You Can't Always Get What You Want...: Presidential Elections and Supreme Court Appointments

Abstract:     
In this article, Professor Finkelman discusses the process of Supreme Court appointments in light of the 2000 Presidential election. As Supreme Court appointments are for an unlimited period of years, those Presidents who have the opportunity to make judicial appointments are able to shape the bench for years after their own terms have ended. However, Professor Finkelman notes that not all appointees turn out in the way a President may have hoped. For example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt likely did not anticipate that Justice Felix Frankfurter would emerge as one of the most conservative justices of his era. With this in mind, Supreme Court appointments are an important factor in presidential elections.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 11

Keywords: supreme court appointments, presidental elections

Accepted Paper Series