Thursday, April 6, 2017

On Supreme Court Justice confirmations

One of my U.S. Senators, in reply to a protest about the coddling of Neil Gorsuch versus the snubbing of Merrick Garland in their respective nominations to sit on the Supreme Court, said this:

". . . the Senate traditionally does not confirm a Supreme
Court nominee in the final year of a president’s term."

So I researched it and found at least these cases:

  • Anthony Kennedy was confirmed on 1988/2/3, in the final year of Ronald Reagan's second term. 
  • Benjamin Cardozo was confirmed on 1932/2/24, in the final year of Herbert Hoover's presidency. 
  • John Clarke was confirmed on 1916/7/24, in what could have been the final year of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. 
  • Louis Brandeis was confirmed on 1916/6/1, in what could have been the final year of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. 
  • Mahlon Pinney was confirmed on 1912/3/13, in the final year of William Howard Taft's presidency. 
  • George Shiras, Jr. was confirmed on 1892/7/26, in the final year of Benjamin Harrison's presidency. 
  • Melville Fuller was confirmed on 1888/7/20, in the final year of Grover Cleveland's first presidency. 
  • William Burnham Woods was confirmed on 1880/12/21, in the final year of the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. 
  • Roger B. Taney and Philip Pendleton Barbour were confirmed on 1836/3/15, in the final year of Andrew Jackson's presidency.
  • William Johnson was confirmed on 1804/3/24, in what could have been the final year of Thomas Jefferson's presidency. 
  • Oliver Ellsworth was confirmed on 1796/3/4, on the cusp of the final year of George Washington's presidency. 

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