Doesn't the system of the Supreme Court oppose justice?Why didn't Barack Obama try to force the Senate to hold hearings on SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland?What would happen if the same person were elected both President and Vice President?Why doesn't a conservative majority SCOTUS repeal Roe v. Wade?Supreme Court Justice Appointment Time FrameSupreme Court Justice Importance of Party AffiliationWhy is the Supreme Court not balanced in terms of their political views?Does substantive due process apply to the Second Amendment?Can the Chief Justice be demoted to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court?What requirements are there for becoming a supreme court justice?When would a new US Supreme Court justice start work?Arrest a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?

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Doesn't the system of the Supreme Court oppose justice?


Why didn't Barack Obama try to force the Senate to hold hearings on SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland?What would happen if the same person were elected both President and Vice President?Why doesn't a conservative majority SCOTUS repeal Roe v. Wade?Supreme Court Justice Appointment Time FrameSupreme Court Justice Importance of Party AffiliationWhy is the Supreme Court not balanced in terms of their political views?Does substantive due process apply to the Second Amendment?Can the Chief Justice be demoted to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court?What requirements are there for becoming a supreme court justice?When would a new US Supreme Court justice start work?Arrest a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?













10















I'm new to US politics and the Judicial Branch in the US.
First to clarify:
I know that members of the supreme court get chosen by the president and therefore often share the same political views. I'm also aware of the fact that no person can be completly objective and politically neutral.
But:
Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced? In my understanding it is the job of the Supreme Court to judge on certain cases on the base of the US constitution. But if some radical person gets chosen to join the Supreme Court, couldn't this person vote based on their personal beliefs instead of the US constitution?










share|improve this question









New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.















  • 13





    Absolutely, this has happened in several notorious cases. One of the more notable cases was the Dred Scott decision, but there have been more over the years. It's where the phrase "stacking the court" comes from. And they are human beings afterall (and thus political by nature as you pointed out).

    – ouflak
    12 hours ago







  • 2





    After a president nominates a potential justice, what is the next step before they join the court?

    – Drunk Cynic
    11 hours ago











  • What would be your suggested alternative?

    – RWW
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    Could you clarify the question a bit more? As I read it right now, it sounds like you're asking whether human beings tend to favor their own opinions, which is true but not really specific to the US Supreme Court.

    – Deolater
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    @user22277 This conversation has become off topic, and shall not be continued here. Please turn to this question and the associated answers, or Agora in general. politics.stackexchange.com/questions/32116/…

    – Drunk Cynic
    7 hours ago















10















I'm new to US politics and the Judicial Branch in the US.
First to clarify:
I know that members of the supreme court get chosen by the president and therefore often share the same political views. I'm also aware of the fact that no person can be completly objective and politically neutral.
But:
Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced? In my understanding it is the job of the Supreme Court to judge on certain cases on the base of the US constitution. But if some radical person gets chosen to join the Supreme Court, couldn't this person vote based on their personal beliefs instead of the US constitution?










share|improve this question









New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.















  • 13





    Absolutely, this has happened in several notorious cases. One of the more notable cases was the Dred Scott decision, but there have been more over the years. It's where the phrase "stacking the court" comes from. And they are human beings afterall (and thus political by nature as you pointed out).

    – ouflak
    12 hours ago







  • 2





    After a president nominates a potential justice, what is the next step before they join the court?

    – Drunk Cynic
    11 hours ago











  • What would be your suggested alternative?

    – RWW
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    Could you clarify the question a bit more? As I read it right now, it sounds like you're asking whether human beings tend to favor their own opinions, which is true but not really specific to the US Supreme Court.

