Monday, May 11, 2009
Waiting For Justice
By Amy Harder
The White House confirmed Friday it won't announce a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice David Souter this week. The administration also signaled that "presidential interviews with prospective candidates are not likely to begin this week," according to a Sunday Washington Post story.
So where does that leave us?
NationalJournal.com examined the timelines of all SCOTUS nominations and confirmations going back to the Reagan administration. In that span, the longest a president waited to fill an immediate or imminent vacancy was 87 days: After Justice Byron White announced his retirement in March 1993, it took President Clinton almost three months to nominate Ruth Bader Ginsburg that June. The shortest? No time at all. On June 17, 1986, President Reagan announced Chief Justice Warren Burger's retirement, William Rehnquist's elevation to chief justice and Antonin Scalia's nomination to fill the vacancy.
A speedy nomination is no guarantee of an easy confirmation. In 1987, Reagan was quick out of the gate to nominate Robert Bork to replace Justice Lewis Powell, taking only five days. That ended up being the longest that a Supreme Court seat went unfilled in this period -- Bork's defeat, the short-lived bid of Douglas Ginsburg and a long confirmation process for Anthony Kennedy added up to 222 days.
The average wait for a nomination, including those that went nowhere, is a little over three weeks. We're now upon the 11th day since Souter announced his retirement May 1. History suggests we have more chatter and rumors to wade through before the real debate can get going -- in the Senate's confirmation proceedings.
John Roberts' timeline
July 1, 2005 -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement.
July 19, 2005 -- President George W. Bush announces the nomination of Roberts.
Sept. 3, 2005 -- Chief Justice William Rehnquist dies.
Sept. 5, 2005 -- Bush switches gears and nominates Roberts as chief justice.
Sept. 29, 2005 -- Senate confirms Roberts, 78-22.
18 days -- elapsed between O'Connor and Roberts announcements.
72 days -- elapsed between Bush nominating Roberts for O'Connor's spot and Roberts being confirmed to fill Rehnquist's spot.
24 days -- elapsed between Bush nominating Roberts for Rehnquist's spot and Roberts' confirmation.
Complete list after the jump
Samuel Alito's timeline
Oct. 3, 2005 -- Bush announces the nomination of Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor.
Oct. 27, 2005 -- Miers withdraws her nomination.
Oct. 31, 2005 -- Bush announces the nomination of Alito.
Jan. 31, 2006 -- Senate confirms Alito, 58-42.
30 days -- elapsed between Rehnquist's death and announcement of Alito.
92 days -- elapsed between Alito's nomination and his confirmation.
Stephen Breyer's timeline
April 6, 1994 -- Justice Harry Blackmun announces his retirement.
May 13, 1994 -- President Clinton announces the nomination of Breyer.
July 29, 1994 -- Senate confirms Breyer, 87-9.
37 days -- elapsed between Blackmun and Breyer announcements.
77 days -- elapsed between Clinton's nomination of Breyer and his confirmation.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's timeline
March 19, 1993 -- Justice Byron White announces his retirement.
June 14, 1993 -- Clinton announces the nomination of Ginsburg.
Aug. 3, 1993 -- Senate confirms Ginsburg, 96-3.
87 days -- elapsed between White and Ginsburg announcements.
50 days -- elapsed between Clinton's nomination and Ginsburg's confirmation.
Clarence Thomas' timeline
June 27, 1991 -- Justice Thurgood Marshall announces his retirement.
July 1, 1991 -- President George H. W. Bush announces the nomination of Thomas.
Oct. 15, 1991 -- Senate confirms Thomas, 52-48.
4 days -- elapsed between Marshall and Thomas announcements.
107 days -- elapsed between Thomas' nomination and his confirmation
David Souter's timeline
July 20, 1990 -- Justice William Brennan announces his retirement.
July 23, 1990 -- Bush announces the nomination of Souter.
Oct. 2, 1990 -- Senate confirms Souter, 90-9.
3 days -- elapsed between Brennan and Souter announcements.
71 days -- elapsed between Bush's nomination of Souter and his confirmation.
Anthony Kennedy's timeline
June 26, 1987 -- Justice Lewis Powell announces his retirement.
July 1, 1987 -- President Reagan announces the nomination of Bork.
Oct. 23, 1987 -- Senate rejects Bork, 58-42.
Oct. 29, 1987 -- Reagan announces the nomination of Douglas Ginsburg.
Nov. 7, 1987 -- Ginsburg withdraws his nomination.
Nov. 11, 1987 -- Reagan announces the nomination of Kennedy.
Feb. 3, 1988 -- Senate confirms Kennedy, 97-0.
5 days -- elapsed between Powell and Bork announcements.
19 days -- elapsed between the Senate's rejection of Bork and Reagan's announcement of Kennedy.
84 days -- elapsed between Kennedy's nomination and his confirmation.
222 days -- elapsed between Powell's retirement announcement and Kennedy's confirmation.
Antonin Scalia's timeline
June 17, 1986 -- Chief Justice Warren Burger announces his retirement; Reagan picks Rehnquist as chief justice and nominates Scalia to take Rehnquist's associate justice spot.
Sept. 17, 1986 -- Senate confirms Scalia, 98-0, and Rehnquist, 65-33.
0 days -- elapsed between Burger's retirement announcement, Rehnquist's nomination for chief justice and Reagan's selection of Scalia.
92 days -- elapsed between both justices' nominations and their confirmations.
Sandra Day O'Connor's timeline
June 18, 1981 -- Justice Potter Stewart announces his retirement.
July 7, 1981 -- Reagan announces the nomination of O'Connor.
Sept. 21, 1981 -- Senate confirms O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, 99-0.
19 days -- elapsed between Stewart and O'Connor announcements.
76 days -- elapsed between O'Connor's nomination and her confirmation.
Comments
To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although The Ninth Justice does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.