US Supreme Court and Senate Judiciary Committee Group Discussion

The US Supreme Court is made up of nine life time appointed justices. The reason the justices are appointed to life time positions, as opposed to elected, term limited positions, is so they will not be swayed in their decisions based on needing to please voters in order to be relected. The US Supremev Court estabished its independence from the other two branches of government and the concept of “judicial review” in the 1803 court case Marbury v. Madison. Today, the independence and legitimacy of the Supreme Court is being called into question. Currently, the US Senate is debating the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominee, Amy Cony Barrett to fill the vacant court seat left open by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Considering the timing,  previous actions and statements by Republican lawmakers, and Barrett’s own judicial record, this is a very controversial nomination.

Completing the following assignment is worth 2 points. The assignment is not graded on content, but points may be deducted if the directions are not followed.

Directions:

1. Review the “Judicial Review” section (pgs. 309-310)  in the textbook.
2. Click on the link below and read the article.
3. Respond to the following question.
4. Respond to at least one other posting.

Article: 

“This isn’t a Confirmation. It’s a Referendum on the Legitimacy of the Supreme Court.” (Links to an external site.)

Note: This article is an opinion piece, not a standard news article.

Question:

The author argues that the confirmation hearing is “a referendum on the legitimacy of the Supreme Court”. 

• First, make sure you are clear on the reasons why the author feels this way.
• Second, do you agree with the author?
• Why, or why not?