    – Deolater
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    @user22277 This conversation has become off topic, and shall not be continued here. Please turn to this question and the associated answers, or Agora in general. politics.stackexchange.com/questions/32116/…

    – Drunk Cynic
    7 hours ago













10












10








10








I'm new to US politics and the Judicial Branch in the US.
First to clarify:
I know that members of the supreme court get chosen by the president and therefore often share the same political views. I'm also aware of the fact that no person can be completly objective and politically neutral.
But:
Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced? In my understanding it is the job of the Supreme Court to judge on certain cases on the base of the US constitution. But if some radical person gets chosen to join the Supreme Court, couldn't this person vote based on their personal beliefs instead of the US constitution?










share|improve this question









New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












I'm new to US politics and the Judicial Branch in the US.
First to clarify:
I know that members of the supreme court get chosen by the president and therefore often share the same political views. I'm also aware of the fact that no person can be completly objective and politically neutral.
But:
Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced? In my understanding it is the job of the Supreme Court to judge on certain cases on the base of the US constitution. But if some radical person gets chosen to join the Supreme Court, couldn't this person vote based on their personal beliefs instead of the US constitution?







united-states constitution supreme-court






share|improve this question









New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 13 hours ago







SethFrkinRollins













New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 14 hours ago









SethFrkinRollinsSethFrkinRollins

545




545




New contributor




SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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New contributor





SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






SethFrkinRollins is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







  • 13





    Absolutely, this has happened in several notorious cases. One of the more notable cases was the Dred Scott decision, but there have been more over the years. It's where the phrase "stacking the court" comes from. And they are human beings afterall (and thus political by nature as you pointed out).

    – ouflak
    12 hours ago







  • 2





    After a president nominates a potential justice, what is the next step before they join the court?

    – Drunk Cynic
    11 hours ago











  • What would be your suggested alternative?

    – RWW
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    Could you clarify the question a bit more? As I read it right now, it sounds like you're asking whether human beings tend to favor their own opinions, which is true but not really specific to the US Supreme Court.

    – Deolater
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    @user22277 This conversation has become off topic, and shall not be continued here. Please turn to this question and the associated answers, or Agora in general. politics.stackexchange.com/questions/32116/…

    – Drunk Cynic
    7 hours ago












  • 13





    Absolutely, this has happened in several notorious cases. One of the more notable cases was the Dred Scott decision, but there have been more over the years. It's where the phrase "stacking the court" comes from. And they are human beings afterall (and thus political by nature as you pointed out).

    – ouflak
    12 hours ago







  • 2





    After a president nominates a potential justice, what is the next step before they join the court?

    – Drunk Cynic
    11 hours ago











  • What would be your suggested alternative?

    – RWW
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    Could you clarify the question a bit more? As I read it right now, it sounds like you're asking whether human beings tend to favor their own opinions, which is true but not really specific to the US Supreme Court.

    – Deolater
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    @user22277 This conversation has become off topic, and shall not be continued here. Please turn to this question and the associated answers, or Agora in general. politics.stackexchange.com/questions/32116/…

    – Drunk Cynic
    7 hours ago







13




13





Absolutely, this has happened in several notorious cases. One of the more notable cases was the Dred Scott decision, but there have been more over the years. It's where the phrase "stacking the court" comes from. And they are human beings afterall (and thus political by nature as you pointed out).

– ouflak
12 hours ago






Absolutely, this has happened in several notorious cases. One of the more notable cases was the Dred Scott decision, but there have been more over the years. It's where the phrase "stacking the court" comes from. And they are human beings afterall (and thus political by nature as you pointed out).

– ouflak
12 hours ago





2




2





After a president nominates a potential justice, what is the next step before they join the court?

– Drunk Cynic
11 hours ago





After a president nominates a potential justice, what is the next step before they join the court?

– Drunk Cynic
11 hours ago













What would be your suggested alternative?

– RWW
9 hours ago





What would be your suggested alternative?

– RWW
9 hours ago




1




1





Could you clarify the question a bit more? As I read it right now, it sounds like you're asking whether human beings tend to favor their own opinions, which is true but not really specific to the US Supreme Court.

– Deolater
9 hours ago





Could you clarify the question a bit more? As I read it right now, it sounds like you're asking whether human beings tend to favor their own opinions, which is true but not really specific to the US Supreme Court.

