Monday, May 11, 2009 9:19 PM
Waiting For Justice
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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