Blog 3.7

1. What does the Martin-Quinn score attempt to measure?

2. What trend do you notice as justices serve on the Supreme Court for many years?

3. How does the Greenhouse Effect theory try to explain this phenomenon?

4. How does the Cocktail Party theory try to explain this?

5. How might the historical reputation of a justice effect their decision making?

6. Why have conservatives been disappointed so far by Chief Justice John Roberts?

7. Of all the theories for why this occurs, which do you think is most realistic?  Why?

Answers

1. It's a measure of judicial ideology.

2. They become more liberal.

3. Activists have consistently pressured judges into making more liberal decisions.

4. Conservative judges want to be seen as more reasonable and moderate, so they make more liberal decisions.

5. History fails to remember conservative judges kindly, so to preserve legacy, they may make more liberal decisions.

6. His decisions have been drifting toward the liberal end of things.

7a. Either the cocktail scene or the experience have the largest effects.

7b. I believe that our interactions with other individuals shape large parts of our growth and life; therefore, because these two topics are built upon such, I find these to be the most realistic.

Blog 3.6

1. Where is Neil Gorsuch currently working?

2. Why are Democrats likely to attempt to fight this nomination?

3. How are people predicting the way he might rule on abortion cases that reach the court?

4. How would you describe his views on religious freedom?

5. What opinions about the role of judges does he share with former Justice Scalia?

6. What percentage of all federal court cases end up being decided by a split SCOTUS?

7. What does that tell you about the vast majority of federal court cases?

8. Why do people think that Gorsuch will have an important role in swaying "swing vote" Anthony Kennedy on so many issues?

Answers

1. "Neil Gorsuch [is] a 49-year-old federal appeals court judge on the 10th Circuit."

2. "A Democratic filibuster motivated by Republicans’ successful obstruction of President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, for this same seat last year is a certainty for any nominee."

3. He believes in a right to life, so he is likely to vote that way as well.

4. He's a bit too broad for my liking on his views of religious freedom, and I think his views run the risk of letting citizens abuse it, but that's just me.

5. They both primarily believe in just looking at the Constitution and other written laws. "Both are textualists, concerned primarily in the literal text of laws and less in their legislative history or social context of passage."

6. "Supreme Court cases that don’t result in a unanimous decision account for only 0.014 percent of all federal court cases."

7. We don't know about most of 'em 'cause most don't make headline news.

8. "Beyond his overall jurisprudence, however, he would be the first justice ever to serve alongside a justice for whom he clerked, namely Anthony Kennedy... That gives conservatives some hope that Gorsuch will be able to sway Kennedy on crucial cases, solidifying the conservative bloc and ensuring a 5-4 conservative majority on key issues."

Blog 3.5

1. Describe the way most judicial branch nominations went down in Obama's first term.

2. How did Senate Democrats change the rules for nominations in Obama's second term?

3. How did Senate Republicans respond when they gained control of the Senate in 2014?

4. How many vacancies are there in the District Court level?

5. How will the Senate Republicans' gamble pay off significantly now that Trump is the president?

6. When is the hearing on Trump's travel ban Executive Order?

7. What type of court would this be since it's the first time hearing the case?

8. Who are the plaintiffs?

9. How is the lawsuit going to try to turn this into a "class action"? (You definitely remember what a class action lawsuit is, right?)

Answers:

1. "Obama was president, and Democrats controlled the Senate. Republicans largely agreed that, in some sense, this meant he was entitled to fill judicial vacancies with Democratic Party appointees." Generally, the more moderate judges would have the least resistance, but overall, the Republicans made sure to put up a fight against most nominees.

2. They made it impossible to filibuster judicial appointees.

3. They shut down confirmations altogether.

4. "Right now, 10 percent of the seats on the federal district court benches are vacant."

5. The appointment of Neil Gorsuch will go more smoothly.

6. "During a 7:30 pm emergency hearing Saturday in a Brooklyn courthouse, a federal court will consider whether to temporarily halt the deportation of two Iraqi visa-holders detained at JFK International Airport Friday night — and dozens or even hundreds of others who have been detained in airports around the country as a result of the ban." - January 28th

7. It'd be a case of original jurisdiction.

8. Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi are "the two men on whose behalf the suit was originally filed."

9a. There are many other people being affected by this ban; the lawyers will, as a result, try to let this decision affect all of those affected by the ban.

9b. Class Action Lawsuit - lawsuits in which a small number of people sue on behalf of all people in similar circumstances