– Deolater
9 hours ago




1




1





@user22277 This conversation has become off topic, and shall not be continued here. Please turn to this question and the associated answers, or Agora in general. politics.stackexchange.com/questions/32116/…

– Drunk Cynic
7 hours ago





@user22277 This conversation has become off topic, and shall not be continued here. Please turn to this question and the associated answers, or Agora in general. politics.stackexchange.com/questions/32116/…

– Drunk Cynic
7 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















20














SCOTUS famously works very well together and there are several enforced rules and traditions that get this going. But first, statistically, the 5-4 decisions are actually very rare, with the combined 5-4 and 5-3 decisions making 14% of the case decisions, compared to the 57% of cases that resulted in a 9-0 decision in the 2016-2017 session. Of the remaining cases a more stable majority is often more normal than the narrow majority (combined 29% of cases are 7-2 or 8-1). However, the reason this doesn't seem the case is that the cases that are 5-4 decisions are by their nature, very divisive topics in the United States and thus tend to get talked about more than the more boring and more firmly decided cases (Though this isn't always the case... the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case was expected to be a 5-4 decision but the court decided in a 7-2 decision.).



Now, behind the scenes, the Supreme Court get along famously and the Justices tend to be very familial with each other. Among the traditions is that they share a dinner before the State of the Union together (RBG famously attributed the wine to the reason she dozed off during an Obama speech) and will always eat lunch together when in session. This also has an added benefit to demonstrate how they form these strong bonds: The newest justice on the bench is in charge of the lunch menu and what the cafeteria makes on any given day. This actually forces the friendships, as, in order to do a successful job, the new Justice must meet with the other 8 members of the court, discuss a highly opinion driven topic (but not a very politically driven topic), and come to an agreeable solution that can satisfy all 9 justices. RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) might love her some Meat Lover's deep dish pizza, but Thompson cannot stand pizza. What's poor Brett (at time of writing) to do?



RBG, who is famously one of the most liberal SCOTUS justices on the Bench was noted for her friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most Conservative members on the bench. Their opinions rarely agreed with each other. But they were the closest friends in real life, and were frequently seen going to the Opera together as they both enjoyed the medium. She reportedly took his death very hard. The Supreme Court has a lot of internal behind the scenes tricks to impose a feeling that we can disagree, but we still get along well with each other.






share|improve this answer




















  • 3





    Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

    – Wildcard
    5 hours ago






  • 8





    @Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

    – IllusiveBrian
    5 hours ago












  • Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

    – Malvolio
    9 mins ago


















11














Those on the Supreme Court are appointed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, as specified in the US Constitution. In practice, this means that the President nominates a person and they go to one or more Senate hearings to be examined by the members of the Senate. Exactly what number of votes are needed to gain the consent of the Senate is up to the Senate, but currently it's a simple majority.



Once a person has been appointed to the Supreme Court, they are there for a life term. This was a provision meant to de-politicize the Supreme Court, hoping that without the threat of losing their nomination, justices would be able to rule with regard only for the law and without regard for politics. However, like all appointed officials, Supreme Court justices can be impeached, and in fact the only impeachment of a Supreme Court justice in history was on accusation of political bias in their lower court rulings (Samuel Chase). This is not something that was considered often in the past, since the court simply was not as likely to rule on political lines - most Supreme Court decisions are not decided by one vote, but there is a perception that more cases are being split 5-4 along political lines. However, even if Congress was inclined to impeach justices, I think impeaching Supreme Court members for alleged political bias in rulings would be another "nuclear option," in that whatever party does it first will be the recipient of it when the other party regains power, and you never know exactly what the future holds and whether or not one party will have enough of a majority in both houses to impeach and convict without having to cross party lines. It's also difficult to pursue, since it requires 2/3 of Senators to vote for in favor of conviction to be successful.



