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| Chapter 15: The Federal Courts |
| What Government Does and Why It Matters |
Who are the people on the Supreme Court? To learn more about them, go to the Web site for the Oyez Project at www.oyez.org and select three Supreme Court justices.
For Justices 1 through 3, please list the following: Date appointed Appointed by Age at appointment Political party Confirmation vote Conservative/Liberal |
| 1. Justice 1: |
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| 2. Justice 2: |
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| 3. Justice 3: |
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| 4. What are the political philosophies of these justices? Is there a relationship between political party and judicial philosophy? Did you encounter any exceptions? |
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| 5. Were the confirmation votes nearly unanimous? If presidents select nominees with a particular political view, why do you think most justices win confirmation easily? Do Americans expect these justices to be neutral or partisan? Why is this an important issue? |
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| 6. Do you think that it is important that a diversity exists in terms of race, religion, gender, and the like among justices on the Supreme Court? Does this Court represent diversity, in your opinion? Explain. |
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| 7. Federal judges serve for life; if the average Supreme Court justice retires at age seventy-five, how old will you be when each of these justices retires? Does this help you understand why the confirmation process is so important? |
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| 8. What consequences do you see, good and bad, for someone to serve for such a long time on the Court? Would you favor fixed terms? Explain. |
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