What’s Happening? – Part I

Although this blog was initially designed to provide an overview of past cases and decisions set, I think that I would be doing an incredible disservice to both the integrity of this blog itself and to all of you by not addressing the tremendous ‘elephant in the room’ right now. Unless you live under a rock, you certainly have heard the name “Kavanaugh” at least once in the last few weeks, though what this name means or why it is important might not be clear to you. What has transpired since his initial appointment to the Court on July 9th, 2018 by President Trump has been nothing short of a circus. For many people I have spoken to, the facts of what has gone on are murky. With something new appearing every day, it is certainly no easy task to remain up to date on this. Bearing this in mind, I would like to fill everyone in on the specifics of what is quite possibly the most pivotal Supreme Court appointment in U.S. History.

If you understand the three branches of government, checks and balances, and the appointment process, feel free to skip these next three paragraphs.

To start, I think it is important that I provide a little civics refresher to understand the basics of this incident, as I’m aware not everyone here is familiar with the details of how our system works. I’m sure that most of you can name the three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary), but often times the interrelation between these is unclear. This interrelation is known as checks and balances, and it essentially serves as a set of ways that the other two branches can constantly limit the power of another branch. Pictured below is the way that each branch can limit each other.

Of particular importance here is the ability of the President, who heads the Executive Branch, to appoint Supreme Court Justices. This confirmation is then “checked” by the Legislative Branch by the Senate, who is tasked with voting on whether or not the appointee is worthy of being placed on the Court. It is important to remember that the Supreme Court was designed by our Founding Fathers to be a ‘neutral’ or ‘apolitical’ branch that is free from political pressure (like losing your seat in a reelection). They did this so that judges could make decisions that were not influenced by voter opinion or political gains.

Accordingly, those appointed to the Supreme Court and confirmed serve for life so long as they maintain “good behavior.” In the history of the Court, no Justice has ever been removed from the Court involuntarily. Because a President can only be in office for a maximum of 8 years, putting someone on the Court is the most lasting way of solidifying their political legacy for years to come. For this reason, it is easy to see why President Trump wants to place Kavanaugh on the Court by any means necessary, as it might be his and the Republican’s only chance to get a Justice on the Court before the midterm elections in a little more than 30 days.

At the moment, the Republicans hold a majority in the House (235 Republicans & 193 Democrats) and Senate (51-49). Additionally, President Trump is a member of the Republican Party. Because of this, if the Republican party cooperates on and votes as a unit, there is virtually nothing that they can’t accomplish (within reason of course). This includes the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, as this only requires a simple majority in the Senate (50%+1). 

As I alluded to above, the midterm elections are swiftly approaching and will take place on November 6, 2018.  At this time, all 435 House of Representatives members and 1/3 of Senate seats (35 this year because of vacancies) are up for re-election. At this time, there is a chance (albeit small in my opinion) that the Republicans lose the Senate majority to the Democrats. Although this would cause a ton of strife for Republicans when it comes to passing policy, the more immediate impact of this would be that the ability for President Trump and the Republicans to place a 9th and final member on the Supreme Court would be altogether crushed.