One more thing, in response to "Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced?" If you watch a Supreme Court hearing on a person nominated to the Supreme Court, the Senate does tend to grill them on their opinions on certain political issues. Usually, the nominee will say something to the effect of "I won't rule on a hypothetical case." This may sound like dodging the question (and is that too), but it's a good response for a judge - they do not rule based on their opinion of a topic, but based on the actual facts of the case in front of them. Even if a Supreme Court judge has a strong conviction about a political issue, a good judge does not allow their personal bias to affect their rulings.






share|improve this answer

























  • If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

    – Hannover Fist
    5 hours ago






  • 13





    @Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

    – Obie 2.0
    5 hours ago






  • 4





    Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

    – John Bollinger
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    "more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

    – eyeballfrog
    3 hours ago











  • Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

    – reirab
    1 hour ago










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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









20














SCOTUS famously works very well together and there are several enforced rules and traditions that get this going. But first, statistically, the 5-4 decisions are actually very rare, with the combined 5-4 and 5-3 decisions making 14% of the case decisions, compared to the 57% of cases that resulted in a 9-0 decision in the 2016-2017 session. Of the remaining cases a more stable majority is often more normal than the narrow majority (combined 29% of cases are 7-2 or 8-1). However, the reason this doesn't seem the case is that the cases that are 5-4 decisions are by their nature, very divisive topics in the United States and thus tend to get talked about more than the more boring and more firmly decided cases (Though this isn't always the case... the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case was expected to be a 5-4 decision but the court decided in a 7-2 decision.).



Now, behind the scenes, the Supreme Court get along famously and the Justices tend to be very familial with each other. Among the traditions is that they share a dinner before the State of the Union together (RBG famously attributed the wine to the reason she dozed off during an Obama speech) and will always eat lunch together when in session. This also has an added benefit to demonstrate how they form these strong bonds: The newest justice on the bench is in charge of the lunch menu and what the cafeteria makes on any given day. This actually forces the friendships, as, in order to do a successful job, the new Justice must meet with the other 8 members of the court, discuss a highly opinion driven topic (but not a very politically driven topic), and come to an agreeable solution that can satisfy all 9 justices. RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) might love her some Meat Lover's deep dish pizza, but Thompson cannot stand pizza. What's poor Brett (at time of writing) to do?



RBG, who is famously one of the most liberal SCOTUS justices on the Bench was noted for her friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most Conservative members on the bench. Their opinions rarely agreed with each other. But they were the closest friends in real life, and were frequently seen going to the Opera together as they both enjoyed the medium. She reportedly took his death very hard. The Supreme Court has a lot of internal behind the scenes tricks to impose a feeling that we can disagree, but we still get along well with each other.






share|improve this answer




















  • 3





    Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

    – Wildcard
    5 hours ago






  • 8





    @Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

    – IllusiveBrian
    5 hours ago












  • Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

    – Malvolio
    9 mins ago















20














SCOTUS famously works very well together and there are several enforced rules and traditions that get this going. But first, statistically, the 5-4 decisions are actually very rare, with the combined 5-4 and 5-3 decisions making 14% of the case decisions, compared to the 57% of cases that resulted in a 9-0 decision in the 2016-2017 session. Of the remaining cases a more stable majority is often more normal than the narrow majority (combined 29% of cases are 7-2 or 8-1). However, the reason this doesn't seem the case is that the cases that are 5-4 decisions are by their nature, very divisive topics in the United States and thus tend to get talked about more than the more boring and more firmly decided cases (Though this isn't always the case... the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case was expected to be a 5-4 decision but the court decided in a 7-2 decision.).



Now, behind the scenes, the Supreme Court get along famously and the Justices tend to be very familial with each other. Among the traditions is that they share a dinner before the State of the Union together (RBG famously attributed the wine to the reason she dozed off during an Obama speech) and will always eat lunch together when in session. This also has an added benefit to demonstrate how they form these strong bonds: The newest justice on the bench is in charge of the lunch menu and what the cafeteria makes on any given day. This actually forces the friendships, as, in order to do a successful job, the new Justice must meet with the other 8 members of the court, discuss a highly opinion driven topic (but not a very politically driven topic), and come to an agreeable solution that can satisfy all 9 justices. RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) might love her some Meat Lover's deep dish pizza, but Thompson cannot stand pizza. What's poor Brett (at time of writing) to do?



