Teaching about Judicial Nominations

According to the Constitution, the only requirement for a person to be a Supreme Court justice is that they be nominated and appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The judicial nominations process is an excellent teaching topic, as it provides insight into the operations of all three branches of government, the separation of their powers, and the ways in which they interact.

Street Law Lessons

• Nominating Federal Judges Lesson (AP)
• Nominating Federal Judges Lesson (standard)

Recent Media Coverage of Supreme Court Nominations

• NewsHour Supreme Court Watch
• Washington Post’s Courts and the Law
• New York Times’ U.S. Supreme Court
• SCOTUSblog

Other Resources

• Federalist Paper No. 76
• Opinions about Life Tenure for Supreme Court Justices (Note: though still relevant, these are not recent articles):
  • To Break the Stalemate, Give Judges Less Than Life (Washington Post, November 2004)
  • No Supreme Court Term Limits—Even With Partisan Justices Like Scalia and Thomas (U.S. News & World Report, May 2009)

Government Websites

• United States Department of Justice
• Senate Judiciary Committee

Interest Group Websites

• Alliance for Justice
• Committee for Justice