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Supreme Court Nominations:
The Nomination & Confirmation Process
Updated June 26, 2009.
Prepared by Cheryl Nyberg.
Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, in part: "[The President] shall have power, . . . , by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, . . . [to] appoint . . . judges of the Supreme Court . . . ."
This guide identifies selected articles, books, and websites on the nomination and confirmation process.
Books
All of the following titles are available in the Classified Stacks.
- Advice & Consent: Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork, and the Intriguing History of the Supreme Court's Nomination Battles. KF8776.S56 1992
- Advice & Consent: The Politics of Judicial Appointments. KF8776.E67 2005
- The Character of Justice: Rhetoric, Law, and Politics in the Supreme Court Nomination Process. KF8742.P37 2006
- Electing Justice: Fixing the Supreme Court Nomination Process. KF8742.D383 2005
- Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Clinton, 4th ed. KF8742.A72 1999
- The Next Justice: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process. KF8742.E357 2007
- Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees. KF8742.Y35 1999
- The Selling of Supreme Court Nominees. KF8742.M26 1995
- The Senate Confirmation Process: Advice and Consent, or Search and Destroy? KF8742.A5O47 2006
- Strategic Selection: Presidential Nomination of Supreme Court Justices from Herbert Hoover Through George W. Bush. KF8742.N46 2007
- Supreme Conflict: The Inside Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court. KF8742.G74 2007
- Supreme Court Justices in the Post-Bork Era: Confirmation Politics and Judicial Performance. KF8776.B38 2002
- Supremely Political: The Role of Ideology and Presidential Management in Unsuccessful Supreme Court Nominations. KF8776.M335 1990
For additional titles on the nomination and confirmation process, search the Law Library catalog by keyword: judges and appointment and supreme court. This search retrieves books that have been assigned the two major subject headings for this topic: Judges--Selection and Appointment--United States and United States Supreme Court.
Congressional Research Service Reports
The Congressional Research Service is a branch of the Library of Congress that works exclusively for members and committees of Congress. Most CRS reports are updated on an irregular basis. See the Gallagher guide on CRS Reports for more information.
- The Chief Justice of the United States: Responsibilities of the Office and Process for Appointment (Sept. 12, 2005. 44 pages)
- Congressional Oversight of Judges and Justices (May 31, 2005. 37 pages)
- Constitutionality of a Senate Filibuster of a Judicial Nomination (June 14, 2005. 17 pages)
- Evolution of the Senate's Role in the Nomination and Confirmation Process: A Brief History (July 2, 2008. 15 pages)
- Proper Scope of Questioning of Supreme Court Nominees: The Current Debate (Sept. 1, 2005. 15 pages)
- Senate Confirmation Process: An Overview (Dec. 1, 2008. 3 pages)
- Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominees: Committee and Floor Procedure (May 8, 2009. 16 pages)
- Speed of Presidential and Senate Actions on Supreme Court Nominations: 1900-2006 (Jan. 24, 2007. 44 pages)
- Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President, Judiciary Committee, and Senate (March 20, 2008. 71 pages)
- Supreme Court Nominations, 1789-2009: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President (May 13, 2009. 45 pages)
- Supreme Court Nominations: Senate Floor Procedure and Practice, 1789-2005 (Jan. 24, 2006. 43 pages)
Websites
American Bar Association, Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary issues ratings on the qualifications of Supreme Court nominees.
Articles
The following articles are only examples of those found in the legal literature. Hein Online is a UW Restricted database.
- Choosing the Next Supreme Court Justice: An Empirical Ranking of Judge Performance, 78 S. Cal. L. Rev. 23 (2004). Hein Online
- Confirming the Constitution: The Role of the Senate Judiciary Committee (Elected Branch Influences in Constitutional Decisionmaking) 56 Law & Contemp. Probs. 121 (1993). Hein Online
- The Supreme Court Confirmation Process in Crisis: Is the System Defective, or Merely the Participants? 14 Whittier L. Rev. 517 (1993). Hein Online
- Character, Competency, and Constitutionalism: Did the Bork Nomination Represent a Fundamental Shift in Confirmation Criteria? 75 Marq. L. Rev. 409 (1992). Hein Online
- The Role of Legal Scholars in the Confirmation Hearings for Supreme Court Nominees - Some Reflections (Colloquium: The Judicial Nomination and Confirmation Process) 7 St. John's J. Legal Comment. 211 (1991). Hein Online
- Conference on Supreme Court Appointments: Judicial Appointments, the President and the Senate. 84 Northwestern U. L. Rev. issues 3/4, beginning at page 851 (1990). Hein Online
- Selecting Supreme Court Justices, 2004-05 Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases 481. A panel discussion. A longer version appears on the ABA website.
In LegalTrac, search one or more of the following subject headings for additional articles:
- Judicial Candidates
- Judges--Appointments, Resignations and Dismissals
- Supreme Court Justices
- United States. Supreme Court--Human Resource Management