RBG, who is famously one of the most liberal SCOTUS justices on the Bench was noted for her friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most Conservative members on the bench. Their opinions rarely agreed with each other. But they were the closest friends in real life, and were frequently seen going to the Opera together as they both enjoyed the medium. She reportedly took his death very hard. The Supreme Court has a lot of internal behind the scenes tricks to impose a feeling that we can disagree, but we still get along well with each other.






share|improve this answer




















  • 3





    Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

    – Wildcard
    5 hours ago






  • 8





    @Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

    – IllusiveBrian
    5 hours ago












  • Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

    – Malvolio
    9 mins ago













20












20








20







SCOTUS famously works very well together and there are several enforced rules and traditions that get this going. But first, statistically, the 5-4 decisions are actually very rare, with the combined 5-4 and 5-3 decisions making 14% of the case decisions, compared to the 57% of cases that resulted in a 9-0 decision in the 2016-2017 session. Of the remaining cases a more stable majority is often more normal than the narrow majority (combined 29% of cases are 7-2 or 8-1). However, the reason this doesn't seem the case is that the cases that are 5-4 decisions are by their nature, very divisive topics in the United States and thus tend to get talked about more than the more boring and more firmly decided cases (Though this isn't always the case... the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case was expected to be a 5-4 decision but the court decided in a 7-2 decision.).



Now, behind the scenes, the Supreme Court get along famously and the Justices tend to be very familial with each other. Among the traditions is that they share a dinner before the State of the Union together (RBG famously attributed the wine to the reason she dozed off during an Obama speech) and will always eat lunch together when in session. This also has an added benefit to demonstrate how they form these strong bonds: The newest justice on the bench is in charge of the lunch menu and what the cafeteria makes on any given day. This actually forces the friendships, as, in order to do a successful job, the new Justice must meet with the other 8 members of the court, discuss a highly opinion driven topic (but not a very politically driven topic), and come to an agreeable solution that can satisfy all 9 justices. RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) might love her some Meat Lover's deep dish pizza, but Thompson cannot stand pizza. What's poor Brett (at time of writing) to do?



RBG, who is famously one of the most liberal SCOTUS justices on the Bench was noted for her friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most Conservative members on the bench. Their opinions rarely agreed with each other. But they were the closest friends in real life, and were frequently seen going to the Opera together as they both enjoyed the medium. She reportedly took his death very hard. The Supreme Court has a lot of internal behind the scenes tricks to impose a feeling that we can disagree, but we still get along well with each other.






share|improve this answer















SCOTUS famously works very well together and there are several enforced rules and traditions that get this going. But first, statistically, the 5-4 decisions are actually very rare, with the combined 5-4 and 5-3 decisions making 14% of the case decisions, compared to the 57% of cases that resulted in a 9-0 decision in the 2016-2017 session. Of the remaining cases a more stable majority is often more normal than the narrow majority (combined 29% of cases are 7-2 or 8-1). However, the reason this doesn't seem the case is that the cases that are 5-4 decisions are by their nature, very divisive topics in the United States and thus tend to get talked about more than the more boring and more firmly decided cases (Though this isn't always the case... the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case was expected to be a 5-4 decision but the court decided in a 7-2 decision.).



Now, behind the scenes, the Supreme Court get along famously and the Justices tend to be very familial with each other. Among the traditions is that they share a dinner before the State of the Union together (RBG famously attributed the wine to the reason she dozed off during an Obama speech) and will always eat lunch together when in session. This also has an added benefit to demonstrate how they form these strong bonds: The newest justice on the bench is in charge of the lunch menu and what the cafeteria makes on any given day. This actually forces the friendships, as, in order to do a successful job, the new Justice must meet with the other 8 members of the court, discuss a highly opinion driven topic (but not a very politically driven topic), and come to an agreeable solution that can satisfy all 9 justices. RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg) might love her some Meat Lover's deep dish pizza, but Thompson cannot stand pizza. What's poor Brett (at time of writing) to do?



