One of a President's constitutional functions is to nominate people to the federal judiciary, a function that is checked by the Senate since they have to confirm those appointments. While this allows President the ability to shape the judiciary, some are more successful than others. I want you to research President Obama's success in shaping the federal judiciary as opposed to the success of other President's, Such as W. Bush and Clinton. What factors help explain what he has and has not been able to accomplish?
Here are some sites which should help you get going, but do your own research as well.
- JudicialNominations.org.
- Judicial Confirmation and the Constitution.
- Breaking the Judicial Nominations and Confirmations Logjam.
- The Judicial Confirmation Crisis.
