Imagine:
Rehnquist retires. And the Bush - Senate war ensues. The two empty seats get tied up in the battle...for all of next year's term. We would still have an odd number of Justices and seven Justices, it seems to me, could do the job just as effectively as nine.
However, now the liberal wing of the Court -- Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer -- would have a four member majority, with Kennedy, Thomas, and Scalia as the conservative minority. For an entire term.
5 comments:
O'Connor's resignation is effective upon the confirmation of her successor, so unless she changes her mind, her seat won't be empty at all.
Thanks.
That's a good point.
But what a strange event it would be if O'Connor, b/c of a battle, ends up sitting on the Court for another term or more.
These long battles are insane, and harmful to our nation. People need to get a grip. Nobody appointed Chuck Schumer to the SCOTUS...
Pretty soon, if this sort of thing keeps up, there'll be real blood spilt.
Nobody appointed Chuck Schumer to the SCOTUS Just to be fair, no one appointed James Dobson or Tony Perkins to SCOTUS either, but they are acting like they should have veto power over any nominee.
Actually, Perkins and Dobson can only advise and maybe consent. Schumer OTOH, wields true power, as it if were a legitimate veto.
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