RBG, who is famously one of the most liberal SCOTUS justices on the Bench was noted for her friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the most Conservative members on the bench. Their opinions rarely agreed with each other. But they were the closest friends in real life, and were frequently seen going to the Opera together as they both enjoyed the medium. She reportedly took his death very hard. The Supreme Court has a lot of internal behind the scenes tricks to impose a feeling that we can disagree, but we still get along well with each other.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 3 hours ago









Matthew Crumley

1033




1033










answered 9 hours ago









hszmvhszmv

5,480725




5,480725







  • 3





    Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

    – Wildcard
    5 hours ago






  • 8





    @Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

    – IllusiveBrian
    5 hours ago












  • Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

    – Malvolio
    9 mins ago












  • 3





    Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

    – Wildcard
    5 hours ago






  • 8





    @Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

    – IllusiveBrian
    5 hours ago












  • Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

    – Malvolio
    9 mins ago







3




3





Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

– Wildcard
5 hours ago





Red Green Blue, or did you mean RBG?

– Wildcard
5 hours ago




8




8





@Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

– IllusiveBrian
5 hours ago






@Wildcard I think her name should be spelled out once as well, for those who don't know Notorious RBG.

– IllusiveBrian
5 hours ago














Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

– Malvolio
9 mins ago





Masterpiece Bakery ("the infamous Gay Wedding Cake case") was lopsided because it wasn't a decision on the merits. Whether a state can in fact force a baker to bake a cake for a gay wedding remains undecided. The ruling of the Court was that the actions of the government were so egregious, that the process denied the plaintiff free exercise. Colorado could actually start all over again, and possibly succeed at getting the wedding catered.

– Malvolio
9 mins ago











11














Those on the Supreme Court are appointed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, as specified in the US Constitution. In practice, this means that the President nominates a person and they go to one or more Senate hearings to be examined by the members of the Senate. Exactly what number of votes are needed to gain the consent of the Senate is up to the Senate, but currently it's a simple majority.



Once a person has been appointed to the Supreme Court, they are there for a life term. This was a provision meant to de-politicize the Supreme Court, hoping that without the threat of losing their nomination, justices would be able to rule with regard only for the law and without regard for politics. However, like all appointed officials, Supreme Court justices can be impeached, and in fact the only impeachment of a Supreme Court justice in history was on accusation of political bias in their lower court rulings (Samuel Chase). This is not something that was considered often in the past, since the court simply was not as likely to rule on political lines - most Supreme Court decisions are not decided by one vote, but there is a perception that more cases are being split 5-4 along political lines. However, even if Congress was inclined to impeach justices, I think impeaching Supreme Court members for alleged political bias in rulings would be another "nuclear option," in that whatever party does it first will be the recipient of it when the other party regains power, and you never know exactly what the future holds and whether or not one party will have enough of a majority in both houses to impeach and convict without having to cross party lines. It's also difficult to pursue, since it requires 2/3 of Senators to vote for in favor of conviction to be successful.



One more thing, in response to "Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced?" If you watch a Supreme Court hearing on a person nominated to the Supreme Court, the Senate does tend to grill them on their opinions on certain political issues. Usually, the nominee will say something to the effect of "I won't rule on a hypothetical case." This may sound like dodging the question (and is that too), but it's a good response for a judge - they do not rule based on their opinion of a topic, but based on the actual facts of the case in front of them. Even if a Supreme Court judge has a strong conviction about a political issue, a good judge does not allow their personal bias to affect their rulings.






share|improve this answer

























  • If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

    – Hannover Fist
    5 hours ago






  • 13





    @Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

    – Obie 2.0
    5 hours ago






  • 4





    Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

    – John Bollinger
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    "more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

    – eyeballfrog
    3 hours ago











  • Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

    – reirab
    1 hour ago















11














Those on the Supreme Court are appointed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, as specified in the US Constitution. In practice, this means that the President nominates a person and they go to one or more Senate hearings to be examined by the members of the Senate. Exactly what number of votes are needed to gain the consent of the Senate is up to the Senate, but currently it's a simple majority.



