a candidate must first be nominated by the President and then ...