POTUS & SCOTUS
*Trump appointed 3 Supreme Court Justices.
Critical Analysis
What POTUS appointed the most SCOTUS Justices?
How many Supreme Court Justices did Donald Trump appoint?
What presidents did not get to appoint a single Supreme Court Justice? (Scroll way down for answer)**
Of all the jobs of the president, how important is the nomination of Supreme Court Justices?
Explain the connection between this chart and checks and balances.
How different would our country be if we allowed the new president to appoint all 9 members of an entirely new Supreme Court upon election?
The average age of our current Supreme Court is 70.9. If history is any guide, explain the total number of Supreme Court Justices you think POTUS Biden will be able to appoint?
Broadly speaking, the current SCOTUS is ideologically divided between 3 liberal and 6 conservative justices. Describe the sort of Supreme Court Justices Biden would likely appoint if given a chance?
Here is a chart of the demographics of the Justices of the SCOTUS. Based on political partisanship. Given the fact that he is over 80, do you think it is likely that Justice Breyer will step down from the Supreme Court soon?
In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote about an independent judiciary. Based on this writing, explain whether Hamilton would be pleased with the fact that in American history, the average supreme court justice has served for 16.5 years.
Learning Extension
Read this Politico story on pressure mounting on Justice Breyer to retire (which rhymes)!
Action Extension
Contact POTUS Biden and tell him what kind of SCOTUS nominations you think he should make if he has any future openings.
Visual Extension*
AP US Government and Politics
Alexander Hamilton
How does a bastard, orphan son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean
By providence, impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
The 10 dollar
Founding father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter
By being a self-starter, by 14 they placed him in charge of a trading charter
And everyday while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
Across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow or barter
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
Well the word got around, they said
"This kid is insane, man!"
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came
And the world's gonna know your name. What's your name man?"
Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there's a million thing I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait
When he was 10, his father split, full of it, debt ridden
2 years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead, sitting in their own sick, the scent thick
And Alex got better but his mother went quick
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothing but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying, "Alex you gotta fend for yourself"
He started retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf
There woulda been nothing left to do for someone less astute
He woulda been dead and destitute without a cent of restutition
Started working, clerking for his late mother's landlord
Trading sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford
Scanning for every book he can get his hands on
Planning for the future, see him now as he stands on
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man
Just you wait
(In New York you can be a new man) Just you wait
In New York you can be a new man
In New York (New York)
Just you wait!
Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton), we're waiting in the wings for you (waiting in the wings for you)
You could never back down, you never learned to take your time
Oh, Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton), when America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be same, oh
The ship is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him
Another immigrant coming up from the bottom
His enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him
We fought with him
Me? I died for him
Me? I trusted him
Me? I loved him
And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him
There's a million thing I haven't done
But just you wait
What's your name man?
Alexander Hamilton!
Songwriters: MIRANDA LIN-MANUEL
Alexander Hamilton lyrics © 5000 Broadway Music
**The Following Presidents did not appoint a single Supreme Court Justice. Frown.
William Henry Harrison
Zachary Taylor
Andrew Johnson
Jimmy Carter