Once a person has been appointed to the Supreme Court, they are there for a life term. This was a provision meant to de-politicize the Supreme Court, hoping that without the threat of losing their nomination, justices would be able to rule with regard only for the law and without regard for politics. However, like all appointed officials, Supreme Court justices can be impeached, and in fact the only impeachment of a Supreme Court justice in history was on accusation of political bias in their lower court rulings (Samuel Chase). This is not something that was considered often in the past, since the court simply was not as likely to rule on political lines - most Supreme Court decisions are not decided by one vote, but there is a perception that more cases are being split 5-4 along political lines. However, even if Congress was inclined to impeach justices, I think impeaching Supreme Court members for alleged political bias in rulings would be another "nuclear option," in that whatever party does it first will be the recipient of it when the other party regains power, and you never know exactly what the future holds and whether or not one party will have enough of a majority in both houses to impeach and convict without having to cross party lines. It's also difficult to pursue, since it requires 2/3 of Senators to vote for in favor of conviction to be successful.



One more thing, in response to "Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced?" If you watch a Supreme Court hearing on a person nominated to the Supreme Court, the Senate does tend to grill them on their opinions on certain political issues. Usually, the nominee will say something to the effect of "I won't rule on a hypothetical case." This may sound like dodging the question (and is that too), but it's a good response for a judge - they do not rule based on their opinion of a topic, but based on the actual facts of the case in front of them. Even if a Supreme Court judge has a strong conviction about a political issue, a good judge does not allow their personal bias to affect their rulings.






share|improve this answer

























  • If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

    – Hannover Fist
    5 hours ago






  • 13





    @Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

    – Obie 2.0
    5 hours ago






  • 4





    Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

    – John Bollinger
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    "more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

    – eyeballfrog
    3 hours ago











  • Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

    – reirab
    1 hour ago













11












11








11







Those on the Supreme Court are appointed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, as specified in the US Constitution. In practice, this means that the President nominates a person and they go to one or more Senate hearings to be examined by the members of the Senate. Exactly what number of votes are needed to gain the consent of the Senate is up to the Senate, but currently it's a simple majority.



Once a person has been appointed to the Supreme Court, they are there for a life term. This was a provision meant to de-politicize the Supreme Court, hoping that without the threat of losing their nomination, justices would be able to rule with regard only for the law and without regard for politics. However, like all appointed officials, Supreme Court justices can be impeached, and in fact the only impeachment of a Supreme Court justice in history was on accusation of political bias in their lower court rulings (Samuel Chase). This is not something that was considered often in the past, since the court simply was not as likely to rule on political lines - most Supreme Court decisions are not decided by one vote, but there is a perception that more cases are being split 5-4 along political lines. However, even if Congress was inclined to impeach justices, I think impeaching Supreme Court members for alleged political bias in rulings would be another "nuclear option," in that whatever party does it first will be the recipient of it when the other party regains power, and you never know exactly what the future holds and whether or not one party will have enough of a majority in both houses to impeach and convict without having to cross party lines. It's also difficult to pursue, since it requires 2/3 of Senators to vote for in favor of conviction to be successful.



One more thing, in response to "Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced?" If you watch a Supreme Court hearing on a person nominated to the Supreme Court, the Senate does tend to grill them on their opinions on certain political issues. Usually, the nominee will say something to the effect of "I won't rule on a hypothetical case." This may sound like dodging the question (and is that too), but it's a good response for a judge - they do not rule based on their opinion of a topic, but based on the actual facts of the case in front of them. Even if a Supreme Court judge has a strong conviction about a political issue, a good judge does not allow their personal bias to affect their rulings.






share|improve this answer















Those on the Supreme Court are appointed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, as specified in the US Constitution. In practice, this means that the President nominates a person and they go to one or more Senate hearings to be examined by the members of the Senate. Exactly what number of votes are needed to gain the consent of the Senate is up to the Senate, but currently it's a simple majority.



