Confirmation Bias Hearings
In his 1941 Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Justice-to-be Robert Houghwout Jackson was asked to comment on three different political topics/issues. How many topics/issues was Justice Kagan asked to comment on in her 2010 confirmation hearing?
How accurate was your prediction?
how many topics and issues do you think Justice-to-be Kavanaugh will be asked in his confirmation hearing?
Do you think that all these questions about all these topics actually make a difference in selecting good justices?
What trend do you see in the data from the chart?
Explain the cause of the trend you identified.
Describe one consequence of this trend you identified in the data.
Do we have a good system for picking justices-who serve un-elected for life?
How democratic (with a little d) is this entire justice-confirmation process?
What would the perfect number of topics/issues to ask a nominee be?
If you could, how would you changed the confirmation process?
How likely do you think it is that a single Democrat will vote for Kavanaugh or that a single Republican will vote against him?
In what way is the current confirmation hearing an example of checks and balances?
What would Federalist 51 have said about
In 1987, at his failed confirmation hearings Robert Bork actually answered the questions he was asked in long and voluminous comments. He was NOT confirmed to the Supreme Court (fun fact, ushering in the nomination of quiet-Justice Kennedy, whose Supreme Court seat we are now filling). Robert Bork's failed nomination spawned the verb: to Bork, meaning to talk to much; to say too much about what you really believe; to reject someone who says too much.
Have you ever been Borked?
Will there be a new verb formed to be Kavanaugh? Make up your own definition:
take another famous politician (Ryan, Trump, McConnell, Pelosi, Obama, Schumer) and make a verb out of their name. Write a sentence using their name as a verb and post it in the comments section below. The "best" sentence (by either a student or a teacher) will win a $10 Amazon gift card.*
Learning Extension
Read this 538 article about Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.
Action Extension
Watch some of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, contact your U.S. Senator and tell them whether you think they should approve his nomination.
*Contest rules - I determine what "best" means! I will accept answers through Sunday, September 9th, 2018 by 8:32 pm.