Once a person has been appointed to the Supreme Court, they are there for a life term. This was a provision meant to de-politicize the Supreme Court, hoping that without the threat of losing their nomination, justices would be able to rule with regard only for the law and without regard for politics. However, like all appointed officials, Supreme Court justices can be impeached, and in fact the only impeachment of a Supreme Court justice in history was on accusation of political bias in their lower court rulings (Samuel Chase). This is not something that was considered often in the past, since the court simply was not as likely to rule on political lines - most Supreme Court decisions are not decided by one vote, but there is a perception that more cases are being split 5-4 along political lines. However, even if Congress was inclined to impeach justices, I think impeaching Supreme Court members for alleged political bias in rulings would be another "nuclear option," in that whatever party does it first will be the recipient of it when the other party regains power, and you never know exactly what the future holds and whether or not one party will have enough of a majority in both houses to impeach and convict without having to cross party lines. It's also difficult to pursue, since it requires 2/3 of Senators to vote for in favor of conviction to be successful.



One more thing, in response to "Aren't clear opinions on certain topics (e.g. abortion) hurting actual justice to be enforced?" If you watch a Supreme Court hearing on a person nominated to the Supreme Court, the Senate does tend to grill them on their opinions on certain political issues. Usually, the nominee will say something to the effect of "I won't rule on a hypothetical case." This may sound like dodging the question (and is that too), but it's a good response for a judge - they do not rule based on their opinion of a topic, but based on the actual facts of the case in front of them. Even if a Supreme Court judge has a strong conviction about a political issue, a good judge does not allow their personal bias to affect their rulings.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 1 hour ago

























answered 11 hours ago









IllusiveBrianIllusiveBrian

4,5911220




4,5911220












  • If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

    – Hannover Fist
    5 hours ago






  • 13





    @Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

    – Obie 2.0
    5 hours ago






  • 4





    Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

    – John Bollinger
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    "more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

    – eyeballfrog
    3 hours ago











  • Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

    – reirab
    1 hour ago

















  • If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

    – Hannover Fist
    5 hours ago






  • 13





    @Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

    – Obie 2.0
    5 hours ago






  • 4





    Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

    – John Bollinger
    5 hours ago






  • 1





    "more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

    – eyeballfrog
    3 hours ago











  • Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

    – reirab
    1 hour ago
















If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

– Hannover Fist
5 hours ago





If we actually had "good judges", most SCOTUS decisions wouldn't be a 5-4 split - they should mostly be unanimous.

– Hannover Fist
5 hours ago




13




13





@Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

– Obie 2.0
5 hours ago





@Hannover - Most decisions are not a 5-4 split.

– Obie 2.0
5 hours ago




4




4





Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

– John Bollinger
5 hours ago





Only if the laws afforded only a single interpretation for any given set of facts, @HannoverFist. That is rarely true for cases that SCOTUS accepts, even those that it does decide unanimously.

– John Bollinger
5 hours ago




1




1





"more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

– eyeballfrog
3 hours ago





"more are being split 5-4 along political lines" Is that true?

– eyeballfrog
3 hours ago













Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

– reirab
1 hour ago





Regarding impeachment, I think it's also important to note that conviction in an impeachment trial requires way more than a simple majority. It requires 2/3 of the Senate. And, unlike the filibuster rule that previously applied to initial confirmations, this rule is part of the U.S. Constitution and changing it would require a supermajority of both houses of Congress and ratification by a full 3/4 of states. So, the standards for impeachment won't be dropped on a whim for partisan reasons like the standards for filibustering nominees were.

– reirab
1 